Mandala Tea

mmmm thanks for sending some of this my way tigress_Al i’ve had this before but with mandala MIA, haven’t been able to restock any of my favourites. noms.

noms. had a bit of this today in the afternoon. Tigress_Al sent this my way and it’s been nice to revisit it.

noms. I’ve been sipping on this one all afternoon, trying to find the strength not to reach through the phone and choke people. really enjoy this cup of tea from mandala. Will need to add it to the list of things to pick up whenever i get around to an order again.

i have been thoroughly enjoying this one from omgsrsly Nice to have this one back in my cupboard to remind me why i need to place another mandala order sooooooon! especially with new teas coming in the near future that are for those of us who love special dark. Not much to say on this one that hasn’t already been said. delicious. wonderful. yay for tea and tea friends!

sipdown! the last of this is off to my tea sister terri to try :) i’ve been drinking this all morning while i get the house a little more tidy for friends who are coming over tonight. I’m hoping that i’ll have time to finish tidying up AND maybe make some chocolate chip cookies…now that it’s fall i just want to bake! haha I love this tea. It might be one of the very few white teas that i keep around in my cupboard. It’s got the right balance of sweetness to it and actually HAS flavour – something i find most white teas to be lacking in. OFten it’s just warm water to me when i drink other whites :) I also really like that i can continue to resteep this one and it lasts for a number of steepings :)

One of the few white teas i rather enjoy – the rest are all warm sweet water lol. Had this one in a travel mug to work the other day and really enjoyed it as a change from my usual pace :) I’ll have to pick up more when i run out!

I’ve been drinking this one all morning while i had a lazy, slow relaxing restful morning. Watched a few shows since i was up early and let my other half sleep in. We’re supposed to go over to friends today when all i really want to do is sit at home watching bad or good tv drinking tea. It’s always the case after an overnight.

I adore this tea. I love the multiple steepings i get out of it, and the deliciousness of this. It’s sweet and smooth and had a lot of flavour going on – unlike most white teas that i’ve had. I know this will “turn in to a black tea” but it delivers everything that i love about the few white teas i’ve had that have been wonderful, without skimping on the fullness of the cup…if that makes sense. I’ll have to pick up more of this when i run out.

I won’t even try to do this one justice. I had it a few times over the weekend and my dad kept going back to this one to drink it again and again. So i left some with him when we left. A better review will come later, promise :)

Marco Lewis TTB

Tried this today and it was really good! I rinsed it 3 times and had to through out first 2 infusions because they were too bitter, but after that I got my steeping times just right and drank 4 or 5 infusions. It got sweeter and sweeter as I kept going. Will consider purchasing this! Maybe I’ll for it for Christmas? :P

Had this tea early this morning. I only got two infusions on this but I think it would have been good for quite a few more. Garret writes 3-4 on the pkg. It was light , vegetal, buttery, sweet. I tried to think what type of tea does it remind me of? Mao Jian? Dragonwell? Bi Luo Chun? Mountain Indonesian green? I think the last one: Mountain Indonesian green. It was an enjoyable cup.

This tea is a bit different than I was expecting! I thought that it would have strong notes of butter, but it’s much more vegetal and floral. It’s not a bad tea, but I prefer my oolongs to be a little bit more on the milky, sweet, peachy side of things. I just don’t think that this offers all that much in terms of flavor.

I taste leaves, some flowers, minerals and salt water. I think this would be a nice tea to drink if you’re just starting out with oolongs. It’s simple, fresh and rather light. I don’t think I would buy any more in the future, though.

It’s rare that this happens, but this one was kind of disappointing. Not bad tea, by any means; it just didn’t do much for me. I did three steeps in a gaiwan for 30/60/90. There was some green tea sweetness at the outset, but it dropped off pretty quickly and I was left wanting more flavor and longevity. I think it’s got potential though, so I’ll try it next time with more leaves and see how that changes the equation.

My second puerh from the sampler. This one I found to be similar to Noble Mark in that I tasted a cedar wood note, but not as prominent, and some unsweetened cocoa notes. Overall, it was pleasant, and I liked the first steep best, even though I think this could be resteeped forever!

Sipdown!

This was the oldest tea in my cupboard and was not quite the amazing tea it was a year ago but still decent. Glad it’s finished off.

