Originally Posted by
PaulFLUS
Very well put. The earthy flavor of the ripe puh erh is very much an acquired taste. Think of it somewhat like dry wine, or perhaps the surprise your mouth gets the first time you drink beer (I remember I thought it would be sweet) or possibly like strong cheese.
The first time I tasted a.puh erh was relatively early in my tea awakening. I honestly, seriously thought they were playing a joke on me. I almost felt like I should look around for the hidden camera. My thought was it tasted like dirt. It grows on you though but from your tea drinking experience (and I don't mean this in a judgemental way so please don't think I am being snooty) it would be kind of a leap. If you had never drunk wine before and the first thing someone gave you was a very old Cabernet or zinfandel it would taste like vinegar to you. Or if you had never drunk beer and someone gave you an IPA with lots of bittering hops it would taste like rotten pig swill mixed with battery acid.
I would definitely not recommend buying a whole cake. In fact, I would not likely buy a whole cake myself without speaking to a customer service rep because I am not well versed enough in puh ehr to know from the source and label what was good and what was bad. Perhaps call a place with good customer service hotlines and explain as you have what your tea appreciation experience is and ask them to guide you to some samples to try.
Oh, and yes you can drink it with milk and sugar. In fact it is probably better suited for it than what you are used to.
I think maybe though you might try some good malty Assam teas first and a good Russian caravan is a helpful segway to the more acquired taste of puh ehr. Then perhaps a lapsang Souchong.