Mandala Tea

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84
drank Nine Lotus by Mandala Tea
4169 tasting notes

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – February 2023 Tea #4 -A tea swap tea or gifted tea

I wanted to finish these leaves here from Kawaii433 before they got any older.  The last time I used only a teaspoon and a teaspoon just didn’t seem like enough at the time.  Today I used at least two teaspoons for a big mug. The flavor was better!  These long leaves taste almost like a Laoshan green, just not as strong.  Nutty, creamed corn, a bit vegetal, a bit like spring flowers somehow.  Definitely better with more leaves.  Not astringent or overdone at all.
Steep #1 // 2+ teaspoons for a big mug // 30 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
2023 sipdowns: 15

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84
drank Nine Lotus by Mandala Tea
4169 tasting notes

From Kawaii433!  Thank you very much!  I love a fantastic green, I sighed just typing that.  Unique looking leaves here, which is a weird thing to say about a tea (but I see more than one tasting note mentioning the look of the leaf).  The flavor is lovely – sweet creamed corn, one of my favorite flavor profiles in a green tea.  I’m not sure if it was the way I steeped it, but the flavor seemed a little light at times.  But looking at the brew basket, maybe this is one of those teas that needs more than one heaping teaspoon.  I have a little more to try again! This tea gets a very high Steepster rating, so I will definitely try something different next time.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug // 35 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep

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83

This mini from the Mandala sampler looks like this photo and the only English on the wrapper says “Lao Cang”.  So I will post this here.  Another tasty puerh, though not as strong to me as the two that I have previously and recently tried from the sampler.  If I need a ripe puerh to be one thing, it needs to be Strong.  But there aren’t any negative puerh qualities here either, so that’s fine with me. Not bad, not great.  To be honest, the water might have been a bit cool on that first steep anyway.  Notes of cocoa, berries. Looking at the leaves, they also look like large quality leaves. Seems to be the standard for Mandala.  This one is a little light for me and sadly there are the most of these in the sampler.  oooo… what if I steeped two at once in a big mug?!?!  I will have to try that.  
Steep #1 // 29 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 //   3 minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 6 min

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Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – May 2023 Tea #5 – May 11 – National Eat What You Want Day

The most distinct thing I can describe of the mini tuocha I steeped today, it looks like there is a brown sunflower on the wrapper. I thought I had found that using two of this tiny tuochas really works best with this particular tuocha, and I really wanted to use two of them, so that is what I did (points to the prompt for today).  Rich deliciousness.  Not a sipdown. However, it looks like this one isn’t even on Steepster. So I was mistaking this tuocha for the Lao Cang. Oh well, you can’t really go overboard with ripe puerh but I will have to try a single tuocha at some point, rather than two.

edited to add: Some actual FLAVOR notes since I haven’t written any for this specific tuocha yet. It has a nice unoffensive flavor! Deep, rich, no negative qualities, a little biscuity. I do not regret accidentally steeping two of these at the same time! Rating: 92. But again, I have to try a single tuocha, since I have a sneaking suspicion I love overleafing the ripe!

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So I have no idea the name of this mini puerh, so I will file any Mandala mini I can’t identify by Steepster photo under the Mandala sampler. I forgot to mention in the previous note, JakeB sent the sampler! Thank you, JakeB! Keep in mind this sampler is at least probably eight years old and is NOT the current Mandala variety of mini tuochas they have available. The white wrapping has a big brown circle and drawings of clouds at the sides. I can tell when the leaves unravel, this is another mini made with higher quality leaves, as they are quite big. The flavor is also rich for a mini – biscuity, bready. Second steep, the same plus cocoa. Third, a little weaker but still very delicious! I like this one a lot. Rating: 93 (I don’t want to rate the entire sampler based on one of the types in the sampler.)
Steep #1 // 29 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 17 minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // many minute steep

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95

I recently saw that Shae wrote a note for a mini tuocha and the wrapper looked familiar… that I might have it in my Mandala mini tuocha grab bag.  I did indeed have some of this wrapper design in that bag, and upon unwrapping the tuocha, I noticed it said 2012 and 2013Bada and Mengsong and made in 2014.  The description for this one says that as well, so thanks to Shae, I figured out what one of the mini tuochas actually is!  Maybe most of them say what they are on the wrapper…if I’d actually unwrap them and steep them up. 
Anyway, this is delicious.  Quite dark for a tuocha.  Notes of coffee, dark chocolate, bready, and none of those pesky negative puerh qualities.  Usually I would say a mini tuocha does not have enough leaf that I would normally use to my tastes, for a full mug of tea but this one passes the test!  It is dark and rich enough! I wanted to mention ‘walnut’, while not trusting myself, but I notice derk mentions walnut, so now I can trust that. The fourth steep was fading in flavor a bit, so I’d probably only steep three mugs in the future.  High quality for a mini tuocha, just as Mandala attests. Both derk and Kawaii433 say this is the best mini tuocha, and I might agree! I’d buy these but like Shae recently found out, not possible. Such a nice discovery in my sampler. I really need to go through and see if my detective work (with the help of Steepster) can figure out the other mini tuochas…
Steep #1 // 1 piece for full mug // 17 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 14 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #3 // 7 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #4 // just boiled //  10 min

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drank Green Gold by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

2021 harvest

Unfortunately another casualty of COVID.