Off work today and trying to go through my tea cupboard. It’s a fun job! Then I saw this tea that I had put away from my last Mandala order and haven’t even tried yet!!!!!!! I was planning on doing a sip down on some of my older teas but I just had to try this and couldn’t wait for the afternoon.
This tea has such a wonderful floral aroma. Like a field of flowers. Yes, that could be honeysuckle and orchids. It’s a light oolong not the buttery type but it does have a light sweetness. It don’t pick up floral notes in the taste just the aroma.

Now I noticed I have a few more ripe pu’er teas AND a green I haven’t tried from Manadala. Glad it’s a long week-end.

This was the morning tea with Hubby today. He’s liked all the pu’er tea I’ve been brewing up for him. I wish I could remember more on it but I know it went down easy. Kind of silky on the tongue. I’m not as good as picking up the differences in the ripe pu’er teas compared to the raw. I know I enjoyed this tea but just can’t remember why. lol Holding off a rating until next time.

This tea was a sample someone added for me. I think was Stephanie, but I could be completely wrong. I really don’t know. Everything to all mixed up.

Anyway, I was having a cruddy day at work and after going through everything I’d grabbed from the L&C box this morning, nothing appealed. This one was sitting on my desk, and sounded perfect.

It was.

Delicious.

I love white peony tea, and this is a beautiful example.

Yum.

Sweet, creamy, delicious.

YUM.

(Yes, I wrote YUM multiple times on my note paper while tasting this.)

This is an excellent tea that is just a step behind the 2014 Wild Monk in quality. It was most enjoyable. I steeped it six times in a 140 ml Yioxing teapot with boiling water and 5g of leaf. I gave it one rinse and steeped it for 10 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 30 sec. 30 sec, and 1 min. There was only a hint of bitterness in some of the early infusions and it was fairly smooth throughout. At one point I noticed a note that I would describe as a plum note. I had hoped for something as good as the Wild Monk but not quite. Still, it was one of the best raw puerhs I have had.

This tea is ok, not great, but decent. It is somewhat floral, somewhat bitter, and somewhat sweet with bitter slightly overriding the other flavors. I only bought an ounce of this as I don’t always like white tea. I brewed this with the recommended amount of leaf, about 6 tsp in an 18 oz teapot for 1 min at 175 degrees.

Got this in a tea swap with kimquat a couple of months ago.
This doesn’t really make me a fan of Milk Oolong yet. Only tried one before from DavidsTea. Maybe they are just not for me? Too milky haha!
This one is a bit better though than the last.
It’s creamy and milky. Feels heavy and full but still smooth.
Has a faint fruity taste to it though, which throws me off. But I think the fruity flavor makes me kinda like it more. It’s just different…
Milk oolong is just weird-haha!

Now that I can fully express my love of shous, I decided to brew this one up.

Method: rinse 10-10-10-15-20 and dump. Steep 20-25-30 and drink. 5 g, 4 oz, 200 degrees

I think I finally found a shou method that works for me!!!! SO EXCITED! I am seasoning my TeaVivre pot in this tea, so I decided to drink some also. I’m feeling all relaxed and mellow. Had a nice lunch with friends downtown. I have a pot of shou simmering with my yixing on the stovetop. All my pups are happy and spry today. Life is good!!!!!

This tastes like honey and caramel. I may not even needed quite so many rinses, but I was making some for the seasoning, and it all worked out. So happy!!!!

I can’t really sleep tonight so might as well drink good tea, right?

I had this tea twice today. Such a lovely shou.

I like how sweet and smooth it is. I find myself craving it.

It’s not overly complicated and complex, but sometimes, that’s just what I’m seeking.

I have mentioned that this tea was like a hug on my last review and I stand by it. Definitely a hugger!

At this rate, the little cake won’t last very long.

Sorry Mandala for not being more eloquent tonight…

Pic from earlier:

http://instagram.com/p/slg21QQh7c/

Short note.

I love shou. and I think shou loves me.

It gave me a bunch of hugs and kisses this afternoon, yes it did!

I spent good quality time with it, all rolled up in a blanket. It’s been a rainy day here again. This shou was the perfect companion.

This is leathery, I love leather taste in shou.

It’s a little musty, spicy and woodsy.

It’s rich, thick and syrupy…smooth and mineral.

It’s a reliable dude, and I’m glad I purchased a cake.

Here’s some Phatty shou in a blanket for you:

http://instagram.com/p/sDoXFfQh9R/