Mandala Tea

I’m trying to decide whether to bite the bullet and order from Mandala again this weekend. I REALLY don’t have a lot of money to burn these days and i have lots of puerh sitting in my cupboard that needs to be drunk up, but it’s SUCH a good sale. In an effort to convince myself NOT to buy more tea lol I figured i should try this one as Garrett passed it along as a sample in my most recent order.

I’ve been drinking a few steeps of this while i pray for the house to cool down. It’s going to be necessary to cool off under a hose or in the shower soon at this rate! Note, that my gaiwan is still packed up, so i’ve been steeping this psuedo gongfu style using short steeps but in my brew basket heh.

This is a young puerh. I feel like the tastes aren’t quiet fully formed, but there is the hint of what’s to come as this ages. This is, as i’ve come to expect from Mandala, a smooth brew. it’s not an earthy puerh – there are echoes of cedar? leather? Not sure…clearly i’ve been neglecting my puerh for too long and i’ve forgotten what sort of tastes are there lol On the whole though, I am looking forward to possibly ordering some of this and letting is sit for a while. I think it’ll be a really nice blend in the future.

Never underestimate the power of kindness…I know it doesn’t show much here, but I’ve been struggling with lots of serious issues for over a year now. I had an appointment I wasn’t looking forward to this morning, but I still went cause well, I don’t have much of a choice.

I showed discouragement in front of the person I was seeing…He told me not to worry, and this:

«Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars».

Just a few words, but one of the nicest thing anyone has ever told me…it gave me hope and made me feel special.

Just sharing as a reminder of how important it is to show kindness whenever we can…it’s easy and makes someone’s day look brighter in no time :-)

When I got home, I opened Steepster and had this tea cause someone else was having it and I really love it.

It’s my “cream of mushroom” pu’erh. Yes, big notes of cream and mushrooms.

It provides such a sweet and silky mouthfeel.

Just as I wrote in previous review, it has very distinct taste of turnips. The person who made me think of having this tea said they found ginger. I admit I never would have found ginger on my own, but by being aware of it, I searched for it and found it at the fourth steep. It is a little spicy in that way. Could be the power of suggestion, but I thought it was amusing to experiment.

It’s so very smooth, it’s like velvet for the mouth.

Thank you Mandala for another excellent shou…

I have noticed that lots of pu’erh lovers have a preference between the two. As I’ve been diving into the world of pu’erh, I ask this question: Is it possible to be both a shou and a sheng girl?

Cause as far as I’m concern, I just love them equally!

Pic of the day, Temple Stairs session:

http://instagram.com/p/rU3NQPwh0y/

I’m liking Temple Stairs more and more…I find myself longing for it. Could it be addictive?

It fills me with positive energy in the morning. What a great warming feeling it provides.

I think it’s my most “elegant” shou pu’erh, not as bold and strong as some others, but still imposing its presence in a sophisticated way.

I love how the steeps evolve, and contrary to Special Dark, I prefer drinking this one Gongfu style. (Special Dark is my Big Mug guy!)

It’s got a light brothy mushroom flavour or “dampness” if the word mushroom in tea scares some of you.

There’s faint bittersweetness about it, hard to describe. Cooked turnips come to mind.

I love how creamy this is. I also detect notes of cocoa, but they aren’t prominent in this tea.

(Now, something I read put the thought of fresh cherries in my head early on this morning.
I think I have enough Temple Stairs energy stocked in me now to jog to the market and get me some!)

Have a great Wednesday dear Steepster friends!

Fun fact.

In French, the pronunciation of Shou is the same as “chou” which means primarily….cabbage. I know, nothing glorious in that.

The cute part is that “chou” is also being used to signify our affection to someone we love. We’ll say “mon chou” the same way we’ll say in English, “my love” or “my darling”. Also, doubling the word and make it “chouchou” means “a favourite”.

