Mandala Tea

MzPriss’ Unflavored Tea Box – Tea #6
I hope I’m logging this under the right ‘noble’. There are three! I’ll definitely be adding a plethora of pu-erh to the teabox. Mostly ripened because I prefer them anyway! I didn’t want to use all of this one, there is a little bit left. So I ended up with using not quite a teaspoon and not filling the mug all the way. I’m sure it would have been much better if I used my usual teaspoon and a half because the darker pu-erh is, the better! The leaves here are a brown color that remind me of milk chocolate… no black leaves like the pu-erh I’ve been drinking lately. The leaves here actually look like already steeped leaves with the color and shape they are. haha. The flavor is nice: actually like the chocolate it reminds me of. Not as dark as I’d like, so yeah, milk chocolate! It’s just everything a pu-erh should be: smooth, sweet, bready. The second steep is very nice too and I could keep steeping… I hardly never meet a ripened pu-erh I don’t LOVE. So many of them lately… I guess taste testing them for teaboxes!

Post hike noms

The berries this year are just awesome in PA! Check out some of our blueberry haul
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14514940398/

I love this particular state park because you have to drive up a mountain to get there, and it all looks like random shrubberies from afar, but then you get up close and realize that the whole mountain is covered in wild blueberry and huckleberry plants. THEN you hike elsewhere in PA and realize that many PA state parks are covered with these shrubs!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14699202424/

And then you get home and drink this and feel your happy tea buzz!!!!

And then you realize you’ve never rated any tea 100, and if any tea is it, this is the one. So you fix it. :p

<3 HOTOT

First: thanks to Garret for the sample.
Second: This week has been rough, and on Thursday I received my Mandala order with a handwritten note. Things have been overwhelming me all week at work, but when I read this note, I had this amazing sense of serenity. It just reminded me to take a step back, look around, and smell the roses (if you will). It was exactly what I needed to hear. So if you see this, Garret, THANK YOU!

Now, onto the tealiciousness.

Method: 3 grams, 3 oz, 200 degrees, 10-15-15-15 seconds, ru kiln gaiwan and Dr. Who mug

Dry Leaf Aroma: This isn’t like some stinky pu’erhs I have smelled! It’s overwhelmingly pleasant, even though I can’t put my finger on the exact aromas.

Brewing Aroma: This has a mineral smell and then something else… what IS that? HOLY CRAP, it’s dried apricots. It’s so specific. Not apricot from the tree, but dried apricots. AT this point, I’m pretty excited.

Flavor: I did my regular gongfu thing where I steep 3-4 times and add all the tea to one large mug, so all the tea is blended, then I can sit, relax, and enjoy the tea.

Normally I try not to read reviews before I try a new tea, but I really wanted to get the steeping times right on this one, so I did check steepster and used Jamie Groth‘s times as a guideline. I may be influenced by that note, but I can absolutely taste fruit here, and it really does come through as a very natural grapey flavor (as opposed to artificial grape. I’m sure you know what I am talking about). There’s also a woodsy note at the end of the sip, and then a lovely, but quiet sweetness that lingers for a moment.

This tea is making me feel all warm and fuzzy. I am chillin’ on the couch with my pups, enjoying the slow Sunday AM, and looking forward to a hike with my boyfriend (if he gets his lazy behind out of bed :P ). All is right with the world.

I need to get a cake of this and take it to work, I think. Then, when I am having a bad day, I can drink some and find my tea happy place.

Edit: I did 3 additional infusions at 20 sec each and blended those into the mug. Still yummy! A little less fruity, but the grape is still quietly there. There’s a mineral note, and a bare hint of bitterness on the tongue.

I needed good sheng energy today (AKA sheng tripping)…

I planned on being a tea noodle all day and just take it easy, but this gave me such good energy, I had to go swimming for a while. (But I came back to being a tea noodle right after).

Mao cha is beautiful to look at. Silvery dark strands, super long and rigid, they beg for hot water to soften and relax.

The first steeps are so fresh, bright and mineral, with citrusy notes. Slightly astringent, but nothing offensive. I also get that very light camphor taste I have come to appreciate so much. I get the tingling tongue, which is always fun :-)

At around the 5th steep, it gets sweeter and smoother, spicy notes are also developing. It’s not woodsy or smokey at all, just pure and clean. I also get peachy notes, the type you find in white tea.

