Mandala Tea

I work with Garret and Sarah at Mandala Tea so I won’t be doing a rating – just personal reflections and a “check-in” on this young sheng.

Method: 7g in gaiwan, boiling water, rinse followed by two infusions of 30 seconds, then five 1 minute infusions and one 5 minute infusion.

After the rinse I poked around in the material and noticed a number of dark reddish leaves and a nice grape-like scent. All infusions brewed up a relatively deep amber/yellow color. It’s a perilous term, but what I think of as a pleasant “sour” in tea is present. It seems to refresh, awaken my tongue and mouth. No smokey smell or flavor, which allows me to enjoy some subtle grape and mineral action as the sourness fades. This stuff feels velvety as I sip.

There is great Qi with this high altitude wild picked stuff. I’m accustomed to it from the Mandala Wild Monk and it is strong with this cake, too. Long after I drink a cup, there is a coolness in my mouth as I draw in breath and my chest feels opened. The sweetness that lingers long after the last cup is just a bonus.

I’ve been spending a lot more time outdoors with my pups, exercising and gardening lately. I’ve started a miniature container garden! We had a few days of fantastic rare sunny warm/cool days here. Now it looks like we’re going back to the usual disappointing weather in the NYC area. I hate humidity. And work days have been busy. This weekend, unfortunately, is busy as well. I’ve signed myself up for a party today, and then it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. I’m going to enjoy some tea while I can.

I’ve tried a variety of puers in my life. I’ve decided that I’m not really a fan. While I can drink the cups down quite easily, I never find myself craving them as I do for oolongs, greens and blacks. I’d drink more white but they often make me shaky. But Mandala has a great puer rep so I thought I’d give this a try. I received this sample when I ordered a bunch of puers for my dad’s birthday. I decided to keep this to educate myself. Two months later, I’m finally diving in.

My first thought is that I’m shocked at the smokiness. I didn’t read any descriptions before trying so I was not expecting this aspect. It’s also lighter than expected. Oddly fresh, which is not something I’d expect from a puer. But maybe that’s just because I don’t have much experience with shengs. This is tasty. I don’t think I’ll be craving it ever, but I am enjoying this current cup.

I’m a huge fan of darker oolongs as I like the toasty flavor. This one, however, feels, much greener and lighter. I quite like it because it’s full-bodied and has smooth sweetness to it. Next time I’ll try the darker version.
Every time I visit Mandala Tea or Butiki or other smaller vendor websites I have all this new vision for their brands. And yes, in my imagination it all looks fantastic, I just can’t help myself :)

Had a bromantic date with my gaiwan and some pu’er this morning.

Quick rinse ~ 3 seconds

1st – 20 seconds
Liquid is medium brown and maintaining transparency, this steep is a bit unruly and surly. Maybe I should have let this brew a bit longer, or rinsed it for longer, not sure. Flavor is leathery with some smoke but tastes unstable with a strange salty note.

2nd – 30 seconds
Characteristic of most pressed pu’ers, the color is pure used motor oil, completely opaque! Love it. Mouth feel is silky and the flavors have seemed to stabilize with prominent leather, earth, rocky minerals and cold campfire. That weird unpleasant salty note has disappeared. This is a very good steep and the cold campfire smokiness paired with the mineral rock notes has triggered a nostalgic memory from a whitewater rafting rip many years ago. Enjoyable!

3rd – 45 seconds
The cake has completely broken up. Still opaque and silky, the flavor has edged off just a nudge but it now feels completely mature. This is my favorite steep. All the previous flavors are still present but with a more earthy tone creeping in. This tea would pair nicely with some bbq pork…

4th – 60 seconds
There is light at the end of the tunnel, I am starting to see the bottom of my 2 ounce cup! The flavors are beginning to lighten up as well, but an earthy and smokey taste lingers. Pleasing.

5th – 90 seconds
Back to transparency, noticeably thin with a smokey after taste that reminds me of a watered down lapsang souchong. Still drinkable but I’m going to call it here.

Overall an enjoyable cuppa, and similar to a few other pressed ripe pu’ers I have tried. While its a great representation of the class, this tea doesn’t really blow me away, or bring anything terribly unusual to the table. Aside from the surly first steep – which i’m sure there is a way around – this tea offers a solid and pleasing cup of pressed ripe pu’er.

I don’t feel comfortable rating this tea quite yet until I give it a few more tastings.

Thanks to Claire for this Sample Tea!

It’s a beautiful Spring-like morning…one of those throw open the window beginnings that lift the spirit. I rummaged past my boots and the ever-ready close-toe shoes of Winter to find ‘SANDALS’!

