Mandala Tea

sipdown. WOW. that’s all i can say, is just wow. This was from the great canadian travelling tea box, though i’m fairly certain this was one that dexter put in. I have been drinking this all morning. Seriously. the smoke is just perfect..and it’s sweet and delicious and every time i forgot what i was drinking and absentmindedly took a sip, i was immediately floored and kept exclaiming Oh! This may actually be one of the first cakes i get around to purchasing from Garrett…even before noble mark or special dark. Because this? this was really good. (though with my luck it’s all sold out or something…keeps happening lol)

Terri sent me these a few months ago, but for whatever reason, I haven’t tried them until now. :O I feel like I should be ashamed of myself or something for waiting!

I brewed these up without instructions as my computer wasn’t on yet, but I guessed that 4 pearls in 8 oz at 3 min would be ok. And it’s definitely ok. This tea is rich and malty, and just a touch sweet. I’m waiting for it to cool a bit more so that more notes will pop out.

Thanks again Terri Harplady for letting me see what the fuss is about!

My dearest tea sister terri sent this sample to me and since I have been bad and bought a bit of tea, i decided i needed a sipdown today. Since my non puerhs pretty much all have several cups to sip them down (or giant Sil sized cups) I opted to enjoy this one this morning while i get ready to go run some errands before coming back home to try and work.

Only on the first couple of steepings but this is a delicious puerh. It won’t be my all time favourite from Garret but it’s not fishy, it’s slightly earthy but not overwhelmingly so. I don’t get the cinnamon that terri did but like i said..initial steepings. more to come :)

Edit: later steepings are deeeelicious! though i cheated after a few and just went for a long 5 min steep heh

Yum! This is another sample from Dexter. So tasty, it’s exactly what I wanted. Perhaps I should have rinsed again but this works.

Three steps in my not-a-timolino, pouring it into my new pretty cup. I’ll do three more steeps when I’m done this one and take it to bed to accompany my reading.

I wanted to do a full gongfu of it tonight but my desk is a mess of computer so I’m drinking it standing in the kitchen while making and eating sushi. I’d link pics but I just have my phone. Maybe I can figure links out and put them in the comments. :)

I am pretty sure this is the one sent to me by Dexter (I have so many puerh samples from you! Thank you!) It’s marked 2011 on the label.

Yeah, this one I like. There’s something about it that reminds me of forest. Plus a very sweet scent that comes and goes. And a hint of spice. I think I liked the other one better, though. The one I said I didn’t like. Whoops!

10s rinse, few minute rest, 10s steep.

This would be really good with a little cinnamon.

12s: Oh boy, this is really strong. I wasn’t really expecting that. Why, I don’t know. I have had this before. My tongue is tingly. I think I’d call this leather. Maybe. Possibly.

Actually, this is a very nice counterpoint to fresh veg, guac and salsa…

12s: More of the same, also lots of distractions playing with the cat.

12s: More tingly tongueness again.

12s: Still going strong.

I’ve had to refill my Zojirushi, whoops. This thing takes forever to boil.

Etc. I’ll edit, I suppose.

From Dexter3657. Whee!

I steeped it too long. Or used too much tea. 2 rinses, and a 15 second steep and it feels almost like coffee that’s been boiling on the cob for the afternoon. Only it’s tea.

https://twitter.com/omgsrslyfolks/status/399718939967492096/photo/1

Do you SEE how dark that steeped? It’s a total kick in the pants, and I wasn’t expecting it. The tea is very earthy and strong, at this point it would be better (for me) with some sugar or honey added.

Instead, I’m going to dump the rest of the cup and steep again! Maybe this time 10 seconds will work.

Oh, that’s better. I rinsed it quickly again as the leaves had been steeping in the leftover liquid, and as soon as I added the water it looked like soy sauce. Then I steeped for 5 seconds. Heh.

This tea is really nice. It has flavours that I enjoy in a puerh, and once I get my steeping parameters right I can see it being easy and excellent. It’s very foresty, but in a different way than the 1990 puerh I get from Soko.

Thanks, Dexter!

nom! kicked off the day with this one from kimquat! I had this yesterday but i just wanted that delicious malty goodness this morning :)

mmmm another sample from kimquat that i drank up this morning. So good. Smooth and malty and downright perfect! I will need to pick up more of this with my next mandala order. seriously. YUM! Thanks kimquat!

sipdown! I don’t have much time today to get my drink on so i’m trying to get a few sipdowns in this morning while i try and wake up, after being up most of the evening/morning. I have enjoyed this one quite a bit while i’ve had it. It won’t be at the top of my hit list but i can see myself restocking this from time to time in order to visit with it for a while. Overall, i have thoroughly enjoyed the teas that i’ve picked up from Mandala :)

This was my morning tea…well whatever passes for my morning after staying up all night and getting a 3? hours nap. Still enjoying this one quite a bit but with all the varieties of black teas that i have from our travelling BBB Box, i’m not sure that this will be a restock. Not that it’s not delicious, but i’m not sure it falls in the top percentile :)

this was a lovely tea that i had yesterday. I didn’t get much in the way of tea drinking done yesterday because of date night, but i plan on making up for that today with a work from home day haha. I’m looking forward to drinking my mandala teas once i get through a few more other teas in smaller amounts (dexter i’m looking at you here lady!)

