Gong Ting Pu-erh in Tangerine "Golden Horse 8685" Ripe Tea

Good puer tangerines

"Tangerine flavor is nice and bright and the tea is strong with a bit of lingering medicinal bitterness in the aftertaste. There is a bit of storage wetness that mostly washes out with the rinse. What is left pairs nicely with the citrus notes. Personal preference is against earthy/damp notes though, but this would be great for anyone who doesn't mind them."

— Jinjin (4/5)

Bigger than expected

"Bigger than expected"

— Janina N. (4/5)

"Awesome tea oranges bigger than i expected and not and not a bad price as a first buy from this company im definitely going to get more in the near future"

— Infinova (5/5)

Smooth and soothing tea!

"I like the break up the fruit rind and mix with the loose tea. I tried brewing it all left stuffed in there and the flavor was too weak because the didn't expand. When you mix a portion of the peel with the tea it tastes better and lasts longer too! Very tasty!"

— David L. (5/5)

Tastes good works great

"I really like the flavor it starts bold and earthy with a distinct lack of bitterness or astringency of any kind and as brews progress you get a sort of tangerine blossom flavor coming out. I usually can use one tangerine for 2 days worth of tea just fine but take it all in one day and you’ll be off to the races. It’s highly motivating and energizing and even helps get over a lingering cough or through ragweed season without sneezing. Highly recommended to anyone with seasonal allergies."

— Andrew (5/5)

Well worth your time and money

"I tried this tea very early into my tea journey and wasn't impressed at all. Now, months later, it turns out I was brewing it all wrong! Don't brew the whole tangerine in one go, it will get extremely strong, give you muddy tea soup and make you feel nauseous. These things are way heavier than I previously thought. I completely missed the part where it said they are a mind blowing 25 grams per tangerine. How to brew with gaiwan: just carefully open your tangerine packaging so you can reseal the white paper with its little sticker. Pluck out approx. 4 grams of the shou puerh inside the tea and break off 1 gram of small pieces of the tangerine. Now, you have 5 grams of very solid shou that can last you easily 8 to 10 steeps (including wash). Is there much progression in flavor? For me, not really, but perhaps I will detect more once I become more skilled in gong fu cha. Evenso, this is a very solid shou with nice dark tones that are not too overpowering and a citrus flavor from the tangerine pieces themselves. Normally, I would rate this 4/5 for being a solid base, but since you can get around 5 full gong fu sessions (+-10 steeps per session) for each tangerine ball you open up, I will rate it 5/5 because this is amazing value for your money!"

— RDR (5/5)

Make Sure You Add the Peel!

"Wonderful tea which you won't find at a better price. Yes, better may exist, but you will be paying for it! (~$5-10 / tangerine!) For those not a fan of the flavor, I felt similarly until I added the tangerine peel to the gaiwan / brewing vessel! I usually add 20-30% of whatever weight I used of the dry leaves (eg, add 1-1. 5g of tangerine peel if I added 5g of Pu'Erh to the gaiwan) and that really makes it taste great. I give this a ~45s rinse and then drink it grandpa style during long days at work, and the addition of the peel gives it a great aroma and taste. The pu'erh has a very grounding, pleasant body feel and it makes this tea a really great daily drinker or comfort drink for long or stressful days that require focus and calm."

— Jacob J. (5/5)

Good but not dazzling

"I like this, but not as much as other ripes I’ve recently tried. I think most people expect the citrus to be more overpowering like bergamot is in Earl Grey tea, which isn’t realistic for a tea that’s been aged for years. The citrus definitely permeates and influences the flavor in a nice way. I might get it again sometime, but not on my list of favorites to buy. Other people might really like this though."

— Martin S. (4/5)

Customs

"I've been buying tea and tea-wares from Yunnansourcing,for many years since the early 200s or before and I've never had customs open any of my packages. I've got nothing to hide, but the idea that they do this is disconcerting."

— Owen B. (5/5)

Strong tea

"I think i used too much tea, so it came out tasting like strong rocks throughout the tea season. I would recommend using only 1/3 of the tea orange each time."

— Avery R. (3/5)