★★★★★
in my opinion this is the best pu erh on this site! getting a big bag soon!
A rare aged, fermented tea from Yunnan, China, pu'erh stands apart with its uncommonly soft earthy flavor. Freshly damp forest aroma, warm hay inside a barn, mushrooms and savory vegetables. Wilted flower notes and faintly dark chocolate texture.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Pu-Erh Poe, 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.
in my opinion this is the best pu erh on this site! getting a big bag soon!
Initial review 5/19/20: I did as many other commenters suggested and rinsed the leaves in a small amount of boiling water for 30 seconds before steeping the tea I'm actually drinking now. I of course had to taste the rinse water just to see what I was getting rid of, and while it wasn't undrinkable, it was definitely weird. The rinsed pu-erh has brewed up into a coffee-black, malty liquor with greatly reduced astringency compared to ordinary black tea. It reminds me of a kinder, gentler Irish Breakfast, almost, that doesn't benefit from sweetening. --- Update 7/19/20: In comparison to the pu-erh dante, the poe has a noticeably darker, richer tone in both color and flavor. The taste of the ferment is 'ocean' rather than 'hay'. I liked each of them equally plain, but after adding two drops of liquid sucralose and one teaspoon of heavy cream to each mug, this was the one I stole and snarfed. (15 second rinse, 4 minutes at 212 F)
I enjoy this Peurh tea, smooth earthy flavor. Smells a little bit off in the beginning but overall very drinkable.
Just couldn't get into this one. It's a fine tea, but the flavor is just too bland (or too 'refined' depending).
I've never had pu-erh before, and I feel like I still haven't. This just tastes like black tea with notes of straw/hay and is not at all the unusual flavor I was expecting. I rinsed it for 30 secs (I tasted the rinse and it had the same flavor, no saltiness), and then steeped 5 minutes in boiling water. When I steeped it for 7 minutes trying to coax out more flavor it just tasted bitter, which I thought was unusual since so many people say you can't over brew this. If you normally drink black teas maybe you can pick up on the flavors better, but I wouldn't repurchase.
Very strong and tangy taste. Sits on your pallett long after drinking it.
Nice deep flavored tea. Reminds me of a walk through the woods on a nice fall day. Nice and earthy.
This is really really good! Not sure it’s worth the extra cost from the Dante but it is noticeably better. Super smooth, I brewed for 10 minutes at 212 and no astringency whatsoever!
This is the only black tea that I look forward to drinking. It has a slight musty (in a good way) flavor that comes from the fermented tea leaves. It is very dark and has more caffeine that my normal cup of tea. It seems to bridge the gap between tea and coffee when brewed strong.
This was a very enjoyable tea picked by the communiTEA. It has a pleasant, earthy flavor.
Very strong, which I love. I wasn't a huge fan of it being ALL savory so I added a bit of milk and honey. Now it's perfect. I need to order more.
I’m not a huge pu-erh drinker, but I have enjoyed it more since I learned to do the pre-steep before steeping the tea that I will drink.
A very smooth, earthy tea that feels complete with a little sugar and milk. It's rich and should definitely be enjoyed hot/warm.
Definitely earthy, woodsy, but fairly smooth. I liked it more than I thought I would.
I gave it four stars because it's good for what it is. I really just don't care for pu-erh. I've tried several of Adagio's pu-erh varieties and they all just taste fungal to me.
This one is pretty good But I like the Puerh Dante a bit better
I enjoyed this tea. It felt substantive and I somehow felt shored up after drinking it. Excellent for early in the day. Something to get you out the door or to fortify you for upcoming and maybe unpleasant tasks. But gently.
This is a very tasty tea. The mellow, earthy flavor is right up my alley. As with other oolongs, the leaves can be re-steeped for additional tasty cups.
I've wanted to try Pu-Erh for a while, so I was excited to have this one as one of the samples in my CommuniTEA box! I don't think this is an everyday tea for me, but it was really interesting to try, and now I want to try more Pu-Erh teas. Not a fast drinking tea, more of a sipping tea. Each sip felt like sort of a mystery where I was trying to figure out what I was tasting, just because it's so unusual compared to teas I'm used to drinking. Dry in the packet, it definitely had a woodsy aroma with a little hint of wild mushroom, and my mom thought she detected a hint of citrus. Once brewed, it kept the woodsiness, and I felt like the strongest elements of the flavor were wild mushroom (maybe roasted) and aged leather. My mom only smelled it once brewed, but she said she definitely caught the scent of classic black tea elements as well. Sort of comforting and nostalgic overall. Definitely a great tea to have in the CommuniTEA box to make pandemic isolation more interesting!!
Someone else said the smell reminded them of horses and I have to agree. The tea smells vaguely like a stable, but more like the sand/sawdust mix used in a manege than the horse-smell of the stables themselves. While it's not necessarily a bad smell, it is strange. Otherwise, the taste is deep and earthy, and the caffeine makes it a good wake-up tea for the mornings.
