493 Tasting Notes
Revisiting and raising my rates. It is 100. Bitter sweet chocolate like 90%. Super smooth, doesn’t have usual earthy smell, more like farina. Agree with ifjuly , it’s like strong espresso with dark chocolate on a side. Exceptional
I used 5 oz gaiwan+2tsp rinse/30/45/ etc
Preparation
This is good stuff!
So different. I didn’t sample a lot of puerh but this one is very distinctive
omigoodness, this sounds delicious…wow! i love espresso & dark chocolate…i think the observation on farina is very nice… so more of a grain/wheat smell than earthy? i think i would really like this..
No earthiness, no mustiness, no mushroom or leather. Very unusual. I wouldn’t say grainy, very often I pick up like rye bread notes. Like hot cereal of wheat to me;). I picked 1oz only but when I run out of it will get more.
I need to pull this one out, it’s been awhile :)
fascinating! i’ve only had 1 pu’erh and it’s Chocolate pu’erh by Numi (lol..have yet to try my first cake!) & while it’s not my favorite kind of black tea, i do enjoy it, esp with the cocoa note. So you get a rye bread note from this one? wow…i love rye/caroway…and fennel, aniseed…lol i’m going off the charts here ;) so hot cereal/cream-of-wheat type smell? i normally think ‘grain’ when i think farina, but upon ur explanation, i must perfect my senses! :)
pyarkaaloo, we must convert you to pu’erh…….
yes, we must!
hahaha ;) i definitely would not mind that happening…something tells me Mandala’s Special Dark will do just the trick!
Sorry my writing is confusing. What I meant sometimes when I drink Chinese black teas I find rye bread notes but this Special dark is farina to me. We have to turn you to Special Dark side;)
I like smoky teas. But last time I brewed it western method it was too much for me. I could not get rid of smoky flavor for long time after I finished my cup.
Today I decided to brew in gaiwan. 5oz+1tsp+1/1/1. i combined all steeps in one cup.
This way smokiness was minimal and tea was so sweet
Preparation
Here we go. As always I start with shortest steeps possible like 5 sec and slowly increase the time.
This shu is amazing. Clear amber color, leather smell but not strong. Very easy to drink. I do feel sparkling. My palate is not trained yet to recognize all the notes. All I can say I really enjoyed it.
Preparation
Pretty!
Is that your cup? : )
Thanks. I didn’t write a note yet. Playing with my phone. I think it’s fun to add pics. Shu has so many shades. I’m obsessed …
Yes. My cup and my glass gongfu pot;). Review will come soon. You inspired me to drink this tea and wanted to take a pic. Thanks caile;)
haha, OK
+1 on the shou obsession. Almost for got, need to stand up for this. Speech is as follows “Hi I am mrmopar and I have a problem with shou puer, I guess I am a shou addict”.
Anyone with a severe shou addiction, to lessen your temptation for shou please box it all up and ship to ….. just kidding!
:)
woww what a gorgeous color!!
thank you
That’s great you enjoyed it! I will have to try mine again after some time and see if I like it any better. :-)
Free sample w/purchase – thank you. I wasn’t into sheng but wanted to try. It’s nice, some astringent but pleasant. After I had 3 cups there is a tingling sensation in my mouth, kinda cool and minty.
Preparation
I have heard that Mangfei is pretty strong and bitter. I would think even more so in a young sheng.
Not bitter but hoppity. I feel like it bites my tongue even though I had it some time ago. Kinda seltzer sensation. But it’s not unpleasant to me. Maybe with longer steeps bitterness would come, but I play it safe with shortest possible and under oiling temp
Nice experience for sure
Yeah I have always wondered about Mangfei now I may have to get some! Blasted tea reviews!! :)
(no comment) :)
Wow now I’m reading rave reviews of this tea on Puerhshop .com
Thank you TeaExplorer for your generous sample. This tea is sweet, bold, cocoa and stone fruit notes. I like it. I was drinking it side by side Yunnan Dian Hong Golden tip by Teavivre. I find these teas similar but Teavivre’s has honey notes more pronaunced.
Preparation
short steeps 5/5/10/10/15 produced light yellow green broth, no bitterness, very smooth. enjoyed it a lot. Thank you TeaExplorer for your generous sample. on my shopping list
Preparation
I’ve been meaning to try this one for a while. Would you describe it as a gentler Xiaguan or does it still kick a bit?
Surprisingly pretty mild. Tell you the truth I was afraid to try it but was curious at the same time. If it would be unbearable I would just dump it. I used small chunk( no scale yet). Brewed in glass gongfu pot not filled to the top, 200F and 5 sec steeps. I steeped it today started yesterday. Increased time to 1 min. Still very pleasant. Some peppery smoky notes, but nothing extreme. I noticed I was kind of sleepy last night after it which is a plus for night drinking
That sounds good. I will put it in my wish list for next time.
Thank you so much TeaExplorer for sharing this fabulous tea with me. Your notes are great and I can only add that I love it. It’s clear red sweet and not boring. I’m on 7th steep. Only short steeps like 15/15/30 sec. On my shopping list 100%
