Mandala Tea

This is simply one of the most gorgeous dry leaf teas I have seen. Tight little curls of gold and brown and black. This tea steps right up and says “Hey, baby, how about a smooth breakfast?” I seriously heard Barry White in my head when I smelled this, even though the fog of allergies. This is sweet, deep, bright and fruity. The leaves unwind amazingly. This is malty but not overwhelmingly so and not as much as some others I’ve had recently. It doesn’t specify on the website, but I’m guessing this is a yunnan or relation thereof. The second steep was more minerally and had a taste of brown sugar and dusty hay.

I did use filtered water at work for this. Next up, I try it at home. :) And it will probably say 1 teaspoon of tea used but I use 1 1/2 when I’m using my work mug and this system doesn’t accept .5 as a valid entry. :)

Allergies = no rating for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfxZRBm3EY

Update: Still indubitably delish with tap water. Maybe a bit more on the dusty hay side of things in the first steep this time, though.

Such a pretty tea! I get some smoke from this that deepens as the cup cools but it isn’t objectionable. This is a nice, smooth, deep, sweet tea. It’s been in my cart several times. Someday I’ll make it all the way past the checkout at Mandala and have this in my cupboard. :) Thanks, boychik!

Having a Mandala Tea’s ’Wild Mountain" green sheng from 2011. I started this out with 11 grams that I broke off the chunk of tea I have. I separated it into smaller pieces. There are lots of whole leaf in this one with whole stems with the leaves attached. I brewed this in the yixing after a 10 second rinse. It started a golden color on the first brew after a 10 second steep.. This is nice and sweet on the first brew with hints of camphor, flowers and white grapes. I started the second infusion with a 10 second steep it comes out with more depth to it. The color is the same with the camphor touch and a slight pleasant bitternes that will coat and numb the tip of the tongue. I usually will only have one cup of sheng this late at night but this is the second cup and it leaves me wanting more. This is a very nice sheng, leaves appear to be a smaller “gongting” size about half the size of my smallest finger. The depth and complexity are nice and I may have to get a whole cake of this to age. Very enjoyable. Garret, Garret where do you find these great teas at

This stuff is amazing! Garret sent me a sample with my last order and I am in love. I just used it to clean my Breville One touch, Timolino Thermos, a plastic ice tea pitcher and a frequently used white tea cup. All from the one sample.

It was super easy. I just followed the instructions and was shocked. No scrubbing needed and they’re all sparkling clean.

I’m definitely buying more when I get a chance. I haven’t seen my Breville this clean since the day I bought it. to clean

At a three minute steep this one seems to acquire some notes of stone fruit — primarily nectarine — at the end of the sip. It’s almost like some of the caramel notes present in the shorter steep have morphed into this. The cocoa, while subtle in the short steep, isn’t present at all in a longer one.

I definitely think the shorter steep is for me.

This looked like a really fluffy delicate golden yunnan, and I’m thrilled that that is exactly what it was! It’s malty with sweet notes of caramel and cocoa that build on your tongue. But it manages to stay delicate and refreshing, with a really clean and crisp finish.

This is pretty much everything I like in a black tea, only lightened and more vibrant. This is something I could see settling into a permanent spot in my cabinet once things get under control.

Thank you Garret for including a sample of this with my recent order :)

Wow this is a nice green oolong! It has a sweet greenness that reminds me a bit of sencha, and a lovely floral (lilac?) aftertaste. Not as sweet or creamy as milk oolong but special and charming in its own way. I’m really digging the floral element and mineral notes!

I am beginning to since a trend. Another Mandala pu’er, another excellent tea! The boldness of this tea is perfect. The initial flavor was earthy with an undertone of smoke. After steeping 4, the smoke taste slowly faded and was replaced by undertones that I can’t describe. Suffice it to say, the undertones were magnificent.

This is my first time trying a Da Hong Pao. When I first sipped it I thought “wood”, but on second thought it’s more like roasted grains. I’ve steeped this three times now, each infusion much like the one before and a bit one-note (NB: I bought this tea nearly 10 months ago, so age might be catching up with it). I do like the fact that it tastes toasty rather than charred, unlike many other roasted oolongs I’ve had. Not amazing, but very smooth & drinkable.

