★★★★☆
A good everyday sort of Pu-erh, I like the convenience of the pearls. One pearl is just right for my 16oz. teapot.
Generously sized for teapot brewing, this extra-large pearl gives the term tea ball new meaning.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Pu-Erh Pearls, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
A good everyday sort of Pu-erh, I like the convenience of the pearls. One pearl is just right for my 16oz. teapot.
By far one of the best pu-erh teas I've had from adagio. I did about 5 steeps and then on the sixth I added a cinnamon stick and was still in love with the depth of the flavor.
I tried some and while it was a great price for the sample, I honestly did not like the taste of it. I mean the tea itself wasn t bad, I just can t get past the taste which was akin to wet damp rotted leaves.
This was my first Pu-Erh tea. It was strong, dark, and yummy. I was quite surprised by how much tea a single ball made - it was perfect for a whole pot of tea, not just a single cup!
A strong brew. Holds up will to multiple steepings.
I didn't even look at other reviews until I thought about writing my own. In fact, I have no idea why I got the sampler other than I wanted to try new teas and get a broad range, I am so very glad I did. The smell after brewing was enchanting. It smelled very strongly of earth and reminded me of the aroma of pipe tobacco. I would brew this to create the aroma on its own. The tea tastes earthy, but not as strongly as the aroma would first lead you to believe.
The pearls are very large (almost an inch in diameter), and I haven't tried cutting them in half, and 5 minutes was not enough time in the water to let the ball fully unspool.
I didn't think that 'earthy' would quite hit me in this way, but I really love this tea. I will certainly be getting more.
I really tried to like this tea. Another reviewer posted that this reminds them of horses and I get it. It's like hay meets mushrooms so moldy hay?? I guess I'm just not a fan but it doesn't mean that you won't like it. This is earthy and bold so if that's your thing give it a try.
So, this one I brewed gongfu style using a 50mL porcelain lined clay gaiwan. I used an entire pearl that weighed 6g, so a bit overleafed from my preference of 1g leaves per 10mL water. Overall, a solid tea, good for daily drinking, but nothing special. I rinsed the leaves twice before drinking. The first three infusions were primarily earthy, remniscent of when you step outside after a heavy storm and can smell the water in the air and how soaked the soil is. Somewhat mushroomy as well. By the fourth infusion, notes of sweet hay and alfalfa were coming out. I had to step up the infusion time by this point, from quick 5 second steeps to 10 seconds, lengthening to 90 seconds by the eighth steep. The flavour kept shifting more to sweet hay, but by the eighth steep the flavour had begun to wane. I ended up tossing the leaves in a 500mL tumbler and filling with boiling water at this point. After letting it sit for a while (honestly, at least an hour, but I lost track of time), the resulting tea is smooth, lightly grassy with more prominent soil/clay notes, though a bit weak. Overall, a solid choice for a daily drinker. I'm going to have to try this one again with less leaf, lower temperature water, both... definitely worth exploring the different ways to brew the leaf. My only complaint is there's no lingering aftertaste, as it's a pleasant enough tea I'd like for it to stick around.
Tried this after the Yunnan white put erh, this is nothing like that taste.
Has a hay like smell to it, but not overpowering. Earthy flavor with a hint of sweetness. In the mug it almost has a fishy smell, which took it down just a notch (really 4.5 stars is more appropriate). A good tea that I shall have to see how it is on the 2nd brew on the used leaves. Smells stronger than it will taste.
I'm so happy I found your location near me. I've been ordering on the internet so being able to sample before purchasing is helpful. I held back one star because I want more info on the pu-erh. Is it ripe or raw? More detail on where it's from should be available. The taste is great, just want to know more.
So fun to watch it unfurl. Great mild subtle taste, good to have with dinner. I feel like it won't overpower the food.
I'll say it straight up - this tea is an acquired taste. Very earthy. But don't be intimidated. It's worth trying.
I love pu-erh, and 3 of these huge pearls in a 6 cup teapot make a perfect cup of tea.
A nice pu-erh when you are making multiple cups for company or large cups for yourself. The flavor is very deep and has a pleasant 'leathery' or 'peaty' taste to it.
Classical Pu-Erh tea. Less intense though. Maybe it is less number of years the tea is fermented.
Nice blend; black with earthy, savory full taste. Pearls are Large: enough for a full pot or 2-3 large cups. Depending on taste preference, a second steeping of leaves is an option. A good breakfast tea to help get going in the morning!
I bought a couple pu erh teas this time. This one was a bit more earthy than the gold that I really liked a lot. I'll have to give it another chance to be sure.
So rich and bold. Got three brews from one pearl. Not sure the earthy mate-like taste is for me but nice for a change.
Opened and gave intense first pour. Second and third pour were deeper and more satisfying!
The earthy taste of a good pur-eh in a convenient ball that can be easily steeped.
Probably not my favorite Pu Erh, but has a deep rich taste. Like it alot.
Very nice - I love pu erh. However, I've had pu erh golden brick that was much better. Still looking for a replacement.
Interesting type of tea. I prefer this to the flavored pu-erh
These make a very dark cup of tea, almost pitch black. It's a solid pu erh, though nothing special. No particular flavor notes jump out at me from the usual smooth, mushroomy pu erh taste. Enjoyable, though I probably won't order again in favor of trying more interesting pu erhs.
These pearls are a-mazing! Very smooth, and just as delicious after a couple of infusions. If you're looking for a traditional pu erh to try, don't pass this up!