This tea is mellow and lacks the bitterness of some black teas. I would describe the taste as very earthy, without being grassy. At first the smell reminded me of Christmas somehow- maybe some pine notes? It isn't something I'd buy regularly, but if you want a caffeinated black tea without a risk of bitterness, this is a good choice.
Very tasty, I've been wanting a tea that tastes like this! I did a pre-rinse for 45 seconds before drinking and it was lovely. The color was fantastically dark, too - I brewed in a clear glass tea pot and I could barely see into it. I'd love to try it without rinsing too as I think I'd like a stronger flavor - I'll have to order more sometime.
This tea is very earthy. Not a tea I would go for but was nice to try.
Absolutely love the earthiness of this tea! It steeps to a wonderfully dark color, and there’s zero astringency when you drink it. Some have mentioned a fishy quality to it, but in my first experience with the tea steeped for the full five minutes, I only get a woodsy, soothing aroma and flavor. I highly recommend this one!
Such a smooth black tea! Even though I over-steeped it, it didn't get bitter. Quite a thick tea - I usually only put in one spoon of milk but I put in two and it barely changed the color of the tea at all. I can't say I've had this kind of black tea before (at least not on its own) but I enjoyed it!
I like the way it's mellow and easy to brew, however, the flavor is not my favorite, and the smell does leave something to be desired for me personally.
Very dark and bold tea but smooth and pleasant taste. Enjoyed it
I wanted to try Pu-Erh Poe for some time and was very happy to see it in my May CommuniTEA box. I like its taste very much.
If you can't do black tea, this is only slightly better. It tastes like cups of thin mud. If you like earth and wood steeped, go ahead.
3 stars for the caffeine content and resteep-ability! I wouldn't purchase this but it was 'ok'.
This is an earthy black tea, even sweetened and with milk the woody notes come through.
With a name like Poo i didnt expect it to be absolutly amaizing add a little bit of honey and this yea is perfect for a morning start.
The descriptions are spot on: it's smooth, earthy, mellow, and really reminds me of hay in a nice way. It's not bad, but just not what I was seeking out. I would probably drink it again, but more as a curiosity. If you're seeking that black tea flavor then this might not be what you're looking for.
This is my first time trying an unflavored pu-erh on its own and I'm glad I did. I didn't bother with an initial rinse and still found it delicious. The sample packet was enough for 4 flavorful steepings. Definitely rich and earthy, with hints of hay and maybe even a touch of umami. Reading other reviews, you'd think that was supposed to be a bad thing. Go figure.
Surprisingly dark tea! It almost looked like coffee once brewed. It tasted much better after the addition of some sugar, but there was an odd flavor to it. It wasn't really 'bitter' but that is what I keep wanting to say. Many other reviews have compared it to a mushroom flavor, and considering I don't eat mushrooms, this may be why I can't place what I taste. It was ok, but I imagine it's much better as the base of a blended tea.
Wow, I really enjoyed this woody aroma and taste! I found the description to be REALLY accurate - I can sense the woodsy, hay in barn, mushroomy notes in here. This is a nice change of pace from my usual English black tea -- I am definitely getting more of this next time once my black tea runs out!
Yes! This is delicious. Not bitter, not grassy, not too sweet. This is a perfect tea!
I’m sure coffee drinkers will relish this tea. For me it’s caffeine level will keep me away.
Surprising dark color:astringent ratio. Sweet, hay-like immediate flavor, with woodier base tones. Not getting much of the fish/horse other people are, and that’s fine w me
The leaf scent is somehow a little bit mint chocolate for me? The brew is WOW dark and smells very mushroom-y. Taste is like a mouthful of wood, but in a kinda good way.
I enjoyed the rich earthy taste of this tea. Added a little honey.
Rich, smooth tea which was really enjoyable. I thought this was relatable to a black tea with a much more rounded flavor.
I'm gaining a lot of appreciation and enjoyment of sheng (raw) pu-erh but just can't with the shou (ripe) ones like this Poe. They all taste the same to me and that's not a good thing. YMMV...
For me, this is to tea what Guinness is to beer; a lot of people like it, but I am not one of those people. I find it overwhelmingly rich and robust.
Soft and earthy. A nice tea for a rainy morning like today
This smelled great, but sadly I found the taste to be surprisingly bitter compared to the aroma when first opening the bag. I wish this tea tasted the way it smelled, because I think I just built it up in my mind after smelling the dry tea leaves. I cold steeped this so as it was super hot today, and I wanted something cold in my cup.
I love the smooth earthy richness. Very comforting.
This tea was good, very earthy, but not as spectacular as I was expecting.
I hadn't tried a pu-ehr in quite a long time. I've been looking for a replacement while my usual keemun is out of stock. This is different but extremely satisfying in the flavour. I'd consider buying a clay teapot for this specific tea. It's a very contemplative flavor. I could see brewing this in a smaller pot than I would for other teas, because it's a satisfying sipper, rather than a drinking tea. Quite a nice experience.
My friend really enjoyed trying this tea with me as well. I did not pre steep it the first time, but I will from now on.