Mandala Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

80

From Dexter3657. Whee!

I steeped it too long. Or used too much tea. 2 rinses, and a 15 second steep and it feels almost like coffee that’s been boiling on the cob for the afternoon. Only it’s tea.

https://twitter.com/omgsrslyfolks/status/399718939967492096/photo/1

Do you SEE how dark that steeped? It’s a total kick in the pants, and I wasn’t expecting it. The tea is very earthy and strong, at this point it would be better (for me) with some sugar or honey added.

Instead, I’m going to dump the rest of the cup and steep again! Maybe this time 10 seconds will work.

Oh, that’s better. I rinsed it quickly again as the leaves had been steeping in the leftover liquid, and as soon as I added the water it looked like soy sauce. Then I steeped for 5 seconds. Heh.

This tea is really nice. It has flavours that I enjoy in a puerh, and once I get my steeping parameters right I can see it being easy and excellent. It’s very foresty, but in a different way than the 1990 puerh I get from Soko.

Thanks, Dexter!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C
Garret

This tea is amazing using less leaf, too, which is how most of our customers are brewing it up – more of an light brown/amber colored cup. Yes… I can see by the photos that you did use quite a bit of leaf if you got that color with 15 seconds. Oh well, add a little hot water and call it an Ameri"cha"no :) But do try it with lighter colored infusions so you can taste that many subtleties of this nicely processed tea. Thank you!!

OMGsrsly

Thankfully Dexter gave me enough I can try again. :) I drank so much of this last night already, diluting it out, trying it with a little sugar or cinnamon.

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

nom! kicked off the day with this one from kimquat! I had this yesterday but i just wanted that delicious malty goodness this morning :)

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

mmmm another sample from kimquat that i drank up this morning. So good. Smooth and malty and downright perfect! I will need to pick up more of this with my next mandala order. seriously. YUM! Thanks kimquat!

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

sipdown! I don’t have much time today to get my drink on so i’m trying to get a few sipdowns in this morning while i try and wake up, after being up most of the evening/morning. I have enjoyed this one quite a bit while i’ve had it. It won’t be at the top of my hit list but i can see myself restocking this from time to time in order to visit with it for a while. Overall, i have thoroughly enjoyed the teas that i’ve picked up from Mandala :)

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 30 sec

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

This was my morning tea…well whatever passes for my morning after staying up all night and getting a 3? hours nap. Still enjoying this one quite a bit but with all the varieties of black teas that i have from our travelling BBB Box, i’m not sure that this will be a restock. Not that it’s not delicious, but i’m not sure it falls in the top percentile :)

TheTeaFairy

Can’t wait to try my sample of this :-)

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

this was a lovely tea that i had yesterday. I didn’t get much in the way of tea drinking done yesterday because of date night, but i plan on making up for that today with a work from home day haha. I’m looking forward to drinking my mandala teas once i get through a few more other teas in smaller amounts (dexter i’m looking at you here lady!)

TeaLady441

Working from home? I expect to see 6 sipdowns today. :P

Sil

haha you will… i’m sure

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86
drank Golden Needle Premium by Mandala Tea
15019 tasting notes

I have some backlogging to do this morning. We had friends over last night so i didn’t get much of a chance to do anything besides eat and have fun while drinking tea :) such a hard life.. heh

I don’t recall much about this one other than it was SOOOOO tasty while i was at work. once i get a chance to drink it again, i’ll capture a better note. That being said, this was really a great tea to have yesterday!

Terri HarpLady

I can’t remember if I tried this one or not. I’ve tried & enjoyed most of Mandala’s blacks, though.

Sil

you haven’t..unless steepster lies or you didn’t track it. I’ll try and remember to add some to your next box

Terri HarpLady

that’s because you’re awesome!

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87

sipdown! and terri, thank you so much for sharing this one with me since it’s nothing i ever would have bought for myself. I’ve been drinking this most of the day, in between other teas.

I just wanted to enjoy this tea so i didn’t really take notes. What was most surprising and interesting to me though was the smokey notes in this. It wasn’t like a black tea, but the contrast of the smoke with a lighter tea was really interesting, especially since it wasn’t overpowering the tea taste. there’s a sweetness to this one as well that i like.

Wonderful find Garrett!

Garret

Glad you are enjoying it! I had to take it off of the site, though. Was down to my last two cakes from that pressing :( But I saved them for myself for further aging :) My 2012 100 gram pressing that I commissioned is quite nice, too, better than the 2011 that I did, IMHO. Amazing that a different years weather can bring forth an entirely different experience from the leaves. I gotta get on it for 2014 and get more of the spring picked leaf from them so I can do a 2014 pressing from the same grower. I’ll be there in April again!

