Mandala Tea

This is QUITE a small tuocha! And it is a very slow unraveller, even after a rinse and steeping for three minutes. Resulting in a very light brew on that first steep — too light, really. And bland because of it. The tuocha looks like it absorbed a little water, but still kept its form. But it’s unusual for me to steep a tuocha for three minutes on the first steep, so I really didn’t want to go over three minutes. Rethinking this though, I should have steeped until there was a HINT at least of a dark puerh that I would have enjoyed drinking. But that is what I figured out on the second steep! Still, the tuocha is hardly unraveled but the steep is MUCH darker and the taste is lovely. Like a cup of coffee. Rich and dark, just like I love shou. No negative qualities here at all. Even after the second steep, the tuocha needed a bit of prodding for a delicious third steep and then a delicious fourth. Note to self: Just steep the first cup until it’s a drinkably dark brew color.
Steep #1 // 1 tuocha for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // rinse // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 1/2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 6 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 10+ min

Gongfu!

This was such a soft and soul-soothing session; the tea liquor was rich and buttery in both taste and texture with a pleasant medium body. Totally free of any astringency or bitterness. Coconut milk is the tasting note that jumps out the most, alongside hand churned butter, fresh cream, and a hint of floral hyacinth.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4GbuMOuIP9/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JxUtYGhsAo

Thanks so much for this one, Cameron B! I was really missing fresh oolongs when I woke up this morning, seeing as I have been trying to rein in the ridiculous tea stash and not buying fresh teas. I think I have been doing fairly well the last few years — but I don’t know if it’s just the volume of tea packaging that is necessary for just the one serving remaining of tea I tend to leave around, it’s like the volume of tea never seems to decrease. Oh well! One day the stash will be down! And I will certainly know which teas are necessary to have around. I have only had a couple of these oolong bricks in the past. This one seems bigger than the other oolong bricks I have tried, but also seems to use bigger leaves and isn’t quite as compact as they have been in the past. The flavor is light on the first steep. But by the end of the session, the huge leaves are bursting from the basket infuser. Possibly this one shouldn’t be used for mug steeping, but the flavor was never too harsh. It’s actually a hard oolong for me to describe. Nothing really stood out here, in flavor profiles. Where are the flavors for me that derk noticed?! And it was those super nuanced and distinct oolongs I was missing this morning. oh well. I certainly don’t fault the very elaborate packaging here — this one should have definitely maintained the flavor with it being wrapped in three different wrappers. hmm
Steep #1 // 29 minutes after boiling // 7 second rinse // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 3 min
2024 sipdowns: 9

Wow. This oolong sample has overcome old age, sloppy storage, and ham-handed western steeping in a bag with an office kettle, and still shines. Roasty, toasty, with a classy hint of spice. I should save the rest to drink properly, outdoors, watching some leaves fall.

I received this YEAAARRRS ago.  But somehow have only tried it now?  It really does seem like this one would be all flash, no substance, with that shiny foil and odd shape.  BUT NO!  It’s delicious!  There really aren’t any negative qualities about this.  It’s a decent amount of leaf when it unravels, as the shape somehow seems tightly packed.  I can’t really be specific about flavors at the moment, but it was tasty enough to me.  If it’s rich enough, I will usually call that a win for a ripe!  Four great steeps.  Why do I doubt Mandala? (at least how much I will enjoy their puerh?) They pick good stuff to sell!

I’m treating this tea more delicately, this morning’s session with my mother was much better. The steep time and temp were both lower resulting in a smoother and nuanced experience. These leaves really have legs too so the infusions go on and on.

I don’t know how to describe this tea…
I guess it’s the 2nd or 3rd Sheng I’ve had, but it really has a character all its’ own. The wild monk has come to visit.

This is from a 1oz loose bag and not the cake.

The body lingers on the tongue, it’s both bitter and sweet on the finish. The liquor is smooth and viscous. There’s a lot going on in the background which comes to the surface and leaves me wanting to poke my taste buds further into the cup, they are firmly awake after sipping this.

Maybe this is what people mean by “Shengy tang?” The tea has taken over my palate and is setting up camp for the long run. Maybe mushrooms or loam? I can’t get past the lemon/tang on first infusion, it makes my lips curl at the edges. The amazing thing here is the depth, especially compared to lighter or weaker teas.
As the tea cools, I taste the smoke come through, followed by an overbearing syrupy sweet/sour.

The nose on wet leaves is sour vegetables, bok choy and malt vinegar.

Definitely above average, lots of depth and character. I’m not craving this every day, but I did end up coming back to it because I wanted to explore again. That’s worth some points in itself.

Second infusion I had a friend try some, he pulled grapefruit which is apt to describing the sweet acidity this tea leaves in the mouth. Minutes later and the Hui Gan is still peaches and cream.

edit I stepped the water temp down to 170 DEGF from higher temps and the nature has improved, the tea is more balanced.

I sort of waited to see if something would smack me into full note-taking mode here, and nothing did. I find I am enjoying shengs, but I can’t really tell why…? The floral and cedar/sandalwood tasting notes provided by Mandala got me pretty excited to try this; I think maybe I just need to sit more quietly and focus to find them, as it was nice but without any specific flavor-angels singing to me. Hm.

One of the better products of my grandpa’ing this week. Didn’t get bitter, lasted through several water additions when the soup started getting too strong. Not my favorite way to drink it (the lilac was there, but not the gong fu BOOSH BOOSH LILAC), but a nice way to get through class today.

I’ve been loving the rain, but today felt like spring and I got so much done in the sunshine! ’Twas glorious, and inspired me to put some spring into my pot with these fragrant green joy-nugs.