So it is not a lie to say that this shou is my “chou” and a new “chouchou” of mine ;-)

Having just received both Mandala and Whispering Pines orders, all you’ll read from me in the upcoming week end will be reviews of their teas. A good tea week end in perspective, wouln’t you say?

This is a newcomer for me, never tried it before. I’m surprised to see only one review on Steepster.

Temple Stairs…What a name, just loving it! I’m ready to feel the elevation :-)

It’s really soft and smooth, not bold at all.

Not as rich and chocolaty as Special Dark, and that’s ok, not necessarily seeking richness after a meal.

I find notes of mushroom, cocoa and dark sugar. This is not your heavily earthy shou pu’erh, I would recommend it to anyone thinking pu’erh is scary. Cause this cup is not scary at all, it just wants to comfort you and be your “chouchou”!

So happy I went for a few ounces of this just based on description, totally worth it!

Buy Nothing Summer Stash-down Time!

The only other flowering tea I have had was Numi from a gift set that I bought on sale for the glass pot it came with :D Those were pretty unimpressive and downright tasteless.

This I received as a sample awhile back in my Mandala order. I am on a mission this summer to try and reduce the amount of stash in my cupboard to make way for new and awesome things to try in the fall. So it is time for finally try this tea!

There were 7 cones in the little zip bag, but no instructions. I googled up a review from Oolong Owl that mentioned 2 cones in 6oz of water. My little pot is like 14 or 16 oz, so I went with 3. 2 would have been plenty.

Plain, the tea is a pretty basic black tea. It steeps pretty dark, so the “flowers” are not that viewable – spiky balls dimly viewed in the murky light of this stormy day. It reminds me of lakeweed, and I looked for magical merfolk, but nothing seems to be swimming around.

Sweetened, the tea livens up a bit, and is pretty good. After a small plain cup, and a small sweetened one, I made a latte with the last of the first pot. It’s acceptable, but not something that makes me sit up and take notice.

I’m brewing a second pot now to see if the leaves have anything left in them. I should have heated the water again though. I suspect the kettle cooled too much.

It’s not a bad tea or anything, but not something that would impress me to order it as a loose tea. And I like my little luxuries, but the idea of someone working to form tea leaves into a tiny flower by sewing them by hand seems like a ludicrous activity, the ultimate in ridiculous decadence. I’m not sure that makes sense when I’m drinking things that get hand picked but it just seems like it crosses some line in my mind.

So I’ll use these, and they are kind of fun, but I am not going to seek out flowering teas.

I think I’m just not cut out to like Pu-erh. It’s not from lack of trying. I’ve bought a half-dozen samples from various sources, but never pu-erh specialists. I was excited about the unfavored TTB, primarily because it promised an importunity to sample many of the highest-rated pu-erhs. If I didn’t like those, then pu-erh just wasn’t for me. My first attempt (Mandala Wild Monk) didn’t end to well, though some of the blame may fall on my steeping technique. This was my second attempt.

Not wanting to use too much of a limited sample, I went western-style. The nose was light. The flavors were deep and dark; earthy with hints of chocolate and a tinge of bitterness. Not exciting me the way I hoped it would. Reminds me a bit of a medium-quality Yunnan. As it cooled, I could hold it in my mouth longer, and feel the power and complexity, but the flavor profile isn’t one that I enjoy: earthy and woody and dark. I wound up rating this fairly high because it was interesting, but it isn’t a tea that I would buy.

Tea of the evening!

First steep, 1min.
It’s mellow, “bright”, and fruity on the front end. As other people have noted it’s both sweet and slightly sour, though not unpleasantly so. There are grainy, malty flavors on the back end with whispers of cocoa and a lingering honey sweetness.

Second steep, 2min.
A little vegetal on the front end. I’m not a huge fan of it. Mid-sip, it morphs into sweet potato and finishes on a juicy, fresh honey note. Some malt and light cocoa still present (though not overly so).

I think I might have used water that was a tad hot. There is a bit of drying astringency that hasn’t been there before. Oops!