It’s inspiring to make tea in a Gaiwan on such a day.

I’ve become obsessed with warming my Gaiwan with boiling water, dumping the water out…then putting the tea leaves in to sit with the lid on for a minute.

What comes from this one step of preparation is tea seduction. It is what leads to wanting the tea so much that you can hardly contain yourself.

The next step was actual steeping which was short.

When I smelled the scent of the leaves they were fruity and sweet, but soon changed to the aroma of light curry. Going back to check the scent later, I could still smell the curry resting in the leaves.

The flavor was roasted freestone peach with the tang of guava membrillo. (Another way to discribe it would be the taste of peach leather and plum if you’re not familiar with membrillo?)
Sweet and tangy, luscious and smooth with a dripping honey quality to it.

Ah, the color in my glass cup. I had almost forgotten.
Polished brass flickering in candle-light. It reminded me of looking into a stream on a bright Summer day with the sun reflecting back glints and sparkles of gold.

This was a worthy tea, a Big Red Robe without the cinder taste that some dark roasts have. No burned flavor or smoke, just smooth stone-fruit and juice.

Sample sipdown – FAIL!
Had a sample of this that smelled SOOO good. I thought it’d be a good one to drink now, as I’m highly stressed and milk oolongs always seem to comfort me (they’re just so creamy and delicious!).

Unfortunately I oversteeped it. =(
It smelled nice and creamy, with the vegetal notes poking through here or there. Taste-wise, though, I was just getting bitterness with slight hints of vegetal/earthy oolong.

This is on my list of teas to buy. I think this one would’ve been really awesome.

Leave it to me to mess up a sample serving… sigh

Inspired by the “Mistakes you made with tea” discussion, after duly noting that most of distinguished participants confessed to oversteeping as the biggest mistake, I resolved to steep shorter and first experiment with what looks like a decent tea.
Oh, short steep – but 30 seconds?!! Seriously? Do I trust Garret enough? OK, he is a fellow runner, he can’t be too bad…:)
I would not dare to assign any rating numbers to anything I am so unfamiliar with – but – pleased to say – it does taste good! The package says “roasty, and full-bodied” – maybe next steeps will taste that to me, after Garret allows at least a 2-minute steep… the first I perceive as more jasminy.
30 seconds? Who would have thought?

Thank you Claire for this sample Pu’er!

Claire sent me a nice sample of this Mandala Tuocha (for anybody who hasn’t anyone to ask how to pronounce tea words it’s two-oh-cha). The tea was black/brown like bakers chocolate and pretty darn hard but not dusty smelling.

My ritual is the same each time I prepare Pu’er.
4oz. Gaiwan, S.S.filter, fairness pitcher (or small 4oz. cup if I’m alone), filtered boiling water and pick.

Because this was a hard Pu’er I rinsed it twice, taking the rinse water and washing my hands in the liquor, also washing around my face to make sure there was no scent of anything other than the tea.

Pet Peeve which most can/will ignore-
Don’t brush your teeth, put on perfumes, lip gloss or eat strong food before writing reviews. People do it, and I can’t understand how you can drink a mint tea, eat curry and write about a delicate oolong or 5 different types of tea right after each other…Pumpkin, Chai and Oolong? Tastebuds get confused.

I’m less rigid about steeping Pu’er and timing than most people.
Something in me wants to let the tea tell me what to do as I go along and adjust to the voice I hear.

My usual practice with a Shou is to steep 20-30 seconds and see what happens, then change timing if needed.

The liquor was the color of rootbeer and sparkling clear throughout.

1. At 25 seconds, the feel was slightly dry and light with the flavor of pecan and cedar. Not well developed.

2. I added 5 seconds and the tea was creamy but still light. there was slightly sweet raisin nut bread and cedar on the finish.

3. 5 more seconds and the creaminess was almost gone. The tea was refreshing and lite but without much flavor.

4. I added 5 seconds again which increased astringency and cedar on the finish.

5. 1 minute. The Pu’er was lighter than I had anticipated through all but the first two steeps. I thought that increasing the time to a minute might deepen the flavor, but it didn’t change very much.
There was a creamy texture and a mild current or raisin taste and slight cedar finish, which had been there before. This was smooth and delightful but again, very easy and light.

What was this Pu’er teaching through these steepings?

I thought about this for awhile.

It’s more common for me to drink Shou Pu’er that’s heavy with cedar flavor and often too sweet. Other Pu’er’s have a tang that can really tweek your taste buds. It’s something of an acquired taste that I like, but not everyone else might like tea quite as strong as I do.

