HUAYING Ripe Pu-erh Tea Mini Tea Cake with Glutinous Rice Fragrant, Loose Leaf (240g)

The thing about pu'erh tea, similar to cheese and sourdough bread, is that where and how it's fermented and stored matters. This product (Huaying Glutinous Rice Fragant Pu'er Tuo tea), manufactured by Yangjiang Xizhiran Tea Industry Co., was grown and ripened in Pu'er City, and then transported to Yangjiang (some 700 miles to the East) for storage and distribution. According to the container, storage was "Sealed. Odor-proof. Kept away from light". That's an important detail, because if exposed to light or not properly sealed, pu'erh can acquire the smell of whatever is around it.One thing you can do to mitigate any potential issues with storage is wash the tea for a few seconds. Washing means pouring some hot water over the tea in a separate glass, waiting a few seconds, and then remove the tea leaves and check what you just quickly brewed for any signs of mustiness or other odd odors. If none, just transfer the leaves to the main pot and you're good to go. Otherwise you can repeat the wash. Yes, you may end up losing a bit of brewable tea in the process, but the tradeoff is that you'll get more consistently good results.The batch I ordered in late January was made 17 Sept 2023, so it probably didn't spend much time in storage. At any rate, the smell and taste was consistent with previous experiences with "Sticky Rice Tea", and of the 20 or so times I've brewed with it, I haven't once noticed any sort of initial musky odor during the wash.Another nice thing about pu'erh tea is that it's effectively immune to over-steeping. The directions on the container say brew with boiling water for 3-5 seconds, but I think this is referring to the initial wash. For the actual brew, you don't really need a timer. Just leave the leaves in until the tea reaches a rich, reddish brown hue. Each puck is good for making 6 cups of tea. You can brew it all at once, or brew 3 cups twice, or 2 cups three times. If you brew multiple times, the flavor does change slightly but it's less noticeable with sticky rice tea than with regular pu'erh.All in all, I'm satisfied with the quality, especially given its price point. But, as is the case with any fermented product, some batches are going to be better than others. If my experiences changes after buying second package, I'll update my review.For now, I'll just say if you're new to pu'erh and searching for a product that's affordable, is relatively fool-proof and still offers decent quality, Huaying's sticky rice tea may offer a good starting point.

The sticky rice smell is very strong. I brewed this and the whole room can smell it. Good thing that the sticky rice flavor is either positive or neutral so no one complained.

I enjoyed this several times before as it has a nice glutinous rice touch to a decent pu-erh. Last one I bought I drank it and felt sick later that afternoon. Made a cup the next day and noticed a sewage type smell with a hint of fish. My neighbor likes pu-erh so I gave the remaining 23 to her. She was sick for a few days and she told me the tea smelled horrible and she suffered the trots and flu like symptoms. I won't trust this again and now I have ruined my relationship with my neighbor who was a good back door friend.

Initially the tea had a bold tea flavor and then there was another flavor that I’m not familiar with. It’s not bad but different from my other teas. Fermented teas boast several health benefits so drinking a cup is not only delicious but good for me too.

My third purchase from this tea maker. None have been disppointing. This 2024 puerh is so delicious. No aging needed. An excellent affordable daily puerh.

I was looking for a good value, decent quality puerh, and I believe this product met the mark.Individually portioned and wrapped tea cakes are incredibly convenient - no waste in breaking off crumbles from a much larger tea cake, and you get the same amount in every brew. 5 stars for consistency.The quality is what you pay for - decent. This is by no means a top tier puerh, but it is by no means the bottom of the line either. True to form, this puerh does much better with a bit of aging. Buy it, and forget it for a few months, and you'll be quite happy with your purchase after enjoying a brew from the matured stock, as other reviewers have suggested. I did try it upon arrival, and I do not recommend it to any other consumer. Without aging, the brew is definitely musky - reminiscent of moldy hay, or that "wet dog" smell. Second and third brews bring you closer to that biscuity-caramelesque flavor we look for in a puerh. Upon aging, the biscuity-caramelesque flavor shows up in the first brew. I have brewed 3 times with the same tea cake, with satisfactory results, even with drying out the leaves overnight/inbetween. Something I love about puerh is that each brew is slightly different in flavor.So, a good value - 3 brews to a teacake (per 16oz brew for me), and decent quality for it's price. The leaves are in good shape once steeped/unfurled, with not an irresponsible amount of crumbly bits, and I haven't found any lone stems yet.If you're a regular puerh drinker, I'd recommend keeping another stash on hand to age, while you enjoy the first (patiently aged) stash, that way you have an aged stash ready to go when the first runs out! So, be sure to but your batch a few months in advance and you will not be disappointed.I love puerh and cardamom and/or vanilla. Stick a vanilla bean pod and a few cracked cardamom pods in your puerh tin alongside your individually wrapped cakes, and in a few months, you'll have a subtly blended puerh with delicate complexities. The longer you age this tea (plain and/or infused), the better it gets.Although the plastic material of the storage container is not the preferred option for tea storage, the plastic isn't odorous, and without a better option available at the time, I have not noted any averse infusion of the plastic upon my tea cakes! However, if I had switched to a proper airtight tin or ceramic, the tea would likely have aged "better."

It took me a bit to get used to the smell, but it isnt unpleasant, just odd. The packaging is also neat and appealing.

My daughter tried and said it taste like bread....No, it's rice, I'm breathing rice and it's still there. LolOverall it's a very nice cuppa. I enjoyed it hot and iced throughout the day. I do think it'd pair well with a littlehoney or sweetener or even milk.I find rice a comforting smell and this makes for an enjoyable tea.