The world is getting fiercer, and the tea market also sees some bizarre things from time to time. Some tea enthusiasts have encountered peculiar teas in their lives. So today, let's take a look at some of the bizarre teas we've drunk or seen over the years.
Jujube Pu-erh Bitter Gourd Tea: "A Complex Version of Jujube-Flavored Herbal Soup"
It is said that Pu-erh with bitter gourd has amazing weight-loss effects. Brewing a cup of bitter gourd Pu-erh tea is believed to help with weight loss, lipid reduction, and clearing internal heat. Thus, friends who have indulged in a few extra hotpot meals and gained another layer of belly fat are eager to try it... only to end up drinking a complex version of jujube-flavored herbal soup!
Brewing Method: Gaiwan Brewing Water Temperature: 100°C
Brewing Process:
1st Infusion: Light brown-yellow liquor. Aroma has notes of isatis root (an herbal medicine) and preserved dried mustard greens. Tea fragrance is not obvious. The most prominent taste upon entry is sweetness—a very distinct non-tea sweetness—with a hint of bitterness.
2nd Infusion: Liquor color is a deeper brown-yellow. Pu-erh aroma emerges, accompanied by dried vegetable and jujube sweetness. The taste is sweet, but leaves the tongue and throat feeling somewhat dry afterward, with poor returning sweetness.
3rd Infusion: Basically similar to the previous infusion, but the taste becomes slightly milder.
4th Infusion: Pu-erh aroma becomes much more noticeable. The taste remains sweet and mild, but still lacks returning sweetness.
5th Infusion: Rich aroma, with intensities in this order: dried vegetable scent, Pu-erh fragrance, sweet aroma, rice soup aroma. The taste is mellow and sweet, reminiscent of jujube soup. The tongue feels slightly coated, and the tea flavor is quite faint.
Tasting Experience
Although the weight-loss and heat-clearing effects weren't really tested, the taste was somewhat acceptable. The flavor profile is complex. At the beginning of brewing, there was even a very pronounced sweetness (non-tea sweetness), along with a detectable hint of bitterness, like an herbal medicine sensation. In short, one can perceive many things in it—except for much tea flavor.
Pu-erh Tea Cigarettes—Curiosity Killed the Cat
In May this year, a company produced Pu-erh tea into cigarettes, claiming they could be directly lit and smoked, brewed directly, or even brewed after being lit and smoked. Once this news spread, those with a long smoking history couldn't contain their excitement and insisted on trying this.
Brewing Method: Gaiwan Brewing Water Temperature: 100°C
Brewing Process:
(Unlit version): The tea liquor tastes quite sweet but lacks the tea energy or depth that Pu-erh should have.
(Lit version): The tea liquor is more yellow and bright, more resembling the color of raw Pu-erh. As for the drinking experience, the tea liquor has a distinct smoky flavor. (Not a smoky aroma, but the smell of smoke from a fire pit! Smoky! Flavor!)
Tasting Experience
The unlit version is somewhat acceptable—a simple, sweet taste. As for the version that was lit and then brewed... it truly tastes like cured meat, no, like the water used to wash cured meat! Indeed, curiosity killed the cat!
Rose Pu-erh—This is a Magical Pu-erh
According to the maker, this tea is produced by mixing roses with Pu-erh tea leaves for pile-fermentation—a full innovation in process, promising abundant rose fragrance. But in reality...
Brewing Method: Gaiwan Brewing Water Temperature: 100°C
Brewing Process:
1st Infusion: Tea liquor is light red, relatively bright; aroma is low, almost imperceptible; the liquor is rich in substance, quite thick, with obvious dry and astringent stimulation in the throat.
2nd Infusion: Tea liquor is deep red and bright; has aged aroma and a slight rose scent; the liquor is stronger, with noticeable throat stimulation.
3rd Infusion: Tea liquor is red, slightly turbid; aroma is mainly aged fragrance; the liquor is thick and smooth but has an uncomfortable coating sensation in the throat.
4th Infusion: Similar to the previous infusion, not much change.
5th Infusion: Quite resistant to brewing, maintaining a stable condition.
Tasting Experience
Looking at the dry leaves, one can tell the raw material grade is very high. Initially, there was indeed a distinct rose fragrance. Unfortunately, the rose flavor dissipates too easily when drinking—it's noticeably gone by the second infusion. The pile-fermentation taste of the new ripe Pu-erh is too strong. Perhaps the taste would improve with some aging.
Bug Droppings Tea—A Tea Requiring Courage to Drink
Although it's traditional, although it's easily available, and although it's said to be good for the stomach, there simply isn't the courage to try something with such a strong connotation. Therefore, we can only share someone else's experience here.
Brewing Method: Purple Clay Teapot Brewing Water Temperature: 100°C
Brewing Process: Mellow, smooth, and harmonious, with a sweet aftertaste; finally, it carries a unique cooling sensation similar to mint. Drinking several cups in a row can make the throat feel moist and comfortable, refreshing the lungs.
Tasting Experience
The tea liquor is reddish-brown, very similar in color to ripe Pu-erh and Liubao tea. However, when observed carefully against the light, one can notice a hint of bluish tint in its color. Upon entering the mouth, the tea liquor is still similar to ripe Pu-erh and Liubao tea—mellow, smooth, and harmonious, with a sweet aftertaste. Finally, it carries a unique cooling sensation similar to mint. Drinking several cups in a row can make the throat feel moist and comfortable, refreshing the lungs.
Zida Brand Gunpowder Tea—A Green Tea That Can Test Your Alcohol Tolerance
What makes this green tea magical is not that it's from Sri Lanka, nor that it's green tea, but rather—it can test your alcohol tolerance! It's simply a must-have for parties and banquets! Mom no longer needs to worry about you drink-driving! After drinking it, one finally understands what 'using tea instead of wine' means!
Brewing Method: Gaiwan Brewing Water Temperature: 100°C
Brewing Process: This Sri Lankan green tea has no distinctive characteristics in taste. Although it has no off-flavors, the tea fragrance is low, and the taste is flat, lacking the freshness, briskness, and richness that green tea should have.
Tasting Experience
As an ordinary mass-market green tea, its quality is basically acceptable. However, the most terrifying part is that the editor originally intended to take just one sip and stop. But after drinking, instantly, a tea energy surged from the back up to the top of the head, causing slight dizziness and hand tremors, which lasted for a relatively long time until returning to normal after about fifteen minutes.