• Tea balls and a cup of tea on a white surface
  • Tea ball on a white background
  • Green mesh bag filled with wrapped tea balls on a white background
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Bana Tea Company

String of Pearls Raw Pu-erh Tea (4.8) · 5 reviews

String of Pearls Raw Pu-erh Tea

$24.00 USD
$24.00 USD
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Vintage: 2020 Spring Harvest
Weight:  50g (1.75 oz) (10 5 gram pearls)
Type:  Raw Pu-erh (unfermented)
Production area:  Mengsong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan

In recent years, some Pu-erh teas are pressed into single-serving balls called Dragon Pearls. These pearls are carefully pressed individually by hand to avoid any breakage of the tea leaves.

The leaves that are used to press into the 5 gram dragon pearls are selected from old growth tea trees and are, thus, clean, sweet, and rich. Beautifully wrapped in our Bana wrapping paper, the pearls are easy to carry around and no measuring of the leaves is necessary for brewing. This is a tea that combines quality, convenience, and elegance. 

Brewing guide

To steep in a mug:

Unwrap and place one pearl in an oversized coffee mug (12 oz). Heat mountain spring water to 190ºF. Pour the water into the mug and in less than 2 minutes the pearl will expand into full green leaves that are clean and intact. Drink the tea from the mug when the tea cools to a proper temperature. For more tea,
add more hot water to the leaves, wait 2-3 minutes and drink. Like other pu-erhs, it can be brewed over and over again.

To steep in a gaiwan:

Unwrap and place one pearl in a gaiwan. Use a pu-erh pick to poke a hole in the middle of the pearl to break it in half to allow the leaves to unfurl faster. Rinse the leaves once with 195ºF water. Discard the water. Start steeping according to the recommended steeping time below.

RINSE: 5 seconds
1st BREW: 30 seconds
2nd BREW: 10 seconds
3rd BREW: 20 seconds
4th BREW: 20 seconds
5th BREW: 30 seconds
6th BREW: 40 seconds
7th BREW: 50 seconds
8th BREW: 1 minute

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Customer Reviews (5)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Lovely tea

By Ginny
The tea is nicely packaged and brewing instructions were clear. Delivery was quick. I gave some of this tea to members of my book club and they loved it. We were able to use each pearl over and over. The tea is delicious!
Our Response:

What a good idea to let each member has a pearl!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Beautiful Tea!!

By christine williams
My bookclub was reading The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. This was a perfect little gift I gave everyone 11 women in the group, 8 of us LOVED it and 3 ( Lovely Irish girls) could not be convinced I recommend Bana Tea Company highly...my order was shipped very quickly and adorably packaged. Thank you!!!
Our Response:

Glad to hear you all had a good time! Thank you.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Excellent for on the go

By Seiler Burr
I love this pu’erh. It comes in 25 small pearls that are perfect for a cup of tea. They can be re-steeped up to 5-8 times so there’s great value in this product. Tastes excellent too. Most pu’erh i have experienced have a rich earthy flavor and this one tastes sweeter and somewhat floral.
Our Response:

This tea is hand rolled, so the leaves are not broken when opened. Glad you enjoy the flavors this tea has to offer.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sweet floral citrus

By Neal Perrin
I always like the dragon ball style puer. This one has good sweetness floral and citrus . Really enjoyed the session I just had very nice indeed.
Our Response:

Thank you Neal for your kind feedback. Yes, the dragon ball style is so easy to prepare and the leaves remain intact during brewing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Good tea

By Jack
I brew this tea on early mornings and on backpacking trips, but always before the sun is up and always grandpa style; I find that steeping in a gaiwan produces a flavor a little too timid for my liking, but excellent nonetheless. Overall this is a delicious tea, and a modestly-priced everyday leaf that will stay in my rotation!
Our Response:

Yes, the first steeping in a gaiwan requires several minutes for the leaves to unfurl from the hand-rolled ball. The timing can be tricky. Glad you enjoy it anyway.