I’m not sure what it is, but something about this tea doesn’t jive with me. Maybe it’s because it’s brightly flavored without being bold, or mellow without enough malt/chocolate. I can’t figure it out. I’ve had it many times before and each time it made me feel blasé. It’s a very nice tea but it’s not what I prefer. Oh, well.

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

Tea of the morning. I’ve been sipping on this one for hours now. It’s so pleasant and… clean. It steeps into a light liquid – much lighter than I was expecting. The taste is slightly grassy at first with citrus-y notes following and getting stronger in later steeps. The sweetness of this tea took me by surprise, but I have enjoyed it from cup to cup. Even in later steeps as the lemon/citrus flavor becomes more dominant there is still an overall sweetness to the tea. Very refreshing and calming.

From the Unflavored TTB

I was really looking forward to trying some quality Pu-erh in this tea box, but things aren’t going as well as I hoped. First, when I read other tasting notes, the standard process for Pu-erh steeping seems to be to put about 8 grams into a gaiwan and take really short steeps. But the box only has 5 grams of this tea and I don’t want to hog it all. So, I tried using 2.5 grams in about 3 oz of water and 30 s steeps.

I did a short 5-10 second rinse, then made my first pot. The aroma was absolutely marvelous: floral and fruity and sweet. I thought, this is going to be GREAT! Then I took my first sip and it was bitter and earthy. Nothing like that wonderful aroma. After trying several sips, I finally decided that I might not have rinsed the tea for long enough and threw out the tea (after spending 5 minutes just sniffing the cup).

The second steep (30 s) had a richer aroma, with added spice, but I didn’t like it quite as well as the first one. The taste is better, with some of the fruit from the aroma, but still considerable bitterness.
3rd steep (30s): The aroma has gone from fruit to cooked fruit; still very good. Wow. The bitterness is just about gone, and I think I could actually like this tea. Unfortunately, the bitterness still appears in the finish.
4th (30 s): The aroma has started to fade, though what is there is still really good. Taste is straw with undercurrents of fruit. Very rich, with long NON-bitter finish.
5th (45 s): Finally, I ’m starting to just enjoy. The finish is now huge, with fruit, spice, and straw.

Rating: Part of me says I shouldn’t rate this tea since I’m a Pu-erh newbie. On the other hand, my tastes may better reflect the average steepster participant than the Pu-erh fanatics. So, I’ll provide a number. But how? This may be the best-smelling tea I’ve ever had, so on smell alone the rating should be in the high 90s. But I had to dump out my first two cups as undrinkable, suggesting 50s. I have to give credit for intellectual pleasure: the tea is constantly shifting, rewarding the effort to do multiple steeps and explaining the fascination people develop for Pu-erh. Though subsequent tastes improved, I never fully warmed up to the tea.

Buy Nothing Summer sip-down!

This is sample that I’ve had in my stash for awhile. The sun is down and the AC can finally keep up, so it’s finally a comfortable temperature inside to enjoy a pot of tea with my microwave Pad Thai.

When I opened the little zip bag the sample came in, I swear I caught a whiff of dill. But I think my sniffer is out of whack today – when the husbeast was heating chilli in the microwave, it, disgustingly, smelled like someone ran a marathon and was drenched in sweat. Ugh.

Brewed the tea in my small teapot I use for greens. It’s ceramic, and doesn’t absorb scents, but I have certain rituals, you see. :) Green teas get the Asian pot and cup set, black teas get the Brown Betty or my small white pot.

The brewed tea is nice and mild, slightly grassy, but not astringent in the first cup. There’s a bit of a sweet scent to it as well. My second cup is a little more astringent, but quite good.

I would enjoy this with some good sushi, like an avocado roll, or maybe a Philly roll. Something simple. Oh, or some veggie tempura.