Sil

hmmm….2012 you say. I will have to check it out. On a side note, are you planning any black friday/cyber monday sort of things?

Dexter

Too funny – I liked 2011 better than 2012.
(why do I always see these comment AFTER the package is in the mail – I could have sent you some of 2012 Sil.) If you don’t order your own, let me know and I’ll add it to the next package.

Stephanie

Good question, Sil!

Garret

Ha! We have a bunch of customers who dig the 2011 better, too! So interesting isn’t it, that we all have the same biology but experience things in different ways. I love it!!

Sil… as far as specials, all of our teas are special :) I’ll put my head together with Jamie’s and see about coming up with something, since you asked!! I’ll post it here under the discussions page “tea companies, promotions”.

Thanks everybody!

Sil

Dexter – because the tea gods want us to keep sharing LOL. I’ll keep you posted. I’m looking at a couple things, just not sure what i want to do. I’m on such a roll in terms of cleaning out my cupboard and sipping down things heh

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88

Sipdown, 116. This is a really nice Yunnan black tea. Sweet potatoes, honey, a bit of hay, but not too much earthiness, which always turns me off. A tasty tea for the morning.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Sil

I am jealous of your ever decreasing cupboard lol

Dinosara

Haha it’s about to go up a bit because I have some orders coming in. I have, for the most part, avoided swaps, though, which are dangerous, hahaha.

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88

Mmm, now this is a yunnan tea I can get behind. Sweet and a bit nutty, with hay and squash notes. Malty and sweet potato-y. This is one of those teas that I enjoyed so much that I drank it down without thinking about it too much, and it was suddenly gone before I was ready. Thanks for sending this one along, Sil!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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89
drank Black Beauty by Mandala Tea
1113 tasting notes

I got a sample of this tea with my first Mandala order. Thanks Garret!

This is not a kind of tea I actively seek out, but a kind I always tend to enjoy. Very smooth and sweet. Lots of nice roasty and cocoa-like flavors without being super heavy. I’m glad I got to try it :)

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So I had my water boiled and ready to go, and I knew which tea I wanted to drink, and I thought I knew exactly where this particular tea was. Wrong. There are only 5 possible places in my home where this tea could possibly be hiding, so where is it??!! It took me 10 minutes to find, and wouldn’t you know it was in the desk right beside me. Hiding behind the box that it came in.

So I prepared fresh water, and am now sipping on sweet caramel goodness. It was worth the hunt. This tea is so silky smooth. I bought this tea because of the way it looked in the photo – all the long golden strands. I just knew I had to have it.

Another delicious tea from Mandala – thank you!

JustJames

ha ha ha, 5! like my lab! oooooh…… not a good sign. there goes my mind.

Dexter

lol you know you’re addicted to tea when……

scribbles

YES!!! :D

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After enjoying the puerh yesterday, I was hopeful to find another one that I enjoy too. This one has stellar reviews and i had it on hand, so i gave it a go.

It definitely smells like puerh, but is surprisingly sweet and not fishy at all. As it cools the more hay like notes start to take over, but there is a sweet spot right around 5 mins after cooling where it is perfectly sweet and delicious. I’m on my 4th resteep, drinking it between other cups of teas. Glad I have a bit more of this!

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I’ve been sipping on this Sheng for a couple of hours, & enjoying the good vibes that it brings. I think I gave a pretty good description the last time I had a session with it, so I won’t go into any long winded detailed account of each steeping. Right now the cup is sweet, like a light nectar, with just a hint of smoke & a camphor after-glow. My brain is lit up like a lightbulb, & I feel very relaxed & present. This is a crystal clear sheng, & I’m really enjoying it!

cryptickoi

I really like that sheng,it was one of the first I ever purchased….I have a few put away,ive been contemplating breaking into one as its so good…yum..

Terri HarpLady

I only got a small quantity of it to sample, but I am really enjoying it. I think I can drink it a couple more times. I’m trying to get myself under control & stick with smaller quantities like this, as I always want to buy whole cakes of everything, LOL, & then I store them in my bedroom on the 3rd floor away from the kitchen aromas. Right now I probably already have enough tea up there to drink for the rest of my life…

cryptickoi

I know exactly where you’re coming from…there’s no way I could ever drink all of what I have…my son will be the recipient of my tea collection,he will have an appreciation for it as he loves tea too..

Terri HarpLady

Yeah, when I pass away & my kids are going through my stuff, it will be like a bad reality show: hidden boxes of tea everywhere, Journals that date back to college (actually, my daughters will love reading those), not to mention all the sheet music, instruments, & other music related stuff.

