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).
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Hi!! This is Garret from Mandala Tea, wishing you a great day. I am sorry to hear that you have not been enjoying the Special Dark. It is a very big seller here for us, but not every tea can be loved by every person.
Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what you are using for water when you prepare your tea. There can be some HUGE differences in the tea depending of the water one uses to make it. Let me know when you get a chance. I’m interested to see if that may be part of what is giving you such a different experience for this (or any other tea).
Joy and good health to you!!
Im honored and embarrassed someone from the company of the tea I reviewed is replying(thank you for the sample of gaba black btw). Until recently I was using the filtered water from my refrigerator but the city works cut off my water last week and I have been using spring bottled water. I do not believe it is water quality but I was curious about your recommended steeping times for my gaiwan I have learned this shou tasted better after two long rinses.
I love it when I have the chance to reply to users on Steepster, I am the one who is honored :) Please don’t be embarrassed. I hope you enjoy the GABA black. It is a tie guan yin varietal leaf fully oxidized into a black tea. It’s been quite popular since we began importing it. It has a sweetness to it and also the typical tie guan yin slight sourness. Very interesting tea.
Spring water is good. I just really recommend that people stay away from RO water or distilled because of the lack of minerals. Can’t get the taste from the tea without the minerals. It is always a good idea to use water without chlorine in it, too, as that chemical tends to really zap tea of its flavor.
As far as ripe style pu’er teas, I typically do two (boiling) rinses of about 5 to 10 seconds if the tea is loose leaf, slightly longer if it is compressed. With the special dark, I start with steepings around 15 seconds and slowly increase from there. That’s how I like it. Others report using less leaf and doing longer steepings. I’m always telling people to experiment and see how they like it prepared in various ways. Some drinkers allow the brewed tea to cool a bit in the cup before they sip and that does change the characteristics of the tea somewhat. Fun to see what might make it your cup of tea :)
Great to have some conversation about it. Thank you! Garret
Hi!! This is Garret from Mandala Tea, wishing you a great day. I am sorry to hear that you have not been enjoying the Special Dark. It is a very big seller here for us, but not every tea can be loved by every person.
Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what you are using for water when you prepare your tea. There can be some HUGE differences in the tea depending of the water one uses to make it. Let me know when you get a chance. I’m interested to see if that may be part of what is giving you such a different experience for this (or any other tea).
Joy and good health to you!!
Im honored and embarrassed someone from the company of the tea I reviewed is replying(thank you for the sample of gaba black btw). Until recently I was using the filtered water from my refrigerator but the city works cut off my water last week and I have been using spring bottled water. I do not believe it is water quality but I was curious about your recommended steeping times for my gaiwan I have learned this shou tasted better after two long rinses.
I love it when I have the chance to reply to users on Steepster, I am the one who is honored :) Please don’t be embarrassed. I hope you enjoy the GABA black. It is a tie guan yin varietal leaf fully oxidized into a black tea. It’s been quite popular since we began importing it. It has a sweetness to it and also the typical tie guan yin slight sourness. Very interesting tea.
Spring water is good. I just really recommend that people stay away from RO water or distilled because of the lack of minerals. Can’t get the taste from the tea without the minerals. It is always a good idea to use water without chlorine in it, too, as that chemical tends to really zap tea of its flavor.
As far as ripe style pu’er teas, I typically do two (boiling) rinses of about 5 to 10 seconds if the tea is loose leaf, slightly longer if it is compressed. With the special dark, I start with steepings around 15 seconds and slowly increase from there. That’s how I like it. Others report using less leaf and doing longer steepings. I’m always telling people to experiment and see how they like it prepared in various ways. Some drinkers allow the brewed tea to cool a bit in the cup before they sip and that does change the characteristics of the tea somewhat. Fun to see what might make it your cup of tea :)
Great to have some conversation about it. Thank you! Garret