Crimson Teas - Try Some Pu-erh Teas

Last week it was raining and much like today's cold weather (can't believe snow in April!), I was in need of something.  Something soothing and warm, but I wanted something different from the light oolong teas I regularly drink.  It was a dark tea kind of day so I headed to Crimson Teas and I'm so glad I did!

A week or two ago I saw an Instagram post from Gustahaus praising their yin yang tea/coffee mix 鴛鴦茶and although I love ordering HK milk tea at HK cafes, I was more intrigued by the Pu-erh (pu'er/puer/po lei) teas 普洱茶offered.  Pu-erh or also known as dark tea (後發酵茶, 黑茶) and is often associated with HK dim sum; the tea that gets dark, earthy or bitter (depending on quality) and strong very quickly.  Pu-erh tea though, can be quite soothing and it was that kind of day.

Situated on College St., at the edge of the UofT campus, most of the people there appeared to be students.  It's been a while since I've been in the area...I've probably been back to the campus only a handful of times after graduating years ago so it was a little strange for me to walk in.  There is a long communal table and the ordering is actually done at the back of the shop.

Crimson Teas offer 5 different types of Pu-erh: black, red, green, white (moonlight), and raw.  All are available for sampling which is awesome.  Pu-erh tea is different from others as there is a fermentation and darkening process the leaves undergo to create that earthy flavour and supposedly develop healthy microbes that aid in digestive health.

Aside from pu-erh, they also offer milk tea, a variety of other specialty teas, and coffee for those that really, really want to have coffee for very reasonable prices.  A small amount of baked goods and light snacks/meals are available too.

I had a cup of the white pu-erh.  It was lightly earthly with background notes of peach, similar to how white tea tastes.  The white pu-erh is made with leaves from Yunnan province that I'm told is plucked at night (hence the name midnight white).  They are plucking the characteristic fuzzy buds of the white tea before photosynthesis can occur and then process it to make a pu-erh.  If you have a chance to speak with Phillip (the owner), he can tell you about how the tea is processed in more detail.  I had the opportunity to chat with him about the heatlh benefits of tea too.  I've been in the process of writing a post on the health benefits of tea, and he ended up being a great resource; I'm sure I'll be asking more questions.

Besides the pu-erh, I also got a chance to sample the milk tea there and it is quite smooth and flavourful.  You add your own sugar and I must say, not much is needed.

If you're a fan of pu-erh tea, go and try it out.  If you've never tried it, go and try it out.  If you've never liked it, go and try it out and then if you still don't like it you can try something else.  Point is, go and try it out!
如過你喜歡普洱茶, 去試試看.  如過你沒有喝過, 去試試看.  如過你不喜歡普洱茶, 也要試試看或試別的飲料.  終點, 去試試看!

Crimson Teas

233 College St

Toronto, ON M5T 1R4

http://www.crimsonteas.com/

Why the occasional duplicate sentence written in Chinese?  

One of my goals starting in 2016 is to improve my Chinese language skills so this is one way I'm going about it.  
Please comment if you noticed I've totally messed up!  Thanks!