Maybe I'm just not a Pu Erh fan but this tea is pretty earthy tasting. Tastes almost like I grabbed up some moist hay that's been laying around and steeped it. Oddly enough given that description I enjoyed it well enough to get through my sample bag but I wouldn't order more myself. I am not a fan of the large pearl as one pearl is about 2 cups worth so making a single cup would require cutting one. It was nice not to have to measure for my tea pot though.
I LOVE this tea! It has a nice roast flavor, and is also beautiful to look at.
washed first in 212 for 2 min. then it was tolerable. i blend it with green calypso and add honey. i am bound and determined to drink it for its properties so blending it and washing it is the only way i can drink it.
I've read about the health benefits of Pu-erh Teas, but this might be a little too 'musky' tasting for me. The balls are cute though. I use one per cup and normally steep it twice. Worth a try if you're feeling adventurous.
These pearls are enormous! When they say 'generously sized,' they weren't kidding! Per Adagio's answer to my question (see the sidebar), these work best with a 24oz teapot. Not having one, I improvised with a 24oz glass mixing bowl. I don't recommend buying these unless you do have a 24oz teapot handy, as the mixing bowl is a bit crude.
But as for the tea itself--it's very grounding and soothing. I prefer the pu erh dante myself, both for convenience of single-cup use and price considerations; the dante is also somewhat stronger in the aftertaste. However, these pearls are wonderful. I tried a half-hour steep and it came out just as well.
Tl;dr: These are just fine, but there's nothing they do that the pu erh dante can't do better.
I gave this as a gift. It has a slight smokey flavor which the person liked alot. Plus, the little balls unfurl when you pour hot water on them.
This tea is a very dark brewing tea and, as the description suggests, is quite smooth and earthy. The only thing that I didn't like about the tea is the smell, as other reviewers have mentioned. It definitely has a very earthy smell and reminded me of being in damp woods or in an old barn. The tea tastes great, though, and I think the smell is something that you'd get used to. The pearls are really convenient and are a good size for a 16 oz cup. I also use these leaves twice and the tea is just as good the second time around.
Really liked this - first time trying this kind and I thought it was great. Tasted and felt more substantial than an average tea.
I really love pu ehr and have had a wide variety of pu ehrs over the years; loose leaf, cake pu ehr and toucha birdnest style like these pearls. Obviously the pearls are nice for their inherent portability. I actually found Adagio because I was looking for a new source for my regular pu ehr supply and have really been loving the Dante, and I thought I would give these a try as well. They are pretty good, they just aren't exceptional or memorable. I also wish had they had a better and darker steep, because I appreciate that I can usually get 2-3, even 4 steepings from my pu ehr, but I found this one to be rather weak even at the second steeping. The flavor is pretty good, and I if you aren't accustomed to the rather potent earthy quality of pu ehr, I could see how this might be a very suitable introduction. As far as the experienced drinker goes, it leaves a little something to be desired.
They are very large and size and are good to add to your Tea set. Thank You
An excellent tea that can be re-steeped. Great taste. The pearls are a convenient way to deal with pu erh teas. And they are a bit less pricey than the black dragon pearls. Relatively new to me. Will probably do quite a bit more.
It was good. The color was very dark. For me the taste was woodsy and of mushrooms which was pleasant. My first pu-erh so I didn't know what to expect.
I really did not enjoy the so-called earthy flavor. Tasted like tea, but with dirt and grass mixed into it.. unpleasant.
There was no doubt This tea was awful. This bag of Pu-erh tea stank like fish. Regardless of anything I could do the tea smelled of fish and had a distinct fishy taste. This was not my first Pu-erh tea. I bought some last year and found it to be an interesting tea to alternate my palate. This batch of tea is in short disgusting. It reminds me of a chum bucket left out on a sunny day. It is not the same quality of what I was sold last year. Horrid.
There is a thing called “xing wei”, which has no direct English translation, but is essential described as “fishy taste”. Let's start by saying that it is NOT what good pu-erh should have. Part of the problem of this upswing is that, to keep up with demand, many Chinese producers are dumping inferior product on western buyers (nothing new) in the belief that we won’t know any better.
Before this bag of tea I have had good experiences with Adagios quality and service. I guess they cannot sample every batch they sell. I will never buy this for obvious reasons.
I was excited to try the pearls. I used one for my cup and steeped it twice. Absolutely delicious. I never imagined a tea would taste so earthy, or that I would love it. This is definitely on the reorder list.
Brews really dark with a rich, earthy taste but without the slight acrid aftertaste that sometimes afflicts lesser teas. Definitely worth a try.
Delicious! I detect cocoa notes and it pairs nicely with chocolate.
Brought 24oz of water to a boil and put 1 pearl into a stainless travel cup.
I like that these are nicely sized and convenient to travel with. I'm just beginning my exploration into pu erhs and thought this was a fine one.
The best part about these pearls is that you really only need 3 or 4 at most to get a strong pot. I like my tea strong, so I usually use 4 pearls for a small pot of tea, and i can use it for 3 good infusions.
One of my 'go to' teas. Every morning I have either this or the Irish Breakfast. Smooth, complex, and as everyone says - earthy. Excellent.
I didn't notice a difference in taste between this and the pu erh in loose leaf form. It is convenient that you can just assume one ball equals a teaspoon.
This is another unique flavor that I enjoy. I admit there can be an odd aftertaste I can't put my finger on, but it's only noticeable if you make it really strong. I found myself mixing this with chai mate and thoroughly enjoyed the blend.
This tea is by far my favorite. It has the warm flavor of the pu erh hazelberry but it is not as sweet.
This is the best tea to start off the day. Tastes like dampness and mushrooms growing from an ancient soil deep in the earth - all positives!