Mandala Tea

Another tea that is easy on my empty tummy. Tony was in Kansas City all week, so his cupboards are pretty bare. After our morning cup in bed, He got up & went to the grocery to get some supplies. I made a cup of this & proceeded to languish in the bubble bath. They are talking about snowmagedan again, lol. Either it will, or it won’t. I have a rare weekend off, with no interest in drama, so I’ll just sip tea in my pjs with Tony, & if it falls, I’ll enjoy it.

This is a lovely cup of malt, hay, & sweet potato.

Tony’s back, & I hear him fixing breakfast, plus my cup is empty. Time to set the iPad down, wash my hair, & get on with the pajama wearing.

I received this tea in a swap with Dexter3657 thank you so much for sending me such a lovely black tea.

It smells cocoa and a earthy not. I brew it western style. The liquor is quite darked amber.
I really enjoy it both very hot and as it cools even if I absolutely agree with Dexter3657 the main lovely notes for me , the fruity ones & apricot especially and baked bread, are most present while the tea is cooling.

The only little point is I would have prefered it with a little bit more body and it is “just” medium bodied. This is a very little point because I do frankly love it.

I’ll retry with a longer steep to see if I can ameliorate the body to adjust to my tastes.

It’s a beautiful sunny Easter Sunday in my neck of the woods… Not as warm as it should be, but at this point, we’ll take anything mother nature is willing to give.

I’m admiring the birds chanting their melody of happiness in the feeders. My cats are also watching, but in a very different way. Their watering mouths slightly open , they wish they could feast on one of them…sorry kitties, not going to happen!

I’ve decided to cold brew some spent leaves of this tea last night cause I had only a few Gongfu sessions and they still had a lot more to give. So today, I can drink it iced for the first time.

I am so impressed with this tea. It is stunning to look at, and it tastes like no other tea I own. I mentioned in my previous notes that its natural sweetness reminds me of maple water, still does. Cold steeped, the conifer piney note emerges more than when it’s hot, but it’s still just a hint.

In fact, every note in this tea is subtle, but as a whole, it’s bursting with flavour. I could buy this by the pound, that’s how good it is…I’m almost out, but still have a serving or two left, thankfully :-)

(See previous notes)

I love music. All kind of music. I can start the day with The Black Keys and end it with Nina Simone. But my universe on Sunday morning usually gravitates torwards classical music. This morning, I chose Erik Satie. I love the odd atmosphere found in his pieces, Gnossienne no. 1, one of my favourite piano number ever. This slow movement version is the best in my opinion:

http://youtu.be/7harFCylWNQ

This tea has put a spell on me, I’ve been enamoured with it since I’ve tasted it for the first time. Sadly, I’m almost done with the year 2009 pouch I’ve ordered. But Garret also sent a generous sample of year 2013 to try so it will be interesting to compare the two.

I know I’ve reviewed it only 9 days ago, but it’s so special, I feel compelled to review it again.

This morning, what’s in my cup still reminds me of spring maple water and it’s even more appropriate with the bright sunny day we’re having so far. This beautiful tea helps me believe that spring might be on its way after all…As I look through the window, even the birds and the squirrels look happier today!

First sip and my mouth is invaded with sweetness and roundness that feel almost like pudding! But I’m immediately getting a faint woodsy earthiness, which reminds me I’m actually drinking pu’erh. Floral notes emerged today, more than I’ve tasted before, reminiscent of a light fragrant rose water. It’s very subtle though, I would never qualify this tea as being “floral”.

I like how this is complex but yet so accessible. I think any tea lover would enjoy this cup, whether they are white and pu’erh tea lovers or not.

Thank you Mandala for such a wonderful experience, it delivers time after time. I will have no choice but to restock on this :-)

Not always the biggest fan of white teas, but I do have my favourite Bai Mu Dan and Silver Needle. Never had a white pu’erh until I’ve tried Mandala’s teas.

Another first is the look of this tea. Very unusual cute little white buds, they are just perfect. The look like mini pinecones.

Since it’s my first experience with this type of tea, I diligently followed Mandala’s instructions (If you know me, you know I’m usually not so good at following “the rules”!)

The brewed liquor is really pale, almost colourless.

This is sweet and fresh at the same time, it reminds me of the purest maple water. It’s almost candy sweet and It’s got that soft mineral alkalinity, it’s round and velvety in the mouth. It’s similar to some yellow tea I really love. It’s subtle, but there’s still a nice distinct pu’erh earthiness to it.

