Mandala Year of the Dragon Ripe Pu'er -2012

Thank you so much for the sample boychik!

This is really good shou! Creamy, a little sweet, rich and earthy in a cocoa way. Definitely my kind of thing! Another winner from Mandala :)

My first to try from the pu’er sampler I got awhile ago.

Rinse, let rest for 10 minutes, rinse, then brew for 20 to 30 seconds.

Brews a dark reddish brown color. Initially smells dark and earthy but becomes sweeter as the leaves sit and are resteeped.

Tastes very creamy and rich, and reminds me of rice pudding. Quite enjoyable.

I liked my sample of this less than the Phatty Cake II, I think given a few years with proper storage it might develop more flavors/improve. That’s not to say this is a bad tea, It just wasn’t as strong or complex as I hoped. I got 3-4 infusions from it. It has a nice woodsey flavor, fig, leather, slight astringent – but not off putting. I’m more familiar with wine tasting terms than tea – but this tasted “young”. very drinkable, but I’d love to be able to store this and age it..but I don’t have a good set up for that.

I did a 15 second rinse, rested the leaves for 10-15 seconds, infused 15, 30 and 45 seconds. last steep was much longer- trying to wring every last essence from the tea leaves! :-)

Smooth, lightly earthy, but not in a bad way. I just did one rinse on this one and when I sipped it, I knew there was no need to dump more.

Check me out, boychik!!!!

This gave me a light tea buzz and was a lovely evening tea (drank last night).

Thumbs up!

This is my last ripe puerh to try from the sampler. I was excited to try it because the description sounded so lovely…who wouldn’t like light cocoa, vanilla, fig, and prune? I drank it gongfu-style with my pseudo gaiwan setup. I enjoyed eight infusions and I have to say this puerh is incredibly inoffensive. There is a strong creaminess that lasted throughout my session….so good! I bet this would be a great starter puerh, but it also makes me wonder if I hadn’t tried more pungent ones first whether I would truly have enjoyed this one as much as I did. The earthiness is there, but there are no sharp notes. I also detected the light cocoa, vanilla, and dried fruit notes. I think prune is a good characterization for the fruit note. Overall, this is my second favorite from the sampler, behind special dark. It’s not quite at “my precious!” level, but definitely a comforting cup!

Sooo, I am finally trying this – the first of my Mandala sampler. This is my first Mandala experience, but not my first puerh. I already know I prefer Shu, so this is a great opportunity. Dry, the leaf smells sweet and reminds me (as usual) of sweet hay, damp earth, wood and sweet clean animals.

I followed the instructions provided with the teas which suggested the whole serving for one session or half that for a lighter brew (or in my case for a small quantity of liquid). I gave a 15 second rinse with boiling water, then 30 second steep with boiling again. The result is not bitter or astringent, though it isn’t as sweet as expected. It has a bit of dryness and some general earthiness but not a lot else. It’s definitely earthy and mushroom-y. The beau gets a fishy smell but I don’t. He says “it’s really strong. It’s not bad though.”

2: 45 seconds, boiling. The leaves are still pretty clumped up, and the liquor is quite dark with an earthy, mushroom aroma. The flavour matches the first, but maybe a bit less dry. Strong, rich, earthy.

3: 1 minutes, boiling. Might as well mention that due to my lack of a sharing pitcher, I am brewing in my small gaiwan, and pouring into the larger one then pouring into our cups with a dribble at the end for my teapet. It’s a messy but equitable system. This steep smells very strong. Like an earthy greenhouse or barn. As always, this isn’t negative. Still no bitterness, but a bit dry. No sweetness, which I had in other shu. I think this is maybe the result of the small leaf?It’s bold, fo shu! (See what I did there?) The beau says the fish is gone (I never got that!) and that it is more earthy. “Best steep so far.”

