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I chose this for one of my free samples. The wet leaves are dark green, the liquor is bright amber with a slight leather, earthy aroma. The 1st steep, I got fresh hay, leather, maybe some seaweed, sweet tupelo honey, spices, wood and sugarcane with a very slight bitterness. The 2nd and 3rd steep had a much stronger bitterness but was quickly followed by sweetness so I agree with the ‘bitterness of first sip, quick sweet after-taste’ in the description. It actually fits this tea perfectly. The 2nd and 3rd steep was more viscous compared to all the other steeps, almost syrupy. Bold flavors. Sharp… Definitely not shy, mild, timid as say their Moonlight Pu-erh. The most bitter steep was the 3rd but again, a welcomed strong sweet sugarcane wash aftertaste made the bitterness ‘interesting’… Almost like grapefruit bitter, meaning that the bitter part is what makes the fruit tastes so unique, good. The following steeps the bitterness wasn’t nearly as pronounced or maybe at this point, I was used to it. The liquor at this point smelled like one of those honey-citrus coughdrops for itchy throats with camphor, menthol. When I breathed in and out, there was a cooling sensation. In between infusions, I could breathe really well out of my usual allergy ridden stuffed nose. Stone fruit, fresh hay, seaweed, marine, wood, sugarcane, honey, earth, smoke, floral, grapefruit and a bunch of other things I couldn’t decipher. Definitely a complex tea. If you don’t mind bitterness, you may enjoy this tea.

Great reviews on this already. I just wanted to add that I really love this Da Hong Pao. I try to keep it on my shelf. It seems more nutty, more chocolate flavor than most. Kind of like a fudge brownie without the excessive sweetness.

A heavily oxidized tea, long dark twisted strips that have a roasted aroma. The wet leaves are medium to dark green and like the dark amber liquor, it has a lovely roasted aroma as well. It’s balanced, full-bodied tea and is very smooth, with chocolate, wood, malt notes, slight minerals and a consistent roasted flavor throughout all the steeps. Nice finish. No bitterness. Very soothing, calming. I haven’t found a Mandala Oolong that has disappointed me.

Yixing teapot, 6g, 130ml, 212°F, rinse, 9 steeps, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m25s, 1m35s, 1m45s

According to their site, this ginseng oolong has 95% traditional oolong tea with 5% American ginseng. Small powdered non-uniformed green nuggets of oolong, coated with American ginseng powder. The nuggets smelled vegetal, floral, ginseng. The liquor was a clear apricot color.

Steep 1 and 2 was very sweet. There was also a strong menthol taste/feeling. The sweetness sat in the back of my throat for a long time after. The 3rd steep was not as sweet, slight tart notes came out, a TGY-ish tart, which I preferred far more than the overwhelmingly sweet taste. The 4th steep all I can think of is ‘green’, perhaps grass. From steep 4 on, the sweet taste was still there but not as strong, but the original sweetness was still just sitting back in my throat. Could it be the powdered ginseng just sitting in there? I don’t know. It felt strange, almost a stevia-feeling sweet which I don’t care for. I rarely experience sweet tea since I avoid them. Because of my taste buds, I don’t think I’m the right one person to judge this fairly. For example, if I order iced tea at a restaurant, I always say unsweetened with a ton of lemon. I am not one for sweet things (typically anyway, there are some exceptions like sesame mochi yum :P and that’s not often.) so this ginseng oolong was not for me. If you like ginseng and if you don’t mind something sweet, perhaps this would be for you. Some of the reviews said not sweet enough. That left me thinking !?@?#!? hehe.

The 8th steep was the best to me which I had a few hours later after a break. The original long-lasting sweet feeling was gone, and there was just a normal oolong flavor with a bit of ginseng left.

Porcelain gaiwan, 110ml, 212℉ / 100℃, 7g Tea, 8 steeps: rinse, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 65s, 75s, 85s, 95s

Flavors: Ginseng, Grass, Licorice, Menthol, Root, Sweet, Tart, Vegetal

When I first tried this I had said the leather taste was a bit overwhelming but was willing to give it another try. I got my sample today, so I’m writing another note. I’m glad that I did. I love the TeaVivre sample packaging. The mini-tin foil packages with all the info printed on them. I wish they offered a big bag of them with all kinds of their different teas. I would get it since it’s so convenient.