I’ve been sipping on those leaves all afternoon. This tea is fantastic, so glad I’ve included it in my order.

It gave me such a warm feeling, I feel invigorated and ready to watch the supermoon tonight with other Steepster members, from a distance…Fun!!!

I received this tea yesterday, along with my Mandala Tea Thermos. I decided to test them both out today while I was out running errands. I drank the first steeping over the course of about an hour. It smelled strongly of seaweed, which I found appealing (my girlfriend is Japanese and we eat lots of seaweed). It tasted grassy and subtly sweet, almost as if there was a teensy bit of honey in it. It was great!

The second time I filled up the thermos, I also drank it over the course of about an hour while driving about. My goodness, it sure was sweet this time around! And equally as creamy! It still held on to that seaweed/grassy flavor, but it was deliciously sweet and creamy as well. I found the second steeping to be quite a treat! I am now taking a break from my errands, but I am about to fill the tea up for a third time and head back out. I have high hopes that this tea shall remain super-tasty. Needless to say, I don’t think these leaves are going to last long in my cupboard….

I am having this tea this morning and got Hubby to share too. He’s been trying to get off coffee and I told him he would probably really like ripe puerh. I told him all the health benefits and how it doesn’t leave you jittery like coffee. He liked it! Yay! Now I can get him to help sip down some of my tea. lol

I gave it two quick 10 sec rinses and then brewed his cup , then mine at 30 sec each. I like my tea lighter so I kept the same time. He was very impressed when I told him that both teas were brewed from the same leaves and there was plenty more cups left in those leaves. I am on the 5th infusion now. I find this tea earthy and a bit mushrooming in the first infusion. On the 5th infusion it’s mellowing out more, very smooth with cocoa notes. It goes down petty easy. I wonder if this one has a good qi? I guess I will find out.

Hoo boy, this tea was strong! I steeped it over 10 times last night in a gaiwan, it was a great learning experience for me. This was my first shu pu’erh tea, so I was going in a little blind. When I took my first sip my first reaction was SUPER EARTHY. At first, the intensity of the earthy flavor was very overpowering and intense. Don’t get me wrong, it was highly enjoyable, I had simply never experienced this type of tea before. As the steepings moved forward, it mellowed out a bit and some new flavor began to peak out from behind the earthiness. The most evident flavor note to me tasted similar to a REALLY dark chocolate. It was a subtle bitterness similar to dark chocolate, yet the tea remained creamy and tasty. Overall, I truly enjoyed my first shu pu-erh experience, and I can’t wait to break some more of this tea out soon!

OOOOOH YEAH new pu’er from Mandala Tea! Love the name of this tea!

Very smooth! Also very interesting notes of lemon curd, fresh mint, bell pepper skin and floral – with a nice creamy body. Later on, a dry cheeked astringency appears which might be a little much if you aren’t into dryness or new to pu’er. No smokey notes.

I did a low temp at first, and followed what others did and ramped up the temperature at the 11th infusion.

Mega invigorating too! So much tea drunk going on here!

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2014-autumn-song-puer-mandala-tea-oolong-owl-tea-review/

Oh, oh, look! A new Mandala pu’erh!!

Ok, I’ve never had this one before. So I took my glass gongfu pot and decided that we were going to have our first date together.

Woah! This tea is not the shy type. It is bold an it’s taking charge.

Rich and creamy, with leather and barn notes.

I wish you could smell the wet leaves. They smell like a big pile of damp oak and maple leaves in the fall. It’s a scent of the forest and the outdoors, just can’t get enough of it.

It’s super flavourful, reminds me of Special Dark a lot but not as chocolaty and a little sweeter.

It gets richer and creamier as I steep it. I like the nuttiness in the background that develops, it’s a little hazel-nutty.

At the fourth steep, I forgot to poor…the water stayed in for almost 15 minutes. There’s a good 7g of tea in a tiny 5oz pot, but it didn’t get too strong or astringent.

I’m so happy I took advantage of the sale to hoard it!

There will be many other dates with this one, and I can’t wait :-)

Wait a minute….

I haven’t reviewed this tea?