Awww…I’ve fallen in love with so many teas lately! Thought I was all set with my usuals, and now I keep adding to my staple list. That’s your fault Garret! (And Dexter3657’s, and Sil’s, lol!) But that’s what I call a good problem, is it not?

It was pretty spectacular, it provided a beautiful relaxation moment… This was a blind buy and I’m so happy I went for it. It reminded me of happy times when I was just a little girl.

My grand father was everything to me, he was a mentor and his influence made me who I am today. He was a hard working farmer, and a maple syrup producer. He was a master at transforming quenching maple water into the most amazing treat ever. I’d spend hours at the sugar shack watching him perform his art. He’d let me drink the maple water directly from the bucket that had collected the precious nectar from maple trees. If you ever tasted maple sap, you know it’s unlike any other beverage. Here, we now find maple water at the grocery store, just like coconut water. Not quite as good and fresh as having it directly from the tree but close enough!

This tea was a good reminder of those happy memories…

Loose version. Lovely, all earthy, mushroomy, smoothness.

I’m sipping Morning Sun and life is good…

This feels thick and dusty in the mouth. Malty with no trace of astringency, very smooth. I love how different this tea is, it’s sweet, roasty and earthy, but there’s also a sharpness to it, like fresh juicy green bell peppers.

It’s gonna rain soon…but who cares, I have sunshine in my cup…and I love the rain!

(If only I didn’t have to deal with mosquitos, they are the size of a quarter this year…what’s up with that, a super species?)

Went to bed around midnight. Woke up at 3am.

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is : fix yourself a cup of tea. But at this time of the night, I have no patience to choose so I ask the Steepster Tea Randomizer

http://www.jaydeee.net/pickatea.php

Ironically, it chose Morning Sun for me, ain’t that amusing?

Anyways, I’m glad it did, cause I love it.

This tea feels thick and dusty in the mouth. There’s also a weird peppery sharpness to it, very strange and so different in a good way. But it’s also sweet, earthy and roasty. Very complex.

It will keep me company until sunrise :-)

Thanks you Dexter3657 for this special offering…

First, I do realize I a m drinking Morning Sun at night. Well, I checked and I couldn’t find any Evening Moon in my cupboard…besides, nothing stipulates that it should be drunk only in the morning, right?

The leaves are so pretty, they look like sunny little spirals. I basket brewed for only 3 min. as I watched and smelled the beautiful golden liquid, I knew it was enough. I’m usually a heavy steeper, but this tea is quite potent.

It may sound a little weird, but I get the sharpness of green peppers in this tea. But it’s also sweet and slightly woodsy. It feels thick and dusty in the mouth, it’s kind of hard to explain. I also get something reminiscent of a baked potato peel, earthy and roasted. I like it a lot. It has floral notes to top it all. It does have similarities to some Golden Monkey I’ve had, but I find this to be more complex.

Most of the time, I don’t re-steep black teas unless I gongfu brew. But this one had a lot more to give, the leaves were not fully unfurled, I managed to get three very tasty infusions.

So glad I made this part of my recent Mandala order, I know I have many more cups to come, and yes, will be able to experience the joy of having it in the morning!

Thanks Dexter3657 for another tasty treat :-)

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

Man, this is super good smooth shu. I have been drinking on it all day :) Basically, this embodies everything I like about shu!

I sort of wish I had ordered some of this instead of the Bu Lang Gong Ting now!

Thanks for the sample, Dexter! (As an aside, WTF is the note window defaulting to “Yes I would recommend this tea”? That’s terrible. Ugh. Have I accidentally been recommending everything?)

Anyways. I thought this was something else, so steeped it ~2 minutes Western style this morning. Then realized by the colour and smell that it was a puerh and removed the leaves before I did a 4 minute steep. Haha. Tasty, but not what I wanted at all.

Still, this is a nice puerh. Not fishy, but it is mushroomy. A little savoury. Takes accidental longish steeps fairly well.

Mmm, tea.

Oh this is good! Thanks so much, Dexter3657!

I rinsed for about 20 seconds, and did a first steep of 2 minutes or so. It’s nice and earthy and mushroomy. Mmm.

No, it’s not super complex or fancy, but it’s delicious and I could see enjoying it any time of day. I’ll probably have a couple more steeps tonight, and I have enough left for a couple more rounds. Definitely something to consider purchasing, as I wouldn’t be scared to waste the tea, yet is is something I can sit and enjoy.

