Steve Hay wrote:

I did not like it the first or second time.. Some things to suggest:

1) Rinse the puerh for 30 seconds and throw away that initial steeping.
2) Try a Green pu-erh.

For me, a switch just clicked and I began to kindof like it.. Although
that initial SpecialTeas Tuo Cha still kinda tasted bad until the 2nd or
3rd steep.

Same here - I tried Pu Erh about 1 year ago, and didn't like it very
much. Back then we just put boiling water over the loose tea leaves.

Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it a 2nd
try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a local
imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5 cm in
diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small, though ^-^
Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes' read aout?

I rinsed it two times with boiling water, and then infused for only 30
seconds (also with boiling water). That way the infusion lost a lot of
the earthy taste that I didn't like on my first Pu Erh experience, but
there was still enough earthiness to make it interesting.

now I'll try to go for green Pu Erh, should be excitig.

ciao
Patrick

--
"But please remember: this is only a work of Fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 - A Space Odyssey