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drank Noble Mark Ripe Pu'er Blend 2011 by Mandala Tea
157 tasting notes

Sipping right now. I used the same parameters that I did for Bu Lang Gong Ting two days ago. Boiling water, 2tsp/10oz, 15sec rinse. Steep times were 35sec, 40sec, and 1min 25.

This tea is very earthy but also very light. I’m getting mild notes of cream, bread, nuts, and chocolate. They all seem to be hovering in the background, coming forward and receding as soon as I notice them. The mushroom, earthy flavors and nuttiness are the things I notice most. I swear I noticed something spicy or peppery in the second steep. As soon as I placed a name to it it disappeared. Agh, did I imagine it?! There’s a sweetness and warm bread-like flavor that sticks around after sipping. Third steep was more woodsy with a drying finish.

I think this tea will age very well. I need to find a different way to store it…I’ve just kept it in the ziplock-seal package it came in. I’ll try a five-minute steep tomorrow and see how I like it!

Flavors: Bread, Chocolate, Cream, Earth, Mushrooms, Nuts, Wet Earth, Wood

2 comments
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Garret
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I’m so happy you are grooving on this. It’s been my first tea of the day for over 2 years now. Not kidding. I bought all the loose leaf and blended it, shipped enough to the pressing factory to have 400 (250g) cakes pressed and shipped many crates of it back here to myself.

The cakes of this are really opening up now – 1 yr 8 months since their pressing.

I love your review of this tea. Thank you for taking the time to get down on the keyboard. Let me know if you recall the lost name :) I’d love to know!

mrmopar
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I get pepper notes in shou sometimes as well.

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Garret
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I’m so happy you are grooving on this. It’s been my first tea of the day for over 2 years now. Not kidding. I bought all the loose leaf and blended it, shipped enough to the pressing factory to have 400 (250g) cakes pressed and shipped many crates of it back here to myself.

The cakes of this are really opening up now – 1 yr 8 months since their pressing.

I love your review of this tea. Thank you for taking the time to get down on the keyboard. Let me know if you recall the lost name :) I’d love to know!

mrmopar
Delete

I get pepper notes in shou sometimes as well.

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I have met such lovely, kind individuals on Steepster and am so glad to have become a part of this community!

Pure black teas are my favorite. I drink black tea daily and I try to keep a variety on hand. I also enjoy white tea, matcha, puerh, and the occasional oolong. In general I try to stay away from flavored teas—especially those with artificial flavorings—but I will make rare exceptions, and I do enjoy a well crafted blend of straight teas. Things I (usually) don’t like: green oolongs, rooibos, straight green teas.

Rating System
90+ The very best! Teas that I always need in my cupboard!
85-89 Teas that I enjoy immensely and will try to keep around.
80-84 Makes a very pleasing cup. I will enjoy drinking them, but won’t necessarily try to keep around. (There are exceptions.)
70-79 Decent, but could be better.
60-69 Mediocre.
40-59 Gross. I might still try to finish the cup.
39 & under Undrinkable. I probably dumped this cup. Depending on the specific rating, I probably threw the rest of the tea out as well.

Some of my favorite tea companies are:
-Whispering Pines Tea Co.
-Verdant Tea
-Mandala Tea

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