Mandala Tea

I’ve been sipping this one for hours.
It still tastes good.

This is a really gorgeous autumn tea, that is indeed pretty big and leafy! I was pretty surprised that I had a couple leaves there were as long as my palm!

The colour steeps up a vibrant clear orange, with lots of forest floor, earth, moss and amber notes. Mid and later steepings the flavor has camphor notes, which seem to hold on for a long time. A very refreshing tea that is also relaxing – not a party time pu’er.

The big thing to note with this tea is the price is really nice for something that has a decade on it. I quite enjoyed this one and would probably snag another oz or two when I order again.

Full review (and lots of photos) on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2004-big-leaf-yiwu-gushu-raw-puer/

This sample came from Dexter! She was kind enough to send me two of Mandala’s black teas that I’ve been curious about for a while now. This one has very dark brown leaves that are thin and somewhat twisty. Some of them look more like oxidized oolong leaves than black tea.

So I confess, I let this cup cool far too much while I was catching up on the late night/morning activity on Steepster (and checking whether T2 has cheaper US shipping now that there’s a store in the US). But it’s still super tasty even through it’s basically room temperature now! It’s rich and savory, almost like a meal in a cup. It’s difficult for me to describe without saying something that other people will find unappetizing, like smoked meat… There’s also a bit of a roasty note here and a strong sense of bread and grains. Very yummy and satisfying in the morning!

Second one to try from the sheng sampler. Method: gongfu with gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120.

It was difficult to make the dry leaf aroma, though it pretty much smells buttery. The wet leaf aroma changes as the leaves cooled and as the session went on: dried grass, cooking herbs, grilled vegetables, and apricot and grapes.

Overall, the broth is clear, full-bodied, a little thick, and bright. A livening effect on the body. Later, an alcohol kind of buzzed sensation.

Infusions one and two are light in flavor, not quite there. Buttery and vegetal, with a tart aftertaste. These invoke a mental scene of dark earth after a light rain, of water droplets slowly dripping from the very tea tree this pu’erh was processed.

The third infusion tastes of sweet grass and hay, and the aftertaste is more citrus-like. Tingly on the tongue. The fourth infusion has indescribable notes – this is probably the camphor, which I’ve never tasted. Infusions 5-9 come back to the sweet grass and tartness. The texture is more smooth.

Lastly, the tenth infusion has the same notes only lighter in taste. Buttery, with a creamy texture.

Brewed with a gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 15, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120.

I don’t have a palate for sheng, hence no rating.

A dry aroma of plums, grapes, lettuce an licorice. The wet aroma evolves: from green peppers to grapes to apples and honey. Sweet and juicy – I enjoyed this aroma throughout the session.

Early on and late into the session, the liquor is the color of grape juice, and in the middle of apple juice. Full-bodied, thin textured, clear, and crisp. The first infusion is too light in flavor, tasting of dried grass and grains. It is also unpleasantly sour. The flavor fully develops at infusion two. It is still grassy, though no sourness anymore. A little sweet now. The third infusion has more vegetal notes in addition to grass: zucchini and a reprise of green peppers. The grass lessens in the fourth and fifth infusions, which are also much sweeter – reminding me of grapes – with a hint of citrus.

Back to dried grass thereafter. The sweetness also slowly disappears. Lighter flavor. I’m left with a peppery aftertaste at infusion seven. This, too, goes away. The last infusions are very light and grassy, no peppers at all, and they have an airy mouthfeel.

link for the review and pics;)
http://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing/12730-2008-wild-tree-raw-pu-erh-tea-brick-of-dehong

i decided to enter this tea under Mandala as well as Yunnan Sourcing since Mandala currently carrying these bricks. They are sold out on US site but fortunately Mandala has them.

I love wild teas of Dehong. i tried Light Roast, regular roast, Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha Wild Tree Purple Black tea Yunnan Sourcing offerings. i tried 2005 Wild Tree brick of Dehong (humid storage) and i loved it.
This puerh has some notes not found in other sheng. its sweet,nutty, herbal, smooth and delicious. Not bitter. Soup is bright yellow . it was a pleasure to drink for 2 days.

