Milk Oolong

I got this tea once while being a guest. Really smooth tasting tea, with rich flavor.

This. This tea is fantastic! I was given this by a friend who highly recommended I try it. The dry leaf smells amazing! The small green balls carry a fragrant sweet aroma of fruits and candied syrup. I can pick up a lingering strawberry creme in the background. I warmed up my gaiwan with eagerness and placed these inside. The scent was so very very good! My first thought from sniffing the warmed leaf was an ice cream daiquiri. The leaf carries sweets, fruits, with a tiny bit of bitters. I swished the leaves around and then I was picking up more of a Neapolitan Ice Cream scent. This tea was just decadent. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste began as sweet and grassy with a vegetable base. The aftertaste of mango rose from the tongue and took over the senses. The brew became slightly astringent with a continuing dry grass tone and nice cream base. Later, the brew progressed into a sweet tropical fruit medley and smooth spring flora. The best part was with each exhale the taste of pineapple would wash over my taste buds. This really is a fantastic tea. The tea falters off after about four steeping, but it was still a nice fresh tasting tea. Honestly, this brew has me wishing I was in the Bahamas or something. It was just pure sweet and fresh flavors!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9rLkHTGf5/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

My first of the lighter Oolongs. I wasn’t so into it at first, but it quickly grew on me. What a nice creamy feeling and taste. I haven’t actual milk in years, so I can’t comment on the similarities in that regard. I have to spend some more time with it for sure!

This went over amazingly well with both myself and my fiancee. What’s interesting is that she picked up flavors of coconut and mango (perhaps pineapple) while I got primarily butter and cream mixed with sweet asparagus. We both really enjoyed it and will be ordering this one again.

I’ve been looking forward to trying this tea for a long time. I finally ordered a batch from Mandala! It smells like flowers and pineapples. It’s got a sweet orchid flavour to it. I tasted notes of cream, caramel, and tropical fruits! This tea is a special one to be sure.

I don’t consider myself much of a fan of “dessert” teas, but this is a tea that can easily fool you into feeling like you’re drinking something much more indulgent. The sweet notes of caramel and coconut are not cloying or overpowering, and as they wear off in later infusions, they leave behind a pleasant floral scent. The leaves are /huge/ and quite intact, so leave a little room in whatever you use to brew it! This is a great tea for the uninitiated and one of my personal favorites from Mandala Tea.

One of the best teas in its class of Oolongs. And what I want to know is how? I have no idea how the same leaf and species can produce such wildly different flavors, but this is all butterscotch and cream. From the same leaf that gives me floral and honey, smoke and peat in other Oolongs. It’s amazing. I’ve dedicated my largest Yixing to its wonders.

Oh, and as for Mandala? There aren’t many vendors I can say I trust, but between the love notes they personally write to customers, the consistent quality of the tea, the way they take care of their growers, and all the research they do to… they’ve won me over.

This tea had been on my wish list forever. The reviews have always been raving about this tea. For whatever reason, I have never placed an order. When I saw that Mandala was having a pre-black Friday sale, I figured now was just as good of a time as any!

I think that I did 6 steeps today. I didn’t do a rinse like some other notes are mentioning. The first 4 were for 20seconds each. These steeps were smooth and creamy with notes of coconut, and I find almost a buttercream icing sweetness. It is not overly sweet but just perfect. The mouthfeel is silky and full.
The 5th and 6th steeps are losing the creamy, coconut notes. Floral, fruity, green vegetal notes are making their way into this cup now.
If I would have had more time today, I would have continued to steep but caffeine really affects me if I have it after 2 or 3pm. I should have cold brewed the leaves for tomorrow but I didn’t think of it until the leaves were already in the garbage…sigh… Oops

Creamy notes linger after your last sip. No milk or artificial flavoring are used in this tea. It is simply tea art to achieve these flavors. One of my favorites from Mandala Tea.

I can see why this is so highly rated. I have considered purchasing it dozens of times, but given how much tea I have already and how much could end up going bad if I am not careful, I have abstained. Being at school from 7am-7pm doesn’t help much, given I do not currently have a method of making tea there even if I had the time. I am seriously considering bringing my cheap electric kettle there for those long days.

Anyway, this is fantastic and I appreciated getting the sample with my Smart Soak very much. It is super creamy and floral, and lasts what feels like infinite steepings.