My favoritest comfort tea. My cuddle up in bed tea. My it’s been a dreadful day tea. My it’s been a wonderful day tea. My I need some tea tea.

This over site is glaring and I almost feel embarrassed.

But what can I say about this tea that hasn’t been said. It’s amazingly creamy without tasting artificially flavored. The creaminess lasts many infusions before gently transitioning into light fruityness(stone fruits) with a hint of floral.

This is the first time I was able to use my Zojirushi 4l (Thanks Garret for the steal!) with decent filtered water. I had a very disappointing cup of this tea while I was waiting for my filter to come in the mail. I knew it wouldn’t taste as good but I just couldn’t make myself wait. I wanted instant comfort! Well somethings need time and I need to learn some patients.

I am in heaven now. Simply heaven. A badly needed cup of comfort in a crazy world.

Wow, I can see why this tea gets great reviews! It’s like I added coconut milk to some nice oolong. And it’s an oolong that isn’t too floral or vegetal for me. The creamy coconut smell and taste is mmmm. I’m happy to have finally tried Mandala Tea, definitely worth it.

One of the two samplers Garret sent to go with Heart of the Old Tree. Earthy flavour. Gives me a nice little tingly feeling in my nose with each sip. Taste-wise, even after 3 and a half minutes, there’s no astringency. It’s earthy. I’m also picking up some kind of… seafood? Can’t quite pin exactly what kind of seafood, either… but it’s not “fishy”. Kind of… shrimpy, or squiddy, or… can I suggest those as flavours?

I close my eyes and take a sip and it brings me to a seaside fiesta, where all the richness of the local community is laid out on a banquet table, ready to be eaten and celebrated. Lovely thoughts.

I guess I really still need to mature as a tea taster to best appreciate this. The flavours aren’t something I can readily identify as immediately as the Heart of Old Tree Shu (and even then, it’s “Sweet” rather than a specific kind of sweet). That said, I now know what kind of tea I want to have with my next seafood trip. And I LOVE seafood. :)

(On a sidenote, I did some scientific testing with my measuring cup, and it turns out my teapot is 350ml, NOT 500.)

My first Pu’er, courtesy of Garret. The family gathered around for this one, so I brought out the teapot and yeah. I don’t have a gong fu set, so we had them in western-sized cups. First thing I noticed was that despite the minute amount of leaf we put in (a lot less than 1 tsp) and the proportionally big amount of water (around 350ml), it still smelled sweet.

It tasted sweet too, in a nice, very subtle kind of way. Compared to the Darjeeling, which has a stronger flavour, say… it’s more of a punch, actually, this sweetness is, as I said, very subtle. I can’t quite place the exact KIND of sweetness, and I’m tempted to say “caramel”, but then that would just be parroting the official description. So I’ll stick to plain and simply, “sweet”. I’m at the third steeping now, and it still tastes sweet.

Suffice it to say that this is only my third tea. Hopefully I’ll be able to better express my findings as my collection grows. And hopefully, as time goes by, I’ll be able to better appreciate this little treasure cake, especially since it gets better the older it gets.

I learned my lesson with Temple Stairs and gave this two rinses before doing my first steep. To me this smells like the other two Shu Pu-erhs I’ve tried from Mandala, like a pond. I’m starting to appreciate it, because I’m starting to associate the smell with the much more pleasant tastes of pu-erhs.

1st Steep 30 seconds: I’m assuming rinsing is to thank for the lack of pond water taste in this cup, for which I’m most thankful. First of, this and the other two puerhs I’ve had from mandala all have been so smooth and silky in the mouth feel. It’s very pleasant, and even with that first not rinsed cup of Temple Stairs, I appreciated it. I’m getting that flavor that I get from all puerhs, that sort of earthy flavor. I don’t eat mushrooms because the texture freaks me out, but that might be what this note is. There’s also a creaminess to it.

2nd Steep 1 minute: There’s a hint of spice hiding out in this cup! It was there on the first sip, but when I look for it I can’t find it. And then I let my guard down, and it pokes its head up. And I found the cocoa! If I loudly slurp this one I get it as I swallow (I like to slurp to aerate the tea so that I can pick up on more notes).

3rd Steep 90 seconds: At this point I got tired of getting up to go make more tea every 5 minutes (lazy, I know) so I made 3 steeping into 3 different cups and brought them all back to my room with me. This is much like the second, but with more cocoa.

