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I really liked this tea. I got it in my September Steepster box. It is a little stronger than your usual Oolong (which I really liked). It has a nutty taste, and some hints that remind me of molasses or caramel. This tea is actually very forgiving to oversteeping. I steeped it for about 10 minutes after getting side tracked in the kitchen. There is a slightly astringent edge, but it’s not at the forefront, and may have been brought on by my oversteeping as I don’t remember my first brew having that much astringent.

I got this tea in my first Steepster box! The first steep is very much chocolate, with hints of mineral and wheat. I was actually impressed at the level of chocolate flavor without any added chocolate. Successive steeps are lighter on chocolate, but it’s still present. There are more pronounced notes of wheat/bread and mineral in later steeps.

A great Shou featured by Mandala in a limited time sampler, very balanced, smooth and mellow, easy to drink from first steep to fourth. Chocolate and malt notes, along with leather and wood in early steeps. I would recommend this to people (like me) that are new to Pu-erh.

I got this in my Ripe Pu-erh sampler from Mandala. It has a wonderful complex earthiness, hints of leather, cream and oak. I did a 15 second rinse followed by a 15 second steep, 30 seconds and so on. I liked this sample, but Phatty cake is still my favorite – that may simply be by virtue of being my “first”. I would like to try this again, I started it late in the day and only got 2 steeps. :-(

This I picked up at the grocery store on a whim – I’ve been on a caramel kick lately. It had a nice carmely flavor, but wasn’t a very spicy Chai. I’m going to have to drink it a few more times and vary the temp and steep to see if I can get an infusion I like a little better. That said, this is a decent tea. It tastes of caramel and vanilla with a hint of anise.

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! :-)

This was my very first Pur-eh and I was in love at first sip. Complex notes ranging from earthy to a hint of vanilla, maybe a slight molasses flavor. the depth of flavors and complexity was amazing. I got 4-5 steeps from my sample packet before there wasn’t much flavor left. This I am planning to buy soon. :-) I did a 15 second rinse, let the tea rest for about 5-10 min, then did 15, 30, 45 second infusions. the last steep was quite long since it was loosing flavor, but still tasty.

Really lovely initial cardamom/chai scent. this tea is quite good hot or iced. Iced it has more of the Crème Brule flavor with just a hint of the chocolate. Hot, it has a more pronounced chai spice flavor with a bit of vanilla.

I actually had to do a “double steep” on this tea because I put WAY too much water in my cup! :-D Initally the smell is very much like a mounds bar, then you start getting more of the black tea. I do wish the flavors of chocolate and coconut came more strongly. it’s a black tea (mild) with hints of cocoa and coconut. I will try this again and actually pay more attention to my water level to see if i can get a better brew. It’s a nice tea though, and I will finish out my bag.