Tea at Tao's - an Intro to Pu-erh

On a windy and snowy Saturday morning, I had the privilege of attending a special pu-erh tea tasting at Tao Tea Leaf.  It's a lovely tea shop located just south of Rosedale subway station that definitely has some of the finest Chinese teas in Toronto.

Tao Wu, the proprietor and a fellow certified tea sommelier, had invited his friend Raymond Wang, a pu-erh tea aficionado to lead a small group of us in this educational event.


What's that you say?  What's pu'erh?  Oh pu-erh (pu-er, pu'er, puerh, pu'erh -  pronounced poo -arh), as most Cantonese Chinese know, is the typical Chinese tea that's served during dim sum ...  you know, that dark brown, almost black coloured, earthy tasting, barnyard smelling murky brew.

That's what I grew up thinking too... but I have since learned that this ancient tea (the only one that can be aged)  like wine,  can be quite complex and interesting ... as Raymond and Tao showed us that morning... which I will in turn show you in future posts to come...


So please come back again, the table's set and waiting for you ...

Some of the different pu-erh teas and snacks to be enjoyed

Updated on November 29/10