Third cup – no increase in astringency. Still nice and mild. Not a lot of unique flavor to it, but
a good “green tea” flavor – I’m not getting “buttery” or the other adjectives tied onto the other reviews, but it’s got the flavor I associate with generic “green tea” but better. So quality basic green tea.

This is good, but not something that stands out to me. Not something I would order. But I’m glad to try it, and I’m enjoying this pot.

Sipdown! 166
Thank you Sil! This is so good! It really reminds me of Special Dark, but that just might be because it’s a nice puerh with lots of chocolate notes, and it doesn’t make me think of dirt. I can’t remember what makes the other one different, but I do know that I am enjoying this one. Yay for good puerh!

Sticking my toe into the water of Sheng. I’m sure my score number is going to change, probably going up. Just want to get a few more under my belt so I can properly rate.

This stuff is pretty good. Took a leap of faith and ordered a whole cake on Garret’s suggestion.

I’m on infusion #11 and still getting this beautiful yellow liquor that has gotten sweeter with every steep.

There’s an underlying bitterness (more on the earlier steeps), kind of like the pith of a lemon. Not overwhelming, but provides that tannic cleanliness like in a good red wine.

Definitely getting some citrus zest too, and very very light menthol. Maybe a very light hint of smoke. Just delicious and very well balanced.

It’s just a zesty, tingly sort of thing. Really smooth. Based on this tea alone, I want to try more sheng. This is the kind of thing I can picture a Shaolin monk drinking by the side of a creek while he’s meditating.

Preliminary review

I got this sample from a friend. : – )

I estimate I used 4-5 grams, and I didn’t quite fill the gaiwan with water. I completed 6 Steeps starting at near boiling then moved to boiling water; rinse/30/60/90/120/150/~ 300; Stevia added; 150ml gaiwan.

Noteworthy: as I was looking at the wet leaf in my gaiwan after the first steeping, I noticed the little bit of tea liquor left behind had a consistency or viscosity I had never seen before: it was like it was silky, rich, and/or oily? Whatever it was, I believe it indicated there is more (complexity) to the liquor than what I have seen in the shus I have been drinking.

I don’t consider myself to be very skilled at nailing down flavors, so sometimes I look at the reviews of others to see if their notes strike a cord with me; as I have a hard time with describing the flavors of cooked pu-erh tea, I decide to do that this time, and from at least one review (MissB) I saw the flavor descriptors ‘cocoa’ & ‘earthy’; I definitely get those flavor notes (perhaps even ‘malty’). Furthermore, there were no off, musty, or odd flavors in my cup. The color is clear and rich, and what comes to mind is the color of mulch. I looked at the wet leaves, but nothing interesting to note other than the pieces are as big or bigger than any other shu I have had, and they were a very dark brown color.

I usually try to test the steeping staying power on the last steeping, and the length tends to be somewhere between 5 – 10 minutes; on this final steeping at approximately 6 minutes it still had flavor (although I used less water) and it had no bitterness what-so-ever.

Definitely one of the best shus I have tried. I have plenty of the dry tea left to do another session sometime.

Sipping right now. I used the same parameters that I did for Bu Lang Gong Ting two days ago. Boiling water, 2tsp/10oz, 15sec rinse. Steep times were 35sec, 40sec, and 1min 25.

This tea is very earthy but also very light. I’m getting mild notes of cream, bread, nuts, and chocolate. They all seem to be hovering in the background, coming forward and receding as soon as I notice them. The mushroom, earthy flavors and nuttiness are the things I notice most. I swear I noticed something spicy or peppery in the second steep. As soon as I placed a name to it it disappeared. Agh, did I imagine it?! There’s a sweetness and warm bread-like flavor that sticks around after sipping. Third steep was more woodsy with a drying finish.

I think this tea will age very well. I need to find a different way to store it…I’ve just kept it in the ziplock-seal package it came in. I’ll try a five-minute steep tomorrow and see how I like it!