Sil

terri…give them my address…i’ll take the tea off their hands LOL

Terri HarpLady

LOL!
Hey Sil, do you want a sample of this one?

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What to say? Sometimes I hate being the person who has to add a tea, AND being the first person to review it.

I wanted a cup of raw puerh because I’m feeling kind of fuzzy headed, & drinking sheng tends to clear my head…well sort of…it also makes me a little out there, if you know what I mean. I feel extremely ‘present’ right now.

This Sheng is VERY dark, almost black, with mahogany streaks running through it. I started sipping it a few hours ago. I can’t really describe the tastes today…other than to say it was initially earthy & smokey, gradually getting sweeter. After a few rounds there was an ‘open’ taste. I can’t really tell you what that means to me…kind of a hollow, circular taste, very smooth. Right now there’s a tangy sensation about halfway up my tongue. It doesn’t taste like pineapple, but it feels kind of like pineapple. A few steeps later my tastebuds all feel like they are wiggling around. I’ve got a good skull shining going on now, Good energy, time to go play my harp for awhile. I’ll continue to sip into the evening.

Stephanie

Sheng is so hard to describe! I totally get it.

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91
drank Milk Oolong by Mandala Tea
35 tasting notes

Just as everyone else has said -this tea is fabulous!! I love oolongs and this didn’t disappoint. I bought 2 oz. and went back to the website to make sure I could get more and low and behold its sold out!!!! When is it going to return????

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec
Garret

HI!! Just sent you an email. We are hoping the current shipment arrives yet this week. Demand is at an all-time high for it and we are trying so secure as much of the upcoming fall crop from this farm as we are able. Fall crop will not be available to us for about 30 days, but the spring crop is delicious and we have much on the way from Taiwan!! So happy that you like it. We think it is a pretty special tea. We’ve had other milk oolongs but have been buying from this producer exclusively now for 3 years. As long as he’s growing it, we’re buying it :)

Garret

The new milk oolong is back in stock and up on the site!! It’s really a nice crop!!

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drank Black Beauty by Mandala Tea
612 tasting notes

This is sweet and mellow as straight black teas go, with that trademark Chinese smoothness and caramelized sweet potato thing going on. Something like chocolate and the smallest tinge of smoke too. Very pleasant and easy-going. I can see the resemblance to keemun and how people might prefer this as it’s a little sweeter and smoother than the keemuns I’ve tried so far but still has hints of those smoky intense chocolate notes. It’s a nice tea that doesn’t kick you awake rudely but does the job in a friendly, kinder sort of manner.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

I got a sample of this with my order- I need to try it! :D

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Oh man I need to rate these higher. So good.

I western steeped tonight. So delicious. Sweet. Earthy. Yum.

So glad I bought a brick. Hahaha. Don’t know how I’ll crack it open tho. Might need a saw.

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Nuggets!

Had to have them today, after seeing some on Instagram. I grandpa styled them, but only got 2 steeps in. I’ll have to have more tomorrow, since they’re not done yet.

And tomorrow is the tea festival. YES. I totally didn’t manage to do my Crimson Lotus order this morning (sadness) but I will bring cash moneys so I can pick up a few things.

YAY TEA!

Sil

did i give you a sample of young nugget?

OMGsrsly

I have no idea. I have like 3 packages of the 2009 from y’all, and I bought a brick of them too. Probably do not need more nuggets. O.o

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Grandpa style, only I haven’t refilled my thermos at all.

I put 4 tiny nuggets in the bottom of my not-a-timolino this morning, and added boiling water. I’ve been sipping randomly all day, and it’s been SO good! Really mild and soothing. A little foresty but not much. IDK, I just really like this tea this way.

Preparation
Boiling 12 OZ / 354 ML
Dexter

That’s awesome – I haven’t really explored grandpa style…

OMGsrsly

It’s my lazy way of having lots of tea OR preparing tea when I know I won’t get to it for a long while but I want it to be tasty and not flat like it can sometimes get in a thermos. Wee bit of leaf, water, let it go. Wee bit of leaf. I’ve started using 4-5 oolong balls, so maybe 1/4 tsp? I haven’t tried it with Indian teas, but it works with puerh (even stuff that’s mostly steeped out), rolled oolong, and Zen Tea’s Phoenix Pearl really well.

DeliriumsFrogs

I haven’t explored that style, either. Sounds so interesting (and convenient, and yummy, and just all around great. :) )

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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.

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drank Ginseng Oolong by Mandala Tea
18 tasting notes

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50

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.)

Dexter

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. :))

OMGsrsly

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.

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