Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pu’erh from Teas, Etc.

I really didn’t expect to like this at all. I mean, pu’erh tea is earthy, woodsy in some cases, and while I enjoy it very much (well, depending), I couldn’t wrap my taste buds around the melding of that incredible basic pu’erh flavor with strawberries & chocolate. Frankly, I kind of figured they’d ruin each other, and end up tasting like sweet, dirty berries.

Either that, or I figured the tea would be overshadowed by the stronger berry and chocolate flavors, completely getting lost in the mix (actually, I figured that would be the best outcome).

Not so. Not even by a long shot.

Pu’erh is still the dominant flavor, which surprised me. The earthiness is muted, blending with the chocolate (there are actual chocolate curls in the mixture) for a very smooth, sweet, almost-but-not-quite smoky taste. The strawberry is more prominent on the finish, and adds a very light, refreshing quality to what is, overall, a rather thick tea.

The really interesting thing about this tea is, the flavors just blend seamlessly, so that unless you’re really focused, you don’t recognize them as separate flavors, but just as one very mellow, satisfying taste. It does leave a dryness behind typical of some pu’erh, but it’s quite pleasant overall.

If you already like pu’erh, and enjoy flavored teas, you’ll certainly like this one. If you’ve never tried pu’erh, this is a good way to sort of ease into it…and I dare say it would be a lovely substitute for hot chocolate as well.

I only ordered a sample tin. I’ll definitely be ordering a larger quantity next time…