Mandala Tea

This tea was recommended to my by the TeaFriends Chatroom folk. So I went out and got some. Smell upon first steep is very reminiscent of fresh buttered popcorn. Not the fake movie theater kind, but good homemade buttered popcorn. Flavor is… Indescribable. This is heaven in a cup. I am getting cream, I am getting butter, I am getting nutty. As it cools I’m starting to get ever so slight floral, but nothing too strong. And this is just the first 40 second steep! This is almost my new favorite tea. It’s just maybe one point less than the Golden Monkey, but definitely going in my top 3. I hate that this is so pricey but I will 100% be re-ordering this. Like I said. Heaven in a cup.

So, I already reviewed this once. Back then, I was just starting to try new things.

Well, I’m here to say that, about a year or so into my tea journey, and this one still holds up. I’m still getting the same Malt/Honey/Bread/Cacao notes as before, although sadly, I had to steep it a bit longer to get the full flavor. Not sure if it’s just fading with age or what, but I had to steep 2 minutes to have the nice, robust flavor that I commented on last time. A bit worrisome, but it just tells me I need to drink this more often and then get more! Hahaha.

Another black tea for meeee!

This is my first NON-Adagio Loose Leaf I believe. I’m starting to expand my horizons. This one smells delightful. A bread like woodsy scent. Flavor is similar. I’m getting bread and honey with definite malt and chocolate tones as well. It’s a complex cup and thoroughly enjoyable. It’s almost, how should I put this, like a dark chocolate sandwich? That description is both completely wrong and yet somehow right. Also getting some woodsy notes to it as it cools. All in all a very enjoyable cuppa and I’m glad I ordered a decent amount of this. It’s not quite as yummy as my Golden Monkey, but a comparable and delicious cup nonetheless.

According to Mandala, this is organically grown in pure soil and fresh air and picked/processed in April of 2012.

This Gong Ting (Imperial Court) had a very dark dense liquor color, similar to strong coffee. The small