This shou-style Pu Erh is our best seller in the category. Pressed into mini tuo cha (bird's nests) in 2012, this aged tea is an excellent introduction to Pu Erh and the perfect tea for coffee drinkers looking to branch out.

The 2012 Menghai produces a nearly opaque black infusion that is smooth, earthy and just a little spicy. Coffee and whiskey drinkers may notice aromas of peat and leather that remind them of their favorite brew or bottle. 

For more information on Pu Erh and how to brew using traditional teaware, visit our blog here.

Tasting Notes

Deep and rich coffee-like liquor with notes of earth, spice, and leather.

Origin & Ingredients

  • Menghai, Yunnan Province, China

Chinese Pu Erh Tea (camellia sinensis)

How to Brew

Unwrap your tuocha and rinse in 205°F water. Then steep in 16 ounces of 205° F water for 3 minutes. Resteep 3-5 times at increasing time intervals.

What is Tea?

Did you know all tea comes from the same plant?!

Learn what makes green tea different from black tea, why herbal tea isn't really tea at all, and how tea goes from the fields to your cup.

How to Brew Tea

While every palate is slightly different, there are a few basic concepts that will help you brew the perfect pot of tea, every time! Explore our in-depth guide to brewing tea at home to discover everything you need to know about how to brew each of your favorite teas and herbal tisanes.

About Saratoga Tea & Honey Co.

White bags of loose tea on shelves at Saratoga Tea & Honey Co.

Our passion for teas...

We are delighted to be able to share one of the largest and most varied collections of single origin traditional teas on the East Coast with our communi·tea. Personally curated by owner Hayley, these teas come to us from small farms and collectives and represent the best of their terroirs and production styles. While wondering our shelves in-person or online, you will discover familiar favorites like English Breakfast and Long Jing (Dragonwell) alongside rare teas like Shan Lin Xi and herbal tisanes blended for mindfulness, inflammation, and much more.

wall of monofloral raw honeys at Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. in Saratoga Springs NY

& bees...

Raw honey is one of nature's most marvelous gifts. Not only is honey a marvel of energy-giving carbohydrates fortified with antioxidants, minerals and beneficial enzymes - making it the healthiest natural sugar - honey comes in a rainbow of flavors and varieties with something for everyone to appreciate and enjoy. From dark, robust honeys like Buckwheat and Chestnut to light or amber honeys like Tupelo or Orange Blossom, the subtle and sometimes not so subtle flavor differences between varietal honeys lend themselves to extraordinary flavor combinations and experimentation in the kitchen, on the charcuterie board, or in your favorite cup of tea.

all started with our Queen Bee!

A trained chef, Hayley's vision for Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. has been her entire lifetime in the making. Though she was still drinking espresso at the time, the Tea & Honey seeds were planted in the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants with training and appreciation for food and beverage as not just sustenance, but experience and hospitality. Her time spent as a chef-instructor at Jacques Pépin's French Culinary Institute introduced her first to matcha (and its ability to enhance sustained and steady focus), then to the subtleties of single-origin traditional teas like high mountain Taiwanese oolong. As a celebrated and awarded taster and master of culinary arts, in 2015 Hayley opened the doors to Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. Since then, she has cultivated a communi·tea for discovering rare and exciting teas, extraordinary raw honeys & unique gifts produced by small farmers and artisans from around the world.