A Tea Addict's Journal

Nor Sun Puerh

January 21, 2008 · 7 Comments

I saw this in a Chinese market yesterday. I actually opened the can to look, and thought it smelled traditionally stored. Couldn’t resist

The leaves look nondescript — traditionally stored, for sure (from the smell). Nannuo (that’s what Nan Nor is)? Who knows. But who can say no to something that can be used as a disinfectant for internal use?

When I brewed it, it’s obvious that there’s some cooked leaves in this mix

The taste is… interesting. It’s actually, for what it’s worth, not that bad at all. It’s cooked, sure, but it’s traditionally stored cooked, and traditionally stored cooked, IMHO, is better than non traditionally-stored cooked. The taste is richer, and it removes almost all traces of the nasty pondy smell/taste that you normally get in a cooked puerh. The tea is actually decent, which surprised me. I wonder how people who don’t know much about tea think about this?

As I examined the wet leaves, I realized that this is actually a blend of raw and cooked leaves.

The greenish leaves are such that they can’t possibly be cooked… I just don’t see it happening. My guess is these could be broken cakes, or at least some are broken cakes, that were thoroughly mixed in and blended together for export. The tea comes from a Hong Kong company with a Hong Kong address in the section where a lot of these old wholesalers are, so I am guessing this is just one of those traditional upstairs tea merchants who are packaging this. Pretty interesting, I must say, and quite a surprise to find ok puerh in Columbus OH in a tin can.

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7 responses so far ↓

  • MANDARINstea // January 21, 2008 at 3:19 pm | Reply

    For what it is, this looks “GREAT!” Better then most of the ‘specialannualconmemoiralimitedpoopadodo’.
    Congrats on yet another great find. -Tok

  • Anonymous // January 22, 2008 at 3:04 pm | Reply

    I found an identical tin in the china/vietnamese section in Orlando, FL.  Has a bourbon type of shu flavor to me.

  • Anonymous // January 22, 2008 at 7:10 pm | Reply

    Would you say it’s worth $5 a can?

  • vlad_l // January 22, 2008 at 8:31 pm | Reply

    Looks like quite a drinkable find! Wow!

    -vl.

  • MarshalN // January 22, 2008 at 9:35 pm | Reply

    I’d buy it for $5 in a heartbeat. 

  • lewperin // January 23, 2008 at 5:25 am | Reply

    If Nor could be Nannuo, could Sun be San (as in loose, uncompressed)?

    Hope this helps, your correspondent in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

  • Francis // January 11, 2017 at 10:53 am | Reply

    Remembering this discussion I picked up a tin of this Puer the other day in Chinatown, New York City, at a place on Canal Street. Just trying it now. I’m enjoying it. It’s smooth, has some richness, and is quite easy to drink. The more I stay with it I can say– this is a very decent tea. Yet, the price is higher these days. I paid 9.95 USD at a place that usually has very good prices and selection. Perhaps folks are catching on to this puer and the price has increased? I like the design of the tin it self– great colors and the tin is a keeper. The tea is very well packed inside with paper lining. This strikes me as the kind of puer to drink on the run when one does not have time to break out a cake or brick. It’s easy right out of the tin.

    Thanks again for this great blog and for the conversations. I continue to learn a lot and I’m grateful. I send these lines from the state of Connecticut, a short train ride up the line from Manhattan, NYC, USA.

    Good wishes to all…

    Francis

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