Big big lilac everywhere. The first steep whispered smoke, actually(!) — then more expected flavors of grass and cornsilk, with creaminess after a few steeps.

Not the most refined leaves — the bottom was a little thin, and flavors were more distinct than melded — but a little sunshine-bringer nonetheless.

Lilacs, lilacs, lilacs. Butter and green peppers. Lovely.

One time when I was a kid, my dad cut a whole bunch of purple and white lilacs off the bushes in our backyard and put them in a big jumbled pile. He asked me to take them up the hill to my mom. I looked down and I’d somehow managed to pick up all the purples in one hand and all the whites in the other. It blew my little mind that this miracle had occurred.

Sipdown, as I took my last brick to a class I’m taking this week. I steeped it grandpa for the morning. Unremarkable brewed this way — initial steeps were too strong, and later steeps very weak. In a narrow metal tumbler, I just didn’t find much to appreciate beyond the fact that I’m happier when I’m drinking tea than not.

Used a whole brick for this first session; I felt like half would be underleafing and I didn’t want to fraction it out any more than that, so in it went. Such pretty colors pressed into these pats of leaf.

Steaming leaves were both floral and vegetal, with some cream and butter. I actually didn’t break the brick up much, as I thought the large amount might benefit from the water having to do a little more work to suss them out. First pour without a rinse already has a nice full mouthfeel, with cream and vegetals dominating. I expect the florals will arrive in time, but how fun that they are waiting while we do something else for a minute.

Butter, cream, vegetal, and very… wispy… floral through subsequent steeps. The florals actually aren’t coming through like I was readying for them to, based on the package’s “this tastes like a high mountain oolong” claim. It’s lovely, to be sure, but I wouldn’t call it flowery. There is a bit of a cooling white tea note here. Every time I bring the cup up to my face I smell a tiny bit of funk, then when I search for it again it’s gone. Mouthfeel remains full, little to no astringency.

A nice little trip, and I have two more bricks left to explore with.

Little sample from Garret with my first Mandala Tea order. Opened it right up because it called to me. Not taking big effusive notes, as I wasn’t even planning on leaving one, but it’s a nice little session that convinced me otherwise. I’ve noticed some berries (darker on the leaf nose, and lighter as the session progressed), fruit, mineral, a bit of roast that is not at all the primary note, marshmallow at the end of the second steep. There’s an earthiness that actually reminds me of rooibos, which I don’t think I’ve experienced from an oolong before. Quite smooth, pretty thin/light mouthfeel. This isn’t my sirens-blaring-weak-in-the-knees kinda cuppa, but it’s really nice. I’d drink it again even if I don’t order it myself.

Dag nabbit. I just lost my entire note!

Hello Steepsters :) Internet and tea-drinking took a backseat to nursing myself back to full health and attending to more pressing affairs this month. Sorry I dipped out in the midst of the “Tea Tag” thread taking off. Now that I’ve caught up on y’alls tealogs and have one more tasting note to add of my own, I’ll pop in there.

I managed to drink through an entire bag without taking one note, so this tasting note is for yesterday’s bowl. Spring 2022 harvest.

The aroma is vegetal-sweet and savory much like split pea soup with bacon. Thick, rich and sweet with low-toned but clear nutty-umami taste. I think about corn husk, sweet roasted chestnut and hazelnut, molasses and malt, peas, scallops, straw and white wine. Earthy-vegetal undertone like lightly smokey grilled asparagus and seaweed. The tea becomes more pungent and astringent with each top off. It’s a powerful tea that for me is not to be drank on an empty stomach. It went well with some vanilla yogurt and heavily buttered toast. If sheng pu’er upsets your constitution, I’d steer clear.

My first cup of this tea many months ago when it was very fresh was grandpa in a narrow thick-walled glass. In their description, Mandala likens this to an unoaked Chardonnay, and that’s exactly what the first cup was like! Now the white wine is more of a background vibe than an upfront character.

This is likely the same tea as Yunnan Sourcing’s Yunnan Pine Needles Green Tea I had before I joined Steepster. I remember not liking it back then as it was too intense and nutty, which is a flavor profile I often have trouble appreciating. It’s still not much my style but I can say this style of Yunnan green tea has plenty to offer.

This thermos is a beauty. Great proportions and a sleek visual contour which is amplified by the double wall glass construction. Smooth bamboo lid. Mandala’s pretty logo is well placed toward the bottom, which I appreciate, letting the color and transparency of the brew shine. The teas that produce the greatest visual appeal are my Chinese and Taiwanese teas, specifically green, white, unroasted oolong and lighter, fruitier red teas.

Functionally, it’s well constructed with high quality, moderately thick double walled glass that stays gently warm to the touch, not the typical thin, finger-scorching walls of most Chinese made glassware. It also doesn’t retain so much heat that it overbrews teas, unlike a stainless steel thermos (which also alters the taste of tea). Regardless of the thermos’s perceived sturdiness, it’s still glass so must be handled with care, especially while washing since the glass is so smooth. The neoprene sleeve takes away from the aesthetic but gives the comfort of knowing the thermos is protected when I put it in the side pocket of my backpack or lay it on my passenger seat before heading to work. For filtration, a shallow strainer screws into the basket, or it can be used alone. The two-part strainer allows for different ways to brew and drink your tea. The basket is big enough to hold up to 4 grams of my largest loose-leaf teas like big leaf Yunnan and Taiwanese reds, and can accommodate the unruly expansion of 3 grams of balled oolong with some cramping. I haven’t had any leak issues from the cap unless screwed too tight. Screwing until just closed plus a little nudge lets the steam create a vacuum that prevents leakage. The gasket inside the cap is easy to remove and clean.

Overall, I’m very happy with this beauty. My only issue with it is that I must use a bottle brush to clean the inside.