Thank you Garret for having this tea . I have to have it, its a must in my cupboard!

http://instagram.com/p/t3YwsZBwlF/

My office is moving in TWO WEEKS! I’m trying to get things on my desk sorted out and thrown away where I can, because I will have about half the surface area and maybe a tenth of the storage space. While I was cleaning my desk off, I found a sample of this hidden behind a stack of papers that I was avoiding for months and months.

So I decided to throw it in my mug so I’d have something to enjoy while I’m sorting. (Because of the way my desk is set up, and where my mini tea tray sits, mugging just works better today. I also didn’t really have enough for a good gaiwan session, but this is enough for me to steep two or three times in my mug. That works for me.)

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy this tea. I have a cake of this at home, but I haven’t touched it in ages. I should pull it out.

This tea is rich and sweet. Earthy, but not too much. Easy drinking. Great flavor.

I haven’t been writing too many tasting notes as of late. Part of it was the site being so buggy. Part of it was just sheer laziness on my part.

But I told myself I would write one for this pu. And then I didn’t take any notes while I drank it all day.

Shame on me.

I liked it. I was very sad to see it end.

Unfortunately, that is about all I can say.

http://instagram.com/p/t-dIrygyZ-/
http://instagram.com/p/t-aH-fgyU9/

Well, I have not had a tea quite like this before, and it is a whole new wonderful experience.

Rinse, then brewed 10 seconds for a couple steeps so far, and saving the leaves for another time.

Tastes of dried fruits with the freshness of pine and wee hint of smoke; a bit of pleasant bitterness sort of like a green pepper. Smells incredibly like apricots – so lovely. The whole sensation of drinking it is different though, from my usual teas, and I almost feel like I am drinking a magical potion. :)

Quick rinse and then brewed for around 30 seconds. I re-steeped this a few more times; probably a minute on the second one then much longer and finally left the leaves in for over 15 minutes. No bitterness at any point and although the last cup was considerably weaker, it was still delicious and flavourful.

Tastes like chocolate and caramel, especially at first, and has the tiniest hint of gentle earthiness. Very smooth, with a soft aroma. I am not good at describing more than that, but this has been a favorite of the mandala ripe sampler so far… I like the gentleness of it, especially the smell.

-Dry leaves: Deep dark purple/black leaves accented by a few reds and greens. Thick, musky aroma. Peppery, tropical fruit, touch of smoke.

-1st steep: Dusky yellow infusion common of purple sheng. Notes of caraway seed, camphor, honey, papaya, carrot, and fresh greenness. Mild for a purple tea, but not as mild as Mandala’s other offerings. Incredibly clean, fresh taste.

-5th steep: Calming, steadying qi sets in. Pomelo and pine flavors with a long lasting fruity/perfume-y aftertaste.

-Spent leaves vary in size, and colors range from dark green to reddish purple. Strong leaves with a slightly rubbery appearance common of purple tea.

Overall an excellent tea. Very flavorful, infusible, and not lacking in strength.

In addition to this tea, I also need to praise Garret’s almighty tea soak! For the past couple of months my stainless steel mesh tea strainer had hardly been letting any tea through (it would take about a minute to let 150ml through, on a good day). I’d tried boiling it in water, boiling it in vinegar, and scrubbing it to death with baking soda and NOTHING would help. I had already given up on it and ordered a new one. After soaking for about 20 minutes in the tea soak and then swishing it around it was like brand new! This stuff really is magical.

My second to try from the ripe pu’er sampler.

Rinse, rest, rinse again quickly and steep 20 – 30 seconds. Several steeps over a couple days.

Brews a dark, deep brown color.
Tastes very rich and smooth, with milk chocolate, nuts, and some woodiness. Quite tasty and satisfying.

I seemed to enjoy this more the year of the dragon sample I had the other day – not sure why, but I think this had a sweeter aroma.

Another great sheng!!!

I steeped this semi-western, which is my habit when making sheng at work. Steep #1 was a little on the weak side, but steep #2 was GREAT! Lovely huigan, and bright grassy flavor. Just enough light sweetness and pleasant bitterness to make it interesting. The name of this one is really apt. It really reminds me of a green/sheng hybrid.