Green Gold was such an approachable Chinese green tea. It had a little bit of everything in wonderful balance. Sweet, viscous mouthfeel and refined astringency. Just a pleasure to drink in a variety of ways. It was special and I wish I could describe its taste profile. Maybe next year.

Flavors: Pear, Soybean, Sweet, Warm Grass, Vanilla, Viscous

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88
drank Mao Feng by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Couldn’t ask for a better tea to have post-surgery. So mellow and easy-going, gentle and nourishing. Thanks, Mandala :)

gmathis

Did I miss something? Hope you are OK…no, make that far better than OK!

derk

I’m okay :) Finally was able to address the unknown that’s been ailing me for the past 2.5 years.

ashmanra

At last! I am glad the unknown is known and handled!

mrmopar

Gosh, quick recovery to you.

derk

Thanks, kids :)

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88
drank Mao Feng by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Today it smells like dried basil and an ant colony. Ohhh sweet larvae. And sweetened egg yolk?

It tastes like the idea of the essence of lotus seed moon cake added to a bottle of spring water with grass living in it. Cooling, herbalmint finish. Little bit of osmanthus aftertaste.

Flavors: Basil, Egg, Grass, Herbal, Mineral, Mint, Mushrooms, Nutty, Osmanthus, Pastries, Spring Water, Sugar, Sweet, Umami

gmathis

I think you just topped yourself on taste analogies!

ashmanra

Ant colony! I think I know that smell! Homeschooling will do that for you.

derk

Sometimes the brain goes places when the usual associations don’t match.

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88
drank Mao Feng by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Not sure if 2022 harvest (I think that’s what I ordered?) or 2021 because that’s what it says on the bag. It does taste very fresh whichever year it was made!

Been having bowls and grandpa glasses, both leafed heavier than usual for greens. Fragrant, mild, soothing, tonifying. Understated.

I wonder if it’s the same leaf used to make Mandala’s Yunnan snail-style biluochun because of that tendency to lean pretty heavily into sweet scallops. This also has the same kind of bitterness and astringency as the snails and those qualities develop over the same length of time.

Like it, don’t love it but will have no problem finishing it. I’d probably buy another small bag.

Flavors: Apricot, Escarole, Grass, Marine, Pepper, Shellfish, Spring Water, Sweet, Umami, Viscous

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98

Pulled from TTB 2022, shared by Inkling.

Oh wow, oh wow.

I nearly bought one of everything from Mandala’s website after my first sip of this. I’m still probably going to go back and buy a few somethings.

Started with a 15-second rinse, followed by a couple minutes rest, and then a 10-second steep. Increased steep to 10-20 seconds in subsequent cups.

This somehow reminds me of both a candle shop during the holidays and an outdoor flea market. It’s leather and spices, I think that’s the connection. It’s so comforting and familiar.

If anyone has recommendations for others like this, please share! I’d love to find something similar since I know this is no longer available.

Flavors: Bread, Fruity, Leather, Spices

Preparation
Boiling 6 OZ / 177 ML
derk

Yeah, that’s a good one. Maybe Garret at Mandala can recommend something similar from his collection.

Shae

Oh that would be wonderful! I’ve been looking at the site trying to find something similar.

mrmopar

I think the 108 would be one as well as the new Alchemy. The materials sound like very good sourcing.

Shae

Ooh thank you! Looking those up now.

mrmopar

Yeah no worries. Mandala does some fine shou for sure.

tea-sipper

oh I have a mix bag of Mandala’s mini tuochas – I will have to see if I have any of these and steep it up.

tea-sipper

I’m drinking this now! I think many of Teavivre’s ripes are like this one.

Shae

Oh I will check theirs, thank you! I’ve got the Mandala mini tuocha sampler in my cart. Plus a full Verdant cart. What’s one more?? There goes my tea budget, oh goodness! XD

tea-sipper

haha yes. Now I’m imagining an actual “full cart” of tea, like in a grocery store.

Shae

I think that’s exactly how I imagined it as I was typing! I think my order would at least fill one of those little baskets, no problem.

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90
drank Nine Lotus by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Orchids everywhere. Whispers of bitter greens, sweetgrass and mossy granite. Silky with some interest provided by refined astringency. Long, gripping floral aftertaste. A unique feeling in the body. Muscles feel swelled with a subtly powerful, vibrating bass energy but I’m also encouraged to meditate.