I’d call this 2005 Xiaguan Crane an ‘intro to cedar Pu’er’, because it’s extremely light, mellow, creamy and gently sweet. There isn’t a whole cedar tree in the mouth to scare a person away!

I have a little left that I’ll share with Eric at the tea shop and steep much longer. I’m wondering how a longer steep in the beginning will taste.

Let the Pu’er guide the journey!

BTW, my newest addition to my blog is a memory of a trip to Ancash, Peru years ago in the Andes. www.teaandincense.com

Notes to come. First, I want to try this one again.

Thank you to Claire for this sample!

I was eyeing the reviews on Noble Mark. What a clever name (these Mandala tea’s have the best names…Phatty Cake, Wild Monk are favorites)!

The other day I tasted this Pu’er with Eric at the tea shop, and then I had some again today.
Both sessions tasted about the same. A quick rinse and 10-20 second steep each produced a very light tasting tea.

This was one of the lightest pu’er’s I’ve ever had and the silkiest.

There’s a difference between buttery and silky. Buttery tea’s coat the mouth and lips while silky tea’s glide through the mouth in such a smooth way that you almost can’t feel the tea at all.

I tasted slight cedar and italian latte foam mixed together as a light, warm, tea gelato.

Etherial tea…..

Dreamers should drink this before dreaming, and lovers in the afternoon when the weather is warm.

I’m a Winter thick Pu-erh drinker, a mug of brew and cedarwood. Somwhat of an ancient Library or Cathedral in a cup.

To each their own, and I admit this is an appealing tea. I can envision it’s popular, comfortable use. Applause to Noble Mark.

Sipdown #6 for today, I think!
I’d like to thank Garret for this sample!
The aroma of this tea is amazingly buttery, & also has a wonderful caramel smell. Yum! The flavor is gently sweet, creamy, & slightly floral. I’m not a big fan of milk oolong, but I don’t mind having some once in awhile, & although I’ve honestly only had a few, this is the best one I’ve tried so far.

I’ve been enjoying it for several steepings now, using my little blue & white porcelain lotus teapot with a matching teeny tiny cup. I was at Target the other day, & came across a white porcelain cream pitcher, which I couldn’t resist, LOL. It holds 2 steepings worth (roughly 8oz total), so I can do a couple of pours & go sit somewhere & relax while I sip. I love it for gongfu sessions!

BTW, my new stove arrived & it is awesome!!!

This is a free sample that I got from Garret when I ordered some of his wonderful Puers! Thanks Garret! There’s been a discussion on the quality of customer service & the personal treatment we get from some of the tea companies, & Garret is definitely one of the people on the top of that list, in my mind. I’ve only ordered from him once (so far), but I can tell that he’s good people. One of the things I love about Steepster is all of the good people, sippers & sellers alike.

I’m not a huge oolong fan. I admit it. I was at one time, & a cup here or there is delightful, but then it seems to become redundant. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s the way I roll! I’ve avoided milk oolong, because apparently some companies actually spike it with milk (?), or so I’ve been told. Since I’m allergic, when in doubt, don’t drink the water (or the tea)!

Of course, this tea is pure tea. Dry, it smells wonderful! Like a sweet flan. I warmed the leaf in my preheated Gaiwan, & the aroma blossomed into flan with flambeed brown sugar & toasted coconut on top. There was also a bright fruity aroma that I just couldn’t pinpoint.

Did I drink the 10 second rinse? Well, hell yeah! It tasted like movie theater butter popcorn with a light Mango brightness. Nice!
The wet leaf smells of that buttery sugary flan, with pureed mango drizzle. I can’t believe how sugary sweet this tea smells, both wet & dry.

Over the next several steepings the movie theater popcorn gave way to floral greens, a thick throat feel, & a delightful tingle on the tip of my tongue. I have a lot of houseplant, on all 3 floors, so for the last hour or so, I’ve been alternating between watering plants & drinking cups of tea. I watered everything in the sun room (there are pink flowers!), then sat for a few cups & relaxed. Then it was the rest of the downstairs plants, a few more cups of tea, etc. During that time a coconut flavor has emerged, the butterness is back, but in the back of my throat, lingering. The tingliness & thickness has embodied more of my tongue. It’s all very nice.

Will I buy this tea? Probably not. The quality is wonderful, & it is tasty, & although I like the novelty of an excellent oolong here & there, I wouldn’t want to drink it every day.

I had originally planned to enjoy this yesterday after several steepings of Lao Tong Zhi ‘11 Sheng, but the day got late, dinnertime came, & I decided to wait. So I’m enjoying it now (still listening to the ladies play harp duets). This is a very nice fully flavored Shu, no fish or ammonia, reminding me of vanilla wafers, & also reminding me of the noodle kugle I used to make for my kids a long time ago. That kugel was rich with eggs, vanilla, cinnamon. This Shu has a richness like that, a smooth vanilla mouthfeel, a mouth watering sweetness, & it’s just plain tasty! It’s also rather bold!
5G + 4oz (rinse) X 2min (xingyang workshop method)
Subsequent steeps t 2 min, followed by steeps at 3 mins as needed.

I really enjoy drinking sheng, and then following it up with shu. It almost seems like the sheng is the savory meal, & the shu is the dessert. In fact, I’ve noticed that if I don’t drink shu after my sheng, I feel like I’m missing something, and if I don’t drink sheng before my shu, I don’t seem to experience the sweetness & subtleties of the shu as much.

So I knew I wanted some of both today. I started with a sample I got from the David’s choice (Verdant) box: Haixin Tang ‘07 Stone Pressed Sheng. It’s a nicely aged tea, very mild & sweet. I enjoyed it while I was teaching & gratefully I get to sample it one more time.

Then I moved on to Yong De, which I’m still drinking now. I absolutely love the contrast between Sheng & Shu, & really, this IS like dessert. It has a vanilla wafer cookie profile, at least to my tastes. It’s nicely bold, & now I’m thinking Vanilla wafers dipped in espresso. Of course, it doesn’t really taste like coffee, but it has a nice depth to it, reminiscent of coffee. I love it.

I spent a lot of time sipping tea today while my students came & went, but I didn’t write anything down, so this will be the first of my feeble attempts at commenting on teas that I drank hours ago.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puer! It doesn’t really taste like vanilla, but for some reason it reminded me of vanilla wafers. :)

drank this today with my oldest son, his first pu-erh! will do a later tasting note.. he liked it!

I’ve been drinking this for about 3 hours. I went with about 8G in my yixing, with the initial steeps very short, & then building the time up. I haven’t had any of this since March, I think, & today the Chaqi is outrageous! I’m flying high & loving it! Such a tasty Shu, my little cake is pretty much a flat disc now. I have a Phatty Cake II waiting in the wings.

Anyway, these leaves still appear to have much to give, but I’ve definitely had enough tea for today, so I put them in a jar of water, & they are in the frig now, to become a refreshing drink.

I haven’t been drinking as my puer lately. I’ve been busy, & playing around with the Gaiwan takes attention & time. For the same reason, I’ve been neglecting my greens & oolongs, because I like them best steeped that way.

So today while I was teaching, I really wanted some of this! I peeled off a T of it, steeped 3 minutes, & it was delicious!!! Bold, smooth, with that vanilla sensation (not the flavor), & sweet too.
Second steeping: 4 min, 3rd @ 5min. Still awesome, just what I needed.

This will not be a long review, as I’m suppose to be practicing. My Annual Birthday Gig is this Saturday night (I’ll be 54 on sunday), & I’m working on a new tune to add to my performance, ‘Butterfly’ by Herbie Hancock. Playing Jazz on the Harp is challenging, & this piece definitely has it’s difficulties, but it looks like it’s gonna fall into place!

After weeks of reading reviews about this puer, I finally bought myself a Phatty Cake! I’ve been sipping on it for a few hours now, during my breaks & it is quite tasty.

So this is a really nice Puer. Rich, creamy, sweet, deep, & dark. It makes me want to sing, “That’s the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it, uh huh uh huh”. I used 5 G, & will probably go a little stronger next time, because I’m like that. This started out with a smooth vanilla feeling, & a hint of ginger, gradually adding layers of flavor: raisin, wood, a sprinkle of salt, a little spice.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can’t drink anymore tea tonight!
And I have to get back to my practicing!

I went with 9G in a 125ml yixing this afternoon, and as before, the dry aroma was salty, shroomy, with a sweet molasses undertone.
The brewed tea was wonderfully warm & nourishing, & reminded me of a cup of ovaltine.
Anybody remember ovaltine?

This is the 2nd time I’ve drank this tea.
Dry, it has an earthy, mushroomy aroma.
The first time I used a formula of 5T + 4oz Gaiwan (rinse) & then steeps of 10, 20, 30 secs, etc.
This time I realized there were actual instructions on the package, suggesting 1T + 8oz X 15sec (then 30, 45, etc)
It was nice, smooth, but a little weak for my tastes.

I’ve probably been drinking too many xingyang Shu’s, following their guidelines of more tea & longer steeps. Maybe I’ll try this one like that the next time.