Nothing too offense after two long rinses but nothing worth $8/oz either. I have brewed it a few different ways and still can not seem to get a “80” rating taste out of it, not a bad ripe to start with before delving into the pantheon of puer but even some big box brands ive had better and for much cheaper (still prefer rishi’s shous over this and they are almost half the price and “organic” not that it matters but it doesnt hurt).

-Preface
Im fairly new(3 months or so) to Pu erh, Sheng and Shu a like but I already have my preferences. I am not getting the same notes as other reviewers, I rinsed twice both times, once tried gongfu yesterday ( 4 g dry leaf /100 mL multiple quick infusions) and also today western style ( 4 g dry leaf / 240 mL 5/6/6 min infusion).
-Review
This ripened pu erh has a fruity taste to it that reminded me of mulled wine or warmed berries and a sour quality of raw cacao (not dark chocolate but 90-100% cacao bars). It was still fairly smooth and not bitter in the least but that fruity/sour taste is not something I look for especially in a pu erh in the morning. I the western style brew mellowed out the sour fruity taste and seemed to bring the other earthy qualities I enjoy but still not my favorite. I will keep experimenting with brewing time/water/etc. Overall nothing terrible I can appreciate the quality and see why others like it, hate to use a cheesy line but “Not my cup of Tea” seems appropriate.

Sipdown! Bye Bye Special Dark, you will be missed!

Had the last of this lovely one today…just seemed the time to finish it up. Stacy and I were talking pu erh on Facebook yesterday, so that got me back in the mood for one, and I opted to finish this one off. I have some more pu erh from Teavivre too. And a few shengs. Yum. Pu erh all the time! Read my last note for this one for more detail.

Bamboo Integrity is steeping, so I gotta go grab that one. Yay for two sipdowns today!

This is one of those teas that seems to get a lot of attention, and is especially popular in swaps. I got my sample that way.

So, I was really debating on how to brew this baby up this morning, since I know it’s a re-steep master. And so I read a lot of people doing many short steeps, increasing steep time as they went along. I also noted the power steepers…the ones that steeped for very long periods of the…so what was I going to do?

Because I was working today, I opted to kind of mix the two. I had my usual two travel mugs of tea…my kids mug and timolino. Normally when I steep in the morning, it is the same tea, and I split each steep between mugs as to minimize the weaker steep. Today though, I didn’t do it that way. Kids mug was first steep since that one cools off faster than the timolino. Also, I opted for 1-2 minutes on the first and 2-3 minuets on the second (and the time it took me to do dishes on the third when I got home). I’m quite accustomed to a dark pu erh, so it was no biggie…I just didn’t have the time to sit and steep multiple times today, but maybe on a later day I will. Also, it was effing cold out this morning, and a deeper richer brew was A-OK with me, to be perfectly honest. The fact that it is so coffee-like with a dark brew was hearty and warming.

Do I like this? Hellz yeah. I had it with milk and sugar and it was smooth, a bit sweet and chocolatey. On this third brew, there is no astringency, no fishiness, not much earthy, or sour. It’s smooth and creamy and sweet and yummy.

It’s definitely one of the better pu erh teas I have had. I have a little of the sample pouch left, so I may look into the alternate steeping, and may not use milk or sugar.

But this is a win, so thanks to CrowKettle for tossing the rest of this package my way.

Does anybody want to buy my Harley? 1200C sportster, in excellent condition. I just can’t find time to ride anymore, plus my allergies make me tippy, if you know what I mean.

This is a lovely tea. Beautiful brown leaves, like dark chocolate, with mahogany highlights. The dry aroma is like dried apricots & fragrant wood.
per Mandala’s suggestions: 1 Heaping Tb + 8oz X 30 sec
Beautiful Wuyi aroma, sweet & roasty good. Hints of sea salt caramel in the cup, with a sweet cinnamon after taste & aroma.
45 sec – a little bolder, slightly tart & tangy, with a growing taste of raisen, makes me think of cinnamon dusted pastry, or maybe cinnamon raisen bread.
1min – a sweet & mellow cup of goodness. This is the cup I’m on right now, & it is tasty!

I really thought I’d already written a review of this one, but I guess not!
This cup is a sample sent to me by Sil, but I can’t claim a sipdown because I actually have quite a bit of this tea in my collection.

It’s lightly roasty, woody, a little sweet, & spicy. I wish I had some macaroons.