HUAYING Pu-erh Tea, Ripe Puerh Mini Tea Cake with Glutinous Rice Fragrant, Loose Leaf Tea (8.47 Ounce/240g)

The thing about pu'erh tea, similar to cheese and sourdough bread, is that where and how it's fermented and stored matters. This product (Huaying Glutinous Rice Fragant Pu'er Tuo tea), manufactured by Yangjiang Xizhiran Tea Industry Co., was grown and ripened in Pu'er City, and then transported to Yangjiang (some 700 miles to the East) for storage and distribution. According to the container, storage was "Sealed. Odor-proof. Kept away from light". That's an important detail, because if exposed to light or not properly sealed, pu'erh can acquire the smell of whatever is around it. One thing you can do to mitigate any potential issues with storage is wash the tea for a few seconds. Washing means pouring some hot water over the tea in a separate glass, waiting a few seconds, and then remove the tea leaves and check what you just quickly brewed for any signs of mustiness or other odd odors. If none, just transfer the leaves to the main pot and you're good to go. Otherwise you can repeat the wash. Yes, you may end up losing a bit of brewable tea in the process, but the tradeoff is that you'll get more consistently good results. The batch I ordered in late January was made 17 Sept 2023, so it probably didn't spend much time in storage. At any rate, the smell and taste was consistent with previous experiences with "Sticky Rice Tea", and of the 20 or so times I've brewed with it, I haven't once noticed any sort of initial musky odor during the wash. Another nice thing about pu'erh tea is that it's effectively immune to over-steeping. The directions on the container say brew with boiling water for 3-5 seconds, but I think this is referring to the initial wash. For the actual brew, you don't really need a timer. Just leave the leaves in until the tea reaches a rich, reddish brown hue. Each puck is good for making 6 cups of tea. You can brew it all at once, or brew 3 cups twice, or 2 cups three times. If you brew multiple times, the flavor does change slightly but it's less noticeable with sticky rice tea than with regular pu'erh. All in all, I'm satisfied with the quality, especially given its price point. But, as is the case with any fermented product, some batches are going to be better than others. If my experiences changes after buying second package, I'll update my review. For now, I'll just say if you're new to pu'erh and searching for a product that's affordable, is relatively fool-proof and still offers decent quality, Huaying's sticky rice tea may offer a good starting point.

After going down a rabbithole of trying to figure out what the "sticky rice" tea I had months prior was and realizing there's a literal plant and smells and tastes like it, I bit the bullet and decided to try this. On first smell, more of a sticky rice aroma. This comes with the caveat that I'm a little sick and it's hard to smell, but it's definitely there. Follow the instructions and steep in boiling water. The taste after boiling reminds me of pandan. I drank and resteeped 2 additional times, with the flavor decreasing each time. I have read online that some like to steep up to 4 times. It seems like it might pair well with honey and milk. There was no weird lake or musty odor before or after steeping. I would recommend this puerh and "sticky rice" leaf blend in a nice air-tight container and bird-nest form factor for its value and what you receive (dozens of the little portions).

I bought the HUAYING Pu-erh Tea Mini Tea Cake with Glutinous Rice Fragrant for its unique "sticky rice" aroma, and it didn't disappoint. The aroma is quite pleasant and exactly what I was looking for. It's not bad for the price, offering decent quality. I plan to try different brands and price ranges to see if I can taste the differences, but for now, this is a solid choice.

Well it is said that smell is a big part of taste and if that is true, this is a really good tasting tea. Sort of Earthy if that makes any sense anyone.

The sticky rice smell is very strong. I brewed this and the whole room can smell it. Good thing that the sticky rice flavor is either positive or neutral so no one complained.

I enjoyed this several times before as it has a nice glutinous rice touch to a decent pu-erh. Last one I bought I drank it and felt sick later that afternoon. Made a cup the next day and noticed a sewage type smell with a hint of fish. My neighbor likes pu-erh so I gave the remaining 23 to her. She was sick for a few days and she told me the tea smelled horrible and she suffered the trots and flu like symptoms. I won't trust this again and now I have ruined my relationship with my neighbor who was a good back door friend.

My third purchase from this tea maker. None have been disppointing. This 2024 puerh is so delicious. No aging needed. An excellent affordable daily puerh.

This tea loses its flavor way too fast. It gets weak after just two steeps. The last batch I bought from another seller was good for four. The quality of this one is pretty crappy."