I have some backlogging to do this morning. We had friends over last night so i didn’t get much of a chance to do anything besides eat and have fun while drinking tea :) such a hard life.. heh

I don’t recall much about this one other than it was SOOOOO tasty while i was at work. once i get a chance to drink it again, i’ll capture a better note. That being said, this was really a great tea to have yesterday!

sipdown! and terri, thank you so much for sharing this one with me since it’s nothing i ever would have bought for myself. I’ve been drinking this most of the day, in between other teas.

I just wanted to enjoy this tea so i didn’t really take notes. What was most surprising and interesting to me though was the smokey notes in this. It wasn’t like a black tea, but the contrast of the smoke with a lighter tea was really interesting, especially since it wasn’t overpowering the tea taste. there’s a sweetness to this one as well that i like.

Wonderful find Garrett!

Sipdown, 116. This is a really nice Yunnan black tea. Sweet potatoes, honey, a bit of hay, but not too much earthiness, which always turns me off. A tasty tea for the morning.

Mmm, now this is a yunnan tea I can get behind. Sweet and a bit nutty, with hay and squash notes. Malty and sweet potato-y. This is one of those teas that I enjoyed so much that I drank it down without thinking about it too much, and it was suddenly gone before I was ready. Thanks for sending this one along, Sil!

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

This is not a kind of tea I actively seek out, but a kind I always tend to enjoy. Very smooth and sweet. Lots of nice roasty and cocoa-like flavors without being super heavy. I’m glad I got to try it :)

So I had my water boiled and ready to go, and I knew which tea I wanted to drink, and I thought I knew exactly where this particular tea was. Wrong. There are only 5 possible places in my home where this tea could possibly be hiding, so where is it??!! It took me 10 minutes to find, and wouldn’t you know it was in the desk right beside me. Hiding behind the box that it came in.

So I prepared fresh water, and am now sipping on sweet caramel goodness. It was worth the hunt. This tea is so silky smooth. I bought this tea because of the way it looked in the photo – all the long golden strands. I just knew I had to have it.

Another delicious tea from Mandala – thank you!

After enjoying the puerh yesterday, I was hopeful to find another one that I enjoy too. This one has stellar reviews and i had it on hand, so i gave it a go.

It definitely smells like puerh, but is surprisingly sweet and not fishy at all. As it cools the more hay like notes start to take over, but there is a sweet spot right around 5 mins after cooling where it is perfectly sweet and delicious. I’m on my 4th resteep, drinking it between other cups of teas. Glad I have a bit more of this!

I’ve been sipping on this Sheng for a couple of hours, & enjoying the good vibes that it brings. I think I gave a pretty good description the last time I had a session with it, so I won’t go into any long winded detailed account of each steeping. Right now the cup is sweet, like a light nectar, with just a hint of smoke & a camphor after-glow. My brain is lit up like a lightbulb, & I feel very relaxed & present. This is a crystal clear sheng, & I’m really enjoying it!

What to say? Sometimes I hate being the person who has to add a tea, AND being the first person to review it.

I wanted a cup of raw puerh because I’m feeling kind of fuzzy headed, & drinking sheng tends to clear my head…well sort of…it also makes me a little out there, if you know what I mean. I feel extremely ‘present’ right now.

This Sheng is VERY dark, almost black, with mahogany streaks running through it. I started sipping it a few hours ago. I can’t really describe the tastes today…other than to say it was initially earthy & smokey, gradually getting sweeter. After a few rounds there was an ‘open’ taste. I can’t really tell you what that means to me…kind of a hollow, circular taste, very smooth. Right now there’s a tangy sensation about halfway up my tongue. It doesn’t taste like pineapple, but it feels kind of like pineapple. A few steeps later my tastebuds all feel like they are wiggling around. I’ve got a good skull shining going on now, Good energy, time to go play my harp for awhile. I’ll continue to sip into the evening.

Just as everyone else has said -this tea is fabulous!! I love oolongs and this didn’t disappoint. I bought 2 oz. and went back to the website to make sure I could get more and low and behold its sold out!!!! When is it going to return????

This is sweet and mellow as straight black teas go, with that trademark Chinese smoothness and caramelized sweet potato thing going on. Something like chocolate and the smallest tinge of smoke too. Very pleasant and easy-going. I can see the resemblance to keemun and how people might prefer this as it’s a little sweeter and smoother than the keemuns I’ve tried so far but still has hints of those smoky intense chocolate notes. It’s a nice tea that doesn’t kick you awake rudely but does the job in a friendly, kinder sort of manner.