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

A very enjoyable Oolong. The taste is toasty with a steady cinnamon note and bit of a mineral flavor. I’ve had four steeps of this so far, and the flavor has been consistent with each cup. I’ve been enjoying this one so much that I haven’t tried any other teas today!

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

Oooh, this tea reminds me of a baked sweet potatoes with honey on it. The tea is smooth with a nice hit of malt, but the sweet potato flavor really is the star. A great tea, and one I’d love to try more of at some point.

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

First, the leaves of this tea are so pretty – long and golden, twisted tightly into place. The smell of the dry leaves is very sweet. It reminds me of homemade caramel sauce. After steeping the caramel smell is replaced by the smell of baked bread. Yum.

This tea reminds me of a good grainy bread with honey drizzled on it. There are malty and caramel notes, too, but it’s the biscuity flavor that has me swooning. I can see myself drinking a lot of this tea. Another one added to my shopping list.

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

So this tea threw me for a loop. I think I may have under steeped it the first time. The taste was very faintly honey with a bit of floral. I tasted nothing that reminded me of chestnuts the way so many others did. The second steep I upped the water temp a touch and added 45 seconds to the steep. The result was a buttery sweet pea flavor. Both cups were really nice, and I’d be happy to sip on this again, but I can’t help but think I missed something with this one.

Creamy, buttery sweet, mouthwatering popcorn. I find it funny that I’m trying to describe tea here.

Thank you Flyawaybirdie for sending this tea my way!

Of course this is an amazing cup of yum. The deep cocoa flavor combined with the earthy, grainy flavor is soooo good. I also love how thick, creamy, and silky smooth this tea is. It’s just a pleasure to drink. I’m sure I’ll resteep the leaves many times today and enjoy each and every cup.

What a way to wake up! I feel totally spoiled. :)

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

MzPriss wrote a tea note earlier today saying this tea took her to her happy place. Since she was kind enough to add some of this to the tea box I thought I’d give it a try and see if it took me to a happy place, too.

Whoa… this is crazy good. MzPriss recommended a 7 minute steep, but I wussed out at 4 minutes after doing a quick rinse. The resulting liquor was very dark and the smell was earthy. The first few sips I drank plain. The taste was unsweetened cocoa and earth with maybe a hint of something nutty in the aftertaste. After adding a bit of sweetener I tasted dark chocolate and stone-fruit. There was still some of the earthy flavor and a definite nuttiness in the aftertaste. Like I said, crazy good.

I did a second steep of the leaves for 8 minutes. It was longer than I intended, but I wasn’t as worried this time. Since I was experimenting I added sugar and milk to my cup. Now I taste chocolate and caramel. As the tea cools I get more of the earthy, kind of spicy notes in the tea.

So, here is another tea I’m going to buy. This tea is begging to be experimented with. I want to try much shorter steeps, very long first steeps, all day sessions… this is a tea of wonderful possibilities.

Tastes like breakfast (AKA warm, buttery toast), which is good because it basically is my breakfast today. I’m working from home today, but even still I managed to sleep in and not have time to make a proper breakfast before having to jump onto a call. I guess I’ll just make a really good lunch later…

Perfect evening tea option for a bit of caffeine but an ultimately VERY relaxing/peaceful tasting cuppa. Creamy, buttery and decadent. So, so happy that I stocked up on this tea!

Early morning pot of tea (Western style) from earlier in the week on one of the days where I didn’t work until later in the afternoon…

This one was good; I think I might have a deeper appreciation for it prepared Gong Fu as opposed to Western though. The tasting notes were a mix of floral top notes, more buttery body notes and notes of sweetened condensed milk, and then an almost nectarine like fruity finish. Very sweet on the tip of the tongue, and a little lingering after the sip was finished. Still tasty; I just like watching the evolution of flavour that you get Gong Fu…

The leaf was stunning though; this continues to visually be one of my favourite oolongs just to look at – dry, steeping, and steeped out. The leaves are huge; and such an amazing hue. Take a look:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfmefjjFPxB/?taken-by=ros_strange