The dry leaves were a mixture of dark and golden long strands, very little tea dust. The dry leaves had an earthy aroma. The wet leaves smelled of earth, leather, smoke. The liquor was a very dark brown similar to that of coffee with some deep red hues. The taste was what I remembered: Earthy, smooth, mellow. The leather notes were definitely there as before but it didn’t bother me this time around, perhaps because I’m relatively new to ripe Pu’er (Sheng person) and am getting used to it more and more. I’m having it around noon but I think this tea would be great any time as it’s soothing, comforting, mellow. Maybe nice on a cold night, snuggled watching your favorite movie. I bumped the rating up because I really didn’t think I gave it a fair shot the first time since like I said I have little experience with ripe pu-erhs. It was very enjoyable and ultra smooth.

Yixing gaiwan, 212℉, 110ml, 7g, 8 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 50s, 80s, 120s

Really enjoying this on this early morning. I’m updating the original review.

Been drinking this throughout the week, and I am really enjoying it. I thought the sticky rice was my favorite out of this package but then I really like this one too. I feel fickle when I drink tea. My taste buds and my stomach can be fickle… Sometimes certain tea is comforting and other times, I need to get a bite to eat to continue to ease my tummy.

There are already great reviews on this but here I go.^^ The dry leaf consists of dark little nuggets and has a nice aroma of roast, bittersweet chocolate, vegetal. The wet leaves smell like roasted nuts, chocolate, tamarind fruit. The liquor which is medium-amber smelled like malt, cocoa, roast. It’s complex, and today, the notes I tasted consisted of creamy dark cocoa, like bittersweet chocolate chips, malt, honey, sweet tamarind, roasted nuts, butter, raisins, raspberries, tart cherries.

Note: I always have salted tamarind candy and raw tamarind (not the sweet type but the sour tamarind) as an available snack at home, and there were times some of my infusions reminded me of my tamarind candy. (I just emailed steepster to suggest the tamarind fruit flavor)

Yixing gaiwan, 5g, 110ml, 200°F, 9 steeps, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m25s, 1m35s, 1m45s

10 mini-touchas in the 2 oz bag. I can match 3 or 4 with some on their site but not the others so I have no idea what I’m drinking hehe. I’ve sampled 3 of them so far and so far they are all good ripe pu’er. I wouldn’t mind having a bag of this around all the time because of the ease of it. I just have to pop one in my gaiwan. I’ve tried a variety mini-toucha bag from eBay once and they weren’t of good quality at all. I just wish it came with a way to identify them so I know which one I can buy more of it if it’s a favorite.

Good morning. ^^

If there is one thing that guarantees me an asthma attack, it’s someone sitting by me at a restaurant or standing next to me in line with a gang-load of cheap rose perfume. lol So when I got my package, I wondered why I ordered the “Rose” tea since I have an aversion to strong rose smell and it’s one of the few aromas I can detect due to that.

I kept passing it over, it was the last What-Cha tea of my package that I haven’t tried… Just looking at the unopened package throughout the week, moving it aside each time. lol Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s creamy, seemed even creamier than the base Jin Xuan. It’s ever so subtle, delicate, comforting.

Looking at the dry leaf, they are a pretty pink and green, rolled up balls. The dry leaf aroma was sweet, vegetal, and fresh rose petals and nothing like the people at the restaurants lol. The wet leaf aroma is the Jin Xuan vegetal aroma, maybe cranberries, cream, rose petals. The liquor looks like champagne with its pink hues. I tasted butter, cream, honey, rose, vanilla, vegetal and the balance was nice, nothing perfumy about it. Now I just can say… I hate cheap rose perfume on people :P but a nice rose tea such as this one, I can fully enjoy.

5g, 110ml, 200°F, 9 steeps, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m25s, 1m35s, 1m45s