Mandala Tea

On the rare occasion when I have a guest for tea, this seems to be the one most gravitate toward. I have to admit, it is one of my favorites as well, from the gorgeous little pellets of rolled leaves, to the heady aroma (both dry and brewed), to the amber brew with flavors of malt, honey and fields of grain and wildflowers. Had to add this to my shopping list since there was barely enough left in my stash for a mug this morning…

Over the past month or so I have been slowly working my way through the few ounces of this wonderful tea, enjoying the bright, mellow, impressive flavor and aroma. There are slight nutty hints like a good dragonwell tea, but more herbaceous notes that linger as an aftertaste. A nice buttery quality with no astringency or bitter aftertaste.

I first began brewing this in a small gaiwan, yielding at least 4 good short steepings, but also tried it in a tea thermos, adding 175F water over the leaves several times. Both methods worked well and there always seems to be flavor left in the leaves. Another very interesting and impressive tea from Mandala Tea!

Thank you ifjuly for sending me such a generous sample of this.
Anyone who follows me knows that I am a HUGE Mandala fan, they also know that I “call them as I see them” when it comes to logging teas.
I’m having problems with this one. It confuses me. I’m having problems calling it, because I don’t know how I feel about it.
I’m having a love/hate relationship. When it’s HOT, it has as odd fruity, white wine, astringent smell to it. Can’t even begin to describe how it tastes – some might say light and bright – I’m calling it a high note/tone. As it cools, it deepens and the cocoa notes, and the starchy feel that I like so well starts to come through. Once this is lukewarm, it’s a really nice black tea, with all the notes that I love about good Chinese blacks….
I hate this when it’s hot, I love it when it’s cooler. I’ve drank it a couple days at work now. Today I tried it with more leaf, cooler water, less steep time. I didn’t think the “wine” taste was as prominent today, but still there…
This just really confuses me. I don’t know how to rate it – how I feel about it depends on what temperature it is.

Beautiful when not overbrewed. Tasted more like almond skins to me than almond milk.

This was a very generously sized sample Garret managed to throw in somehow at my request in the midst of holiday madness. Mandala’s customer service is top notch!

This has all those malty smooth qualities good starchy Chinese black teas possess, but also aspects of legacy-style breakfast teas in that it’s strong with the merest hint of breakfast blend astringency and a woodiness that emerges at the end of the sip and builds gradually. A nice everyday-type morning tea, the sort of thing you could replace a mandatory cup of coffee first thing-type habit with. Its subtler charms come out the more you drink it. It has a sweet cleanness in the aftertaste that’s unexpected and a nice counterpoint to the upfront smooth starchiness. I enjoy these “go-between” type teas that have parts of both worlds in the basic black tea market.

ETA: Forgot to say earlier too that this is a very pretty leaf, long and unbroken, lovely both dry and steeped. I just seem to extra appreciate that quality in brisk morning teas because it feels so relatively unusual and overlooked, unnecessary in the haze of caffeinating oneself. It always makes me smile though when I encounter it.

4g / 200ml glaspot
Single infusion 2m @ 80C

Very mild vegal taste. Light taste with a long aftertaste. Kinda fresh.
Will try more leaf if possible.

while still tasty, I think I’ve had this so much it’s losing its complexity to me and is starting to seem pretty one-note—still, when I want something dark and nutty, I reach for it :)

most recently, been loving butter tea with this.

Another day, another tea finished up. I think this is officially my oldest tea in the cupboard, including puerhs, so that’s nice as well. I really have enjoyed this one and will be drinking it all day today to get the most out of it. Always a fan of Mandala’s shou! :)

having a session of this one today. I apparently haven’t been logging this when i drink it as i’m nearly done. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this one, though it’s not as wonderful as special dark. Still upset over that one.

I’ve been drinking this all afternoon since we got back from the mall and it’s been a great way to sit, relax and calm down. Just needed some down time to not do much of anything.

Had this last night hunkered down pre-ice storm (my husband had just learned today would be a snow day, yay!).

This was a totally unexpected gift from Dexter3657, so generous! Thank you. (: It’d been on my mind to try in that ideal-for-swapping way where I was curious but not obsessed so it’s likely I never would’ve actually gotten around to ordering it myself even though I want to. Perfect!

It fit nicely with the pattern I had going earlier with the Da Yu Ling and Tsui Yu Jade oolongs in that it’s a lightly oxidized, more floral and fresh type of oolong (and unlike me in general who usually prefers darker roastier flavors, I seem to usually prefer lighter type oolongs over the more oxidized Wuyi ones). Maybe this is the wrong time of year for such notes, but I find weirdly I like things topsy turvy, at least in winter, as a respite from the coldness and darkness. A little vacation to spring in a cup.

I got to try this out in my new tasting set from Taiwan Tea Crafts (that sale was pretty great!) which was fun and really shows off the aroma and color of the finished tea. I find it strange that typically I hate floral flavored black teas, or perfume-y flowering teas, but when a tea just naturally has floral elements I tend not to mind, even love it. This is true even for jasmine notes, which I’ve always loathed when added/scented but enjoyed here. Hm. It probably helps that this is such a bright tea, which prevents floral aromas from seeming musty. Further steeps lead to a sort of sparkling fruity note, like a dry but fruity wine kind of. The smell has that mysterious, unnervingly sexy flower-musk thing going on that the spring tieguanyin from Verdant possessed. Very enjoyable.

The very first steep had all the floral aroma and character I describe and mostly expected from a light oolong, but the initial sip was a little intense, almost bitter. I’m seeing now others steeped this at a lower temperature, and given the light end of the spectrum for this oolong I think next time (Dexter3657 kindly gave me enough for multiple next times!!) I will lower the temp.

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

Sweet, smooth, not a hint of unpleasant smell. Dark amber color. Truly Special

The fact that this tea is made up of little pearls alone makes it fascinating. I just found them adorable, and it just seems like such a clean, low-fuss way to make tea.

I smelled the tea as it steeped, and immediately thought it was interesting. I could immediately detect an earthy smell, combined with a smell similar to raisins, or maybe even Henna.

The taste actually reflects the scent quite accurately. It definitely has an earthy quality, but also retains a distinct sweetness that was not provided by the rock sugar that I added. Something about drinking this tea reminded me of a farm, and I imagined enjoying it after a long day of doing…farm related chores (I say this as a girl who grew up in a bustling city, and who’s probably never done a farm chore in her life). The farmy aspect of it isn’t entirely unlike that in the Keemun that I had from art of Tea. Not necessarily unpleasant, but definitely distinct. I’m really happy I have enough for another sample, and may even consider ordering more of this when I place my first Mandala order!

again, thank you so very much, JustJames! Mr. Keychange always asks if I’m “going to have another sample from your lovely tea friend in BC.” now!

This was a sample Garret threw in with one of my orders. So nice!

Steeped this one in my gaiwan complete with rinse and more leaf and all that—I’ve decided for straight oolongs that’s my method of choice (have had some truly mind blowing experiences that way). It is toasty, like toasty cereal, plus creamy/buttery in that vaguely savory/salty way many oolongs seem to me. It’s a nice specimen, but I’ve noticed I just don’t seem super into the classic high altitude “shan” oolongs. They’re never bad, just kind of unremarkable to me—I think their particular flavor and texture qualities just happen not to interest me much. But again, this is a good specimen of the type if you like them. I agree too this shares qualities—the creaminess mainly, which builds along with a clean almost fresh milky taste upon multiple resteeps—with Mandala’s popular Milk Oolong. I enjoyed the third and fourth steepings best, when that “fresh clean creamy milk” flavor came out.