2291 Tasting Notes
Hmm. This one is pretty good, but not really what I’m looking for either. The flavour is a much more delicate version of what I got from Noble Mark. Is it the fermenting? Aging? Idk, but it’s not foresty enough for me. This one reminds me strongly of Silk Road’s Golden Phoenix, a grapefruit-cinnamon puerh. :) I can see this one being excellent with a sliver of Ceylon cinnamon added to the steep.
Rinsed and steeped per package directions, I’m drinking the first 1 minute steep. I’ll try steeping it longer for the second to see if it works better for me.
Thanks so much, Dexter3657, I really appreciate you sharing this with me. So far I like the Special Dark best out of the Mandala puerhs that I’ve tried. :)
Ooo….. Cinnamon is SO GOOD in this wow. Second steep: 1:45.
So far this is better than all the holiday teas I’ve tried… And I don’t even like mint!
It’s refreshing, holds cream and sugar well, and is working for me this morning. A tea I never thought I’d like, yet I like it. :)
Ha, that says a lot! The winter collection really isn’t looking so hot based on all your reviews so far.
I think the teas are worth a try, especially if you tend to like DavidsTea flavored stuff. They’re misses for me though. The last tea I really liked was Redberry Tonic. :) I want a tin of it, I’m almost through my 50g bag.
Nope.
It smells good, all cake-like, but it doesn’t translate over to flavour at all. I just taste tea and oil, and adding brown sugar didn’t bring out the cake part at all.
Looks like this collection is pretty much a miss for me. The only one I sort of enjoyed was the Gingerbread Rooibos.
Boo. Booo! :(
Yeah – it’s totally oily!
I’m returning it and the Choconut Oolong tomorrow. :/
I didn’t realize you could return opened tea!
Neither did I, but James suggested it so I might as well go complain (politely) and try.
Good luck! I think I spent about $19 on the new teas, and haven’t tried them all yet. The ones I have had are drinkable but not exceptional. I’ll sip themdown and move on. It’s too much hassle to return them, but I’ll be voting with my money by buying different blends.
It’ll be like $4 or something silly, because I used all te spiced fig in one cup, but for me it’s worth it. I’m frustrated I bought into the hype again and bought them all!
This smells good, but at first sip I went, “Ew! Gross!” If you don’t like licorice root sweetness, it is very apparent in this tea. I really detest that sweetness, so this is not at ALL for me, oh my goodness.
I could like the flavours, but a deal breaker is a deal breaker.
Oh, another thing. The oolong I got in my 10g is very sad. Wee teensy broken pieces that unfurl and make sad broken leaves in my strainer.
Preparation
you guys are really making me want to go get the small saples i was going to buy….not. lol
If you don’t mind licorice root, it’s worth a try. It’s used in a way I cannot stand it here, so I am sad.
I didn’t read the ingredients but would have never expected licorice in this one. Wow.
It could have been herbal as far as I was concerned. There wasn’t a lot of tea in it, and it was more expensive than the rest. Figures.
And I think you’re right – it has licorice in it!
(I recognize the flavour now that it has a name)
:)
Same here….I wasn’t expecting licorice either, when I sniffed at the store. I had highhopes for this one. Will just have to hope Stacy comes through with her chocolate hazelnut honeybush.
Fingers crossed, Heather! :)
Even though it’s not listed in the ingredients, a friend who works there also told me this one might have stevia in it? Not sure it’s too noticeable if it’s in there underneath the licorice, but I definitely don’t get as much hazelnut as I was promised. :(
Oh, that would be fun. I have a friend who gets hallucinations when she ingests stevia…
These are the ingredients on their website… No mention of licorice except as an allergen. I thought maybe it was part of the natural flavouring, but there’s visible licorice root in the tea and it’s listed on the package.
“Cocoa husks, cocoa beans, oolong tea, black tea, natural hazelnut flavouring, artificial cream, chocolate and caramel flavoring*.
Allergens: contains licorice"
I agree about the lack of tea leaves. It was pretty disappointing.
White Chocolate Frost is supposed to have stevia in it.
It does. Didn’t taste it too much the first cup, but then I’ve had instances of all the stevia sinking to the bottom of the bag before.