Flavors: Astringent, Buffalo Grass, Butter, Cocoa, Floral, Kale, Moss, Orchid, Roasted Nuts, Silky, Wet Rocks

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90
drank Nine Lotus by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Bought a bag after Kawaii433 gave me a sample. My bag says 2020 harvest but it doesn’t taste like it to me, I think it’s last year’s.

Anyway, the one from Kawaii was very soothing. I’m sipping from a bowl what I bought earlier this year and it’s a great palate cleanser had with a light lunch. The tea has a restrained yet deep orchid florality that, despite drinking in between bites of food, reveals itself fully on the breath after each sip. And the lingering mouthfeel is very active, tingly but not in a pure astringent or tannic way.

:)

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90
drank Nine Lotus by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

Nothing like the therapeutic soak of Chinese green tea leaves in a bowl of hot water.

Soothing, creamy much like soymilk with a forward sweetness balanced by fine grass astringency, fine sorrel acidity, fine wet granite minerality.  Hints of buffalo grass and leafy herbs.

The leaves float.  Good news is they’re edible.

I will be sure to order Nine Lotus from Mandala with my next order to bathe longer in these leaves’ calm.  Thank you yet again, Kawaii :)

Flavors: Buffalo Grass, Creamy, Grass, Herbs, Mineral, Soybean, Sweet, Tangy, Wet Rocks

mrmopar

So you can have your tea and eat it too.

Kawaii433

I like some of my edible tea leaves with soy sauce and lemon hehe

derk

Indeed, mrmopar :)

Kawaii, I tried a dash of soy sauce with my last bag of gyokuro and enjoyed it!

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80
drank Morning Sun by Mandala Tea
533 tasting notes

Tea #3 for the day. I spent some time Friday night updating my spreadsheet with the uncatalogued tea floating around the living room. Final count is over 300!! Which is not great…I’m taking in tea faster than I’m drinking it. And not just in number – weight as well.

My pie chart is interestingly even. Tea count has pretty equal amounts of black, white, oolong, raw, & ripe with little bits of green/herbal. But I mostly drink blacks, oolongs and whites. Therefore, I need to work on drinking ripes and raws.

Tea itself: bright & fruity, citrus?, creamy aftertaste 205F, 2min. Not a lot to it.

Flavors: Fruity

Daylon R Thomas

I am tempted to do one myself. I know for sure I mostly drink black and oolongs too, drinking the oolongs the most often. I used to plow through my whites, but I have a couple that have been sitting for a few years. I really have to be in the mood for them, and find that I drink them more in summer.

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95
drank Bamboogie 2015 by Mandala Tea
1 tasting notes

Very enjoyable! I wanted to add my voice here to even out some of the other reviews. I found the first 4 steeps to be incredibly rich and complex, with prominent notes of honey, berries, and pastries. After steep 4, the sweetness dropped off and I did notice the “green pepper” note that other reviews talked about, although I didn’t mind it. It looks like the other reviews were from 3+ years ago, so this tea seems to have improved with age!

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 80 ML

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90

I enjoyed a smokiness in first couple of steeps.
Started to notice some oak, ash, maybe tobacco, and yes some bitterness.
Giving some time between steeps helped notice some apricot aftertaste, but not as forward as in other raw pu’ers. Some butter also in aftertaste, but subtle. I had tried this tea a few years ago as a sample, and I still have a bit left, so am trying again. Am being cautious not to drink too much because some reviews note its potent chi, and I recollect that as well from a few years ago. For me, it is an interesting tea to try, especially as I imagine the high altitude and pristine environment from where it came.

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drank Antwerp's Placebo 2019 by Mandala Tea
1557 tasting notes

The combination of aromas in the dry leaf smells almost exactly like a brand of Swedish snus called Ettan, which has the obvious rich tobacco smell as well as walnuts and chocolate.

Those same notes come through in the warmed leaf along with a spicy dark rye and a vague flowery quality. Rinsing enhances the spiciness and brings out warm yeast bread dough and mahogany furniture.

The taste is warm but the tea doesn’t warm the body. In the mouth is a clean swirl of tobacco, mahogany, goji and cucumber, very light bitterness; clean and oily. The aftertaste is sour and feeling in the body acidic which leaves me thinking this tea will benefit from time stored. I get that kind of sourness that cucumber can possess and also that of fermented cacao beans. Something also reminds me of coconut husk.

I don’t have enough left of this free sample provided by Mandala to bother storing. If this is still offered by Mandala in a few years, I’d consider buying a cake. A clean, oily shou that tastes like tobacco and mahogany is much welcome, compared to those that are muddy and taste of potting soil.

Flavors: Acidic, Bread Dough, Cacao, Camphor, Chocolate, Coconut Husk, Cucumber, Dark Wood, Drying, Flowers, Goji, Metallic, Rye, Smooth, Sour, Spicy, Tobacco, Walnut, Yeast

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No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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84
drank Milk Oolong by Mandala Tea
2 tasting notes

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