Our Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association meeting at TeaScapes in Atlantic Highlands, NJ featured a quick puerh tea tasting guided by Deborah Raab, newly elected president of the association and owner of Tea-for-All, along with her husband and outgoing president, Mike Raab. Deb provided a sampling of a dark puerh, which she referred to as 'cooked' and also a green puerh (the lighter tea on the right). Puerh teas are known for their unique flavor, a somewhat acquired taste, or as Deb described them, 'they are both edgy'. To my untrained palate, the green puerh was more enjoyable, the dark tea a little too intense. I can see how one could develop a love of this tea though as our palates change and mature over time. 
These teas were from Jalam Teas, and hand sourced by Jeff Fuchs in the remote villages of Yunnan province in China. As members of the 'tea a month club', they receive these specialty tea cakes complete with a history of the tea, the region, the people, and the health benefits associated with the tea. To quote Jeff, "Each tea is an adventure and each tea has a tale." He is eager to share his love of the leaf, particularly the unique tea cakes that are puerh tea. For more information, be sure to poke around the Jalam Teas website. There are video tutorials and interesting insight into the journey of discovering these special teas.
'If tea isn't offered, a relationship isn't offered''- Himalayan saying
I agree, puerh is an acquired taste. I much prefer the dark, ripe, cooked ones over the green ones. But even then at first I thought they tasted like dirt. I once had a Chinese woman recommend them to me for improving cholesterol.
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