(1.5 tsp, 12 oz)

Complex, unique, mysterious! This white tea is quite different than other whites – this one went through some processing encouraging it to age, so apparently after a few years, this white will be a black tea! Nifty! The leaves are big, open and fuzzy with a salt and pepper colouring, as some leaves are silver, others black.

Taste? Really neat and full bodied – white tea taste of sparking grape and juicy, a bit of black tea maltyness, with raw pu’er flavors of ultra creamy sticky and bit of musty (a tasty musty). This isn’t your light, crisp floral white tea – it’s mystery in a cup. Especially in the later steepings as it gets wispy and still creamy.

Also Tea Drunk in a cup. White tea tea drunk? I’m totally tea drunk WAHHHHh.

Full review with lots of pictures on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/white-night-mandala-tea-oolong-owl-tea-review/

Man, I don’t know if I did something wrong with this tea, or if it is really THAT different tasting than the Wild Monk cake I’ve got at home… I brewed it up and treated it just like I would my cake, and I’m getting hardly any smoke or sweetness or delicous shengy tang. Mostly I’m getting a weird bitterness…I’m on steep #2 and I’m going to keep going for a couple more steeps and see what kind of flavors I can pull from it. Any suggestions are welcome!

Another sample from Garret. After the first steeping I was thinking “What is Garret thinking?” I like my pu’er dark and earthy. This didn’t look dark and earthy. After drinking steeping 5 I can tell you what Garret was thinking, it is time to blow open some doors for this guy. This is excellent pu’er, earthy but in a subdued way and the flavor is awesome. I would write more but steeping 6 is demanding to be joyfully made!

I sure have been drinking a lot of puerh lately, huh?

Today I steeped this one at a lower temp for a longer time. I got more creamy nuttiness and less mushroom notes. Yummmmmmm!

Speaking of shu, has anyone encountered this before?? http://04561.com/image/cache/data/20110518/b3-700×700.jpg It’s puerh tea aged inside an orange rind! I’M SO CURIOUS ABOUT IT!

Yay new Pu-erh!

This is a very enjoyable shu. It has the classic earthy shu flavor, but is a little creamier and nuttier than most! I look forward to exploring it further :)

Not much to say on this one besides i am having a grand time drinking it up this morning. I’m working from home today and feeling incredibly productive even with my minimal sleep over the past couple of days. The last piece of this is off to Cavocorax so that she can try it out and see what other delights she wants to explore from Mandala :)

this is a partial sipdown for me since the piece that i finished up this afternoon was from gracebtlb but i have another 2 sessions from terri to get through :) One of those will be going to Cavocorax though, so she can try this one out as part of her puerh AND mandala journey :)

I’m still working my way through this, but so far, this has started out as a woody sort of puerh with some earthiness in the background. As i’ve gone through more of the steeps it’s become more woody… so far..pretty interesting :)

This was a sample Garret sent with an order that I had placed. At first I noticed that the taste was not as bold as the Noble Mark, it was more subdued. However, after seven steepings I came to a few conclusions. First, I love this pu’er. By the fourth steeping I was so deep into pu’er bliss I forgot about my beloved Noble Mark. Second, this pu’er has an amazing consistency. Over seven steepings it was incredibly consistent, it never grew stronger nor did it grow weaker. Third, with each steeping there was a very subtle change in taste, with each steeping the new taste was just as pleasing or actually better than the last. This pu’er will be included in my next order!!

This one came from Terri HarpLady!

This one has been on my shopping list, now newly named wishlist (?), for a long time. I love flowering teas. They are definitely beautiful to watch bloom, it is almost like I have no idea how that even works. Definitely an art. But I don’t really care for the taste of flowering teas. So when I came across this one, I was super curious, it was a flowering tea but made of black tea. Right up my alley.

I only used 2 cones for a cup because I wasn’t sure how strong it would be. In hindsight, I should have used 3 or 4 cones but I have enough to try again. Definitely beautiful to watch the cones “flower”.

This one brewed up a sweet, malty black tea. I am getting honey notes, but very specifically barley honey notes. It is quite mild on the boldness scale but I think that is more to do with not using enough tea. This one is similar to some of the black pearl teas I have tried but with more sweetness.

Edit: I did a resteep with the same two cones, but for 4 minutes. Definitely a lot stronger with the 4 minute steep time. less honey flavour, it is strong but not bold. Pretty smooth taste. I think, though, I would prefer more tea with less steep time.

One of my favorites. Enjoying this with a warm slice of chocolate mousse cake topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce…Best dessert ever.