4th Steep 2 minutes: I’m starting to get a nice nuttyness now. Mmm chocolate and nuts go so good together.

5th Steep 2.5 minutes: The texture is slightly thinner on this one. I’m getting honey this time, and the cocoa is more like milk chocolate. And it might just be the power of suggestion, but I’m feeling a little tea drunk. Considering I just drank 3 cups back to back its possible though.

6th-8th Steeps: Made three more at once, adding a minute each time. They were all much like the last cup. Cocoa and honey and yummy.

I took this tea on vacation with me after scoring it during Mandala’s 50% off sale! After a couple sessions, the verdict is in. This tea is delicious! Even my wife loved it, and she really doesn’t like many pu erh’s but this one was a hit! Dark and rich with creamy overtones of smooth cocoa with undertones of spice and subtle (very subtle) earthiness. This tea has really nice cha qi too, invigorating and uplifting energy. I went through about 9 steepings in a small gaiwan and could have gone a couple more… this tea gives and gives! Another gem from Mandala tea!

365 Days of Tea Challenge – Day 26

This one is a swap sample from Kawaii433!

I did a gongfu session with this today. Now, let me preface this by saying that I am an absolute gongfu novice. I’ve done one or two sessions previously, and even that was multiple years ago. But I’ve been enjoying oolong quite a bit lately, and I’ve been very inspired by the notes of my fellow Steepsters! So I bought an inexpensive gaiwan from Amazon and decided to get my feet wet.

I was a bit confused by the instructions on Mandala’s website, as they have two different steep time recommendations, and the tea volume is 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces, which isn’t very useful for gongfu. So I also looked at TeaVivre’s instructions and sort of made the rest up…

I did a 10s rinse, which I actually did drink. The rinse and the first couple of steeps had some surprising tropical mango and pineapple flavors that I really enjoyed. There were also light mineral and vegetal notes, and even a touch of coconut. The aroma throughout all of the steeps was very creamy and buttery with strong fruity tones.

Around the third steep, the tropical fruits transitioned to a juicy peach flavor, which is more in line with what I would expect from a Taiwanese oolong. In some steeps, it was a bit closer to nectarine. There were constant notes of grass and leaves throughout, as well as a light creaminess and lasting fruity aftertaste. In some of the later steeps, I was surprised to find a sencha-like umami seaweed note. There was also a honeysuckle-like floral note that was very light in early steeps, then gained strength near the middle before tapering off for the later steeps.

The overall flavor started to wane a bit during the last couple of steeps, but I likely could have gone for a few more before it faded entirely. I was surprised to not find a ton of creamy or buttery flavor here, but it’s entirely possible that was due to my parameters.

I will say, I think my steeping parameters were likely not very good, because I got quite a bit of astringency in the middle of the session. So I likely should have gone with smaller time increases between steeps. I’ll remember for next time! Luckily, Kawaii was very generous with her sample, so I have enough to try this one Western-style as well. I’m going to hold off on a rating until then.

7g – 120ml – 190°F – 10/25/35/45/60/75/90/120/150/180s

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtHOsvMler5/

ETA: I also cold-brewed the spent leaves for a day or so, which resulted in a lovely mellow and refreshing peachy beverage!

This tea is from TeaTiff’s ridiculously generous swap package! I’ve been curious about milk oolong teas for a while, and she was nice enough to send me samples of two very highly rated ones. I thought I’d try one while I still had at least some memory of the Simple Loose Leaf variety I tried recently, so I could compare. They look fairly similar – although all green oolongs have looked similar to me so far, with only minor color variation. This tea smells very rich, like buttered popcorn, coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk mixed together. I looked at tasting notes until I found Tea Sipper’s note with Mandala’s recommendations for western style brewing. Jackpot! :) Brewed for two minutes. The sample was a bit more than a teaspoon, but I used the whole thing.

The aroma has similar butter & cream notes, but mixed with a fairly strong floral scent and a light fruitiness. I find the taste somewhat similar to the other milk oolong I’ve tried. There is a light vegetal taste in the background, with definite cream and butter notes and a lovely peach aftertaste. The whole flavor is extremely light. It was not sweet like I expected it to be, but I started to get buttered popcorn flavor as it cooled.