This one was also from Dexter. Unfortunately it’s one I don’t like nearly so much as the Special Dark.
The flavour was just too… something. A little honey improved it, but I ended up dumping the cup. My mom will probably like this one as its a stronger, smoother puerh with a similar flavour profile to one she has and likes.
I’ll probably try this one again, but… I won’t be too fussed if I don’t like it. There are other teas I love. :)
(I did a rinse and tried 2 1 minute steeps. Didn’t care for either.)
I’m sad that you don’t really like it. This is my favorite Mandala pu’erh.
I’m happy that you got to try it and find out for yourself which YOU prefer so that when/if you decide to order some you can choose the ones you love. :))
Something about it just didn’t work, but I can’t describe it. I think my mom would like it a lot more so that’s where it’s going. :) I might still end up ordering some for her.
The smell of this tea is intoxicating. When I opened the package from Dexter3657, I just stood there and sniffed. It’s so incredibly unusual. Sweet birch, berries, hibiscus, tea… all the flavours come together and, IMO, would make an incredibly lovely perfume.
I wasn’t expecting to like this tea at all, but I do. I actually really do. The licorice just adds enough sweetness without being too cloying in the aftertaste. The tart berry taste from the hibiscus and strawberry (although I’m not getting strawberry itself out of the tea), the herbal qualities from whatever is giving the sassafras/sweet birch flavour. It also tastes a bit of tree bark.
Yep.
It’s really odd, and I couldn’t drink it all the time, but it’s definitely going on my next order. Thanks, Dexter!
Preparation
LOL It grows on your somehow. I agree that it’s not something I would drink everyday, but it’s nice for a change. Glad you didn’t hate it.
I have a Design a Tea order in the mail to me. I added sarsaparilla root to one of them – shrug, if it’s any good will let you know…
It’s really interesting. I’d happily sit there and sniff it all day. :)
Hmmmm… I might have to try this too! Thanks for making it sound interesting. :P
It is so weird, but also really delightful. Especially the scent. :)
Wow.
Wow!
Wow…
This is good. Thanks, Sil! Definitely staying on my shopping list. I suppose I’ll share it with my
Mom or brother. Maybe.
hahahahaha i seem to recall the box was largely for your brother :P
Shh! :D Yeah, they’re splitting what’s left. It’s just so good! Mandala has risen to the top of my ‘to buy’ list…
some fabulous stuff at mandala. I’m holding off, hoping for a black Friday sale so that it can be one of my tea orders for that day
Exactly! I hope they take PayPal. I haven’t checked yet due to No Internet. Gonna be another week or two before it gets connected!
garrett takes paypal :) If you’re shipping to canada and not a tea mule, he’ll invoice you after letting you know what the shipping price is to canada…at least that’s my understanding.
I don’t have a tea mule, sadly. And shipping across Canada would probably be just as much as shipping from the states!
Awesome, glad to hear that you love this.
Mandala website is not set up for shipping outside the US. They welcome international orders, you just need to email Garret and tell him what you want – then as Sil said, he lets you know what shipping will be and sends you an invoice from PayPal. Also, Garret in an amazing, friendly, knowledgeable, fantastic, awesome person. If you have any questions don’t even hesitate to email him.
I too am trying really hard to not put in an order with them. I need to try some of their black teas….
dexter – just give me a poke when you see some show up on my tasting thread. I’ll send some your way…i picked up a couple..
:)))
Thanks! Good to know. :)
Thank you SO MUCH, Dexter3657. :)
I’ve been off tea for the last couple days, instead drinking coffee at work. When I opened the package I immediately went for the rooibos teas. This one sniffed nice and so I decided to break it open right away.
I probably shouldn’t have had a bowl of ice cream immediately before trying this tea, but that’s ok. I’m sipping it with a smidgen of honey. I really like the flavours. Cinnamon, cloves, something more. I’m not sure I’d want a whole tin of it, but I will happily drink the few bags I received.
Yay, tea!
LOL Yep I’ve made that mistake….it’s so sad when it happens
It works with soy creamer! :) Oh well. I resteeped and am having it plain.