So glad I got the Mandala raw sampler :)

While this is certainly a fine quality tea, this was not my favorite of the recent Mandala Sheng Puer Sampler (which also had Wild Mountain Green, Autumn Song, and Heart of the Old Tree)

It tastes to me just like an aged Ya Bao, but with a stronger flavor and a hint of smoky finish. If I had to pick apart what Ya Bao generally tastes like to me (and thus, this tea as well), it is usually a strong note of cedar and some light notes of dried fruit, maybe apricot.

It’s a great tea, but I prefer the lighter buds to their bolder Puer cousin here. That said, if you loved this tea try some Ya Bao. I think you’ll like that too.

And after saying that, I fully anticipate at least a person or two saying this tastes nothing like Ya Bao to them, because tastes seem oddly differently like that.

My last sample from the raw sampler. This one tested my patience. That artichoke vegetal bitterness I usually get in sheng started on steep two and lasted for a bunch of steepings, rather than the usual 2-3. Once it faded, there were some nice citrus and green bell pepper notes, as promised by the description, but pretty mild in flavor overall. The texture was nice and smooth. I’m glad I got to try it, but again, I think Heart of the Old Tree wins out.

This is by far my favorite of the Mandala Sheng puer I have tried (which are the four that came in their recent sampler).

The initial steeping is very light and creamy with a taste that reminds me of golden raisins and something creamy like plain rice pudding (not the spiced kind). A couple steepings in the dried fruit flavor is more prominent while the creamy quality backs off. There is a very nice clean mouthfeel to this tea. In the third or fourth infusion there is a very noticeable vanilla note in the aftertaste.

Of the four samples in Mandala’s recent Aged Puer sampler pack (Heart of the Old Tree, Wild Monk, Wild Mountain Green, and this one) I may end up purchasing a brick of the Autumn Song to age. It seemed the most delicate of the bunch. Very smooth. I really enjoy it.

I flash infused this in a gaiwan, using only around 7-10 second steepings until around the fourth or fifth, at which point I started adding a few seconds each time.

UPDATE: Five months later, I finally had the extra money to buy one. I imagine myself having trouble saving this to age it. At only 100 g I’ll have to be careful to use it sparingly… or I could just be totally indiscriminate and buy another one for aging later, this one for drinking now. :P

Brewed Western-style. 15 second rinse. Steeping times: 30, 45, 60, 90, 120.

Leather dominates the dry aroma. The leather is intensified in the wet aroma, and notes of tobacco and a scent of moist forest soil also appear. After the second infusion, these disappear, replaced by chocolate.

The liquor has the color and consistency of coffee. A thick, creamy texture. Full-bodied. The first and second infusions taste like milk chocolate and cocoa. Leather returns in the later infusions. Old leather-bound books comes to mind. Fire smoke lifts from the liquid and rises to the roof of my mouth. The flavors also shift further away from the sweetness and become bitter, a light bitterness present in good quality black coffee.

This rich shou is incredibly comforting, even when the weather’s warm and a little humid (cold, no, come back, it’s autumn now). I felt like I /became/ the pu’erh. I was really looking forward to trying a Phatty Cake. It obviously lives up to its reputation. I wanted each cup to never end.

YAY! I’m happy that Mandala did a raw sampler. Thanks for doing that Garret! I’ve been looking forward to trying this one in particular.

This is a bold, fruity and floral young sheng! It has plenty of qualities I love in a sheng, including a great energy. My only complaint is that it does have just a tiny bit of bitterness if brewed the way I typically like mine. Don’t let that scare you though, this has PLENTY to offer! YAY! Sheng-a-licious!

Smooth, creamy with a very light cocoa-like sensation at the back of the mouth after swallowing. Very nice.

Last of a sample ordered awhile ago.. not sure that it’s still available.

My first to try from the pu’er sampler I got awhile ago.

Rinse, let rest for 10 minutes, rinse, then brew for 20 to 30 seconds.

Brews a dark reddish brown color. Initially smells dark and earthy but becomes sweeter as the leaves sit and are resteeped.

Tastes very creamy and rich, and reminds me of rice pudding. Quite enjoyable.