Next, the resteep. I did 2.5 minutes this time. The aroma this time was butter and cream with a stronger fruit scent. The flavor was even lighter and it was all cream and butter with some fruitiness. That nice peachy aftertaste is still there.

Overall, I think I’m not a fan of green oolongs, their flavor tends to be too light for me. But I recently got a small teapot (free gift with my first Simple Loose Leaf box) so I may try to do a pseudo-gong fu session with my other milk oolong.

I am trying out this tea with a longer steep time and I think I like it better than the suggested short steeping times. I’ve also realized that every time I’ve had this tea that the first steep is the best and that it slowly declines from there. In my experience, this happens for me most often with flavored oolongs.

I do enjoy the sugary, milky first cup and actually think it’s worth buying just for that. I think that this milk oolong is special because it’s soft, milky, sweet and the slightest bit leafy. I hope to bring out more of this flavor in second and third infusions to make this one a bit more affordable!

I’m excited to try this tea since I’ve read such amazing reviews about it. I’m always up for trying a new milk oolong, especially one that is so loved by the community.

First Infusion: I quickly steeped the leaves and they haven’t opened up much, so I suspect I’ll be getting a bit more flavor in the next few cups. It is faintly milky with a touch of peach and sugar. I think I really enjoy how this cup is delicate and rather light. I like how it’s on the milky side instead of the more savory and buttery end. I’m really excited to see how the next cups taste!

Second Infusion: The leaves have now really popped open and are nearly without their little curls. The scent is stronger for this cup, but is still very faint. It’s hard for me to pick out any individual notes with my nose. Sipping… still very nicely milky with the same faint peach notes. I find that I have to drink a lot of the tea at once to bring out the peach, but it’s tasty.

I’m interrupted at this point and can’t continue to steep this tea right now… but I will try again tomorrow! Overall, I really love the milky character of the tea and love how it’s delicately soft and not super buttery and overwhelming.

Ehrmagerd! OM NOM NOM.

This tea is amazeballs. I made it like this: 1 tsp, 8 oz, 208 degrees, 3.5 minutes. I used my brew in mug strainer. I sampled at 1 and 2 minutes, but it wasn’t strong enough. 3.5 minutes is perfect.

I am going to try a second steep, but I’m already sold. This is gorgeous. It smells and tastes like malted yum. It’s mild and smooth, like velvet.

Now I am going to settle in, drink this little beauty, and read some mysteries on Oyster, which is the greatest online service since Netflix. If you love books and you haven’t heard of it, please check it out immediately. I may never leave home again because I just don’t see the need!

Update: I steeped the leaves a second time for 5 minutes and the tea had a little hint of spiciness. Where the hell did that come from? It’s sublime! I drank a little and then added a teensy bit of maple syrup, since that seems to be all the rage around Steepster. So. Good.

These tea comes are pretty little towers with visible prominent copper gold buds. Using 1 cone/100ml/95°C I ended up with a maple colour brew.

1 min. Grainy notes, malt, honey, plum.
Plum, honey, cocoa,light grain, and faint deeper tones of malt. ( much sweeter than my other one, but less spicy).

2 min. Malt, grain notes, cocoa, hints of currants.
Honey, light currant jelly, faint leathery notes, pepper, cocoa, faint grain notes, plum.

3 min honey and plum mix together in a tone that reminds me of apricot, grain notes are much stronger, cinnamon apparent, very faint cocoa and malt and a touch of tartness in the end.

4 min, mild grain notes, mild malt honey

6 min similar

These cones yielded a smooth honeyed tea with light grain, varying fruit, malt and mild cocoa tones.

Nicole asked me the other day how these compared to my other ones http://steepster.com/yyz/posts/252357. I would have to say that visually these ones are a little bit bigger and slightly more tippy. Taste wise, Mandalas offering is slightly sweeter and smoother whereas the other has a more intense deeper flavour, with stronger malt, chocolate, spice and tart fruit notes. It is also more tannic. It leaves a tingling on the tongue from spice, whereas Mandala leaves more honeyed notes. Both are really nice!

I have to thank Sil for these cones. It’s been nice watching them open in my smaller Turkish coffee glasses.