4: 1 minute 15 seconds, boiling. I can’t imagine how strong this would be with the full sample. I definitely made the right choice for my brewing setup to split this in two. I was looking at other notes and saw some comparisons to coffee which seem accurate but it isn’t unpleasant and bitter like coffee. More an explanation of the depth and richness. This steep gets some sweetness finally. I like it. Much the same, but better. The beau says “now this tastes like a typical pu-erh, the strong taste is gone.” We agree on that for once.

5: 1 minutes 30 seconds, boiling. Whoa sweetness. Something fruity. Appley? This is different. I like it. Best so far. Reading other notes again – man, did my experience contradict EVERYONE else? Oh well!

6: 1 minute 45 seconds, boiling. The problem with this steeping method is that the gaiwan burns my fingers with boiling water, but the water is cool enough to drink by the time it is poured in my cup. I could go through a lot of steeps very quickly if it weren’t for the need to get water boiling again regularly. Taste is similar to 5. Sweet, lighter, a sense of apple or maybe apple peel. I don’t know why I say that, it isn’t strong enough to really explain, but it comes to mind anyway.

From here on, I’m going to just steep and enjoy without reporting. This can get exhausting. I need a bigger sample so I can try it gongfu, and Western-ish as well. For now, this was nice and different from other shu I have tried. I don’t think I need a cake of it, as it doesn’t hit my hot spots (currently). Really nice to experience though. Great education!

I like this tea name. My cinnabar dragon (that I picked up in SF Chinatown around that New Year) is sitting next to my Western tea mug.

Tried a short step with Western equipment. Every time I make something like it makes me want a gaiwan even more. (The one I like even has dragons.)

Scent (brewed)- dried fruit, mushrooms
Flavour- baked bread, fruit, sweet

For my attempt at a 30 second step, I think it was more like a minute. Still turned out well. Shorter seems to be better for my future shou brewing.

A sample from my first order from Mandala, during the Great Sale. Prepared gongfu style with a ceramic gaiwan. 5 second rinse. Steeping times were 5, 5, 5, 10, 15,20, 30, 45, 60, 120.

The dry leaf smells of mushrooms and earth, and the wet leaf of mostly freshly baked bread with raisins. Some chocolate, after only the rinse. Throughout the session, the liquor was rusty red, medium-bodied, silky smooth, and a little thick in texture. There were earthy notes at first, but these disappeared later, when I mostly tasted whole wheat bread, somewhat sugary. Not a hint of coffee-like bitterness or astringency. This shu is mild, even gentle, though the after effects were not weak, and I felt my energy strengthen yet calmed.

I forgot I did a session of this not two weeks ago. My notes said mostly said that it was earthy and coffee-like, and that there were mushrooms (taste-wise). Weirdly incredible how my palate changed. I didn’t even drink shu between then and now o_O

Sipdown! (126)

I’m trying the other half of my sample Western-style this morning. The lovely Stephanie was nice enough to answer my questions regarding water volume, steep time, et cetera. Thanks Steph!

It’s pretty delicious this way, but I’m sad to say that I prefer the gong fu preparation. Aww, I wanted the lazy way to be better! Lol. Either way, this is one super delicious shou from Mandala and I will definitely be ordering some once I’m off hiatus! :D

Edit: I just wanted to throw this out there – this is basically the shou version of Golden Orchid. So lovers of that tea should definitely try this one. Just saying! ;)

The wind chill is -30F, and the snow is blowing like mad out there…. thank goodness I’m sitting inside sipping away.
I had 3.5grams of this left from a sample I had received, so this is my last bit of this (I’m sad to see it go! ).
The bread pudding quality is ever present, making it one inviting cup.
I feel so uneducated when I write a note about ripe puerh, because I have SO much to learn… Knowing that I like it is about all I have right now, but I’m not at the stage of being able to compare the subtleties of one to another.
I just know that this is one great cup of tea… the mineral dance on my tongue is delightful, and the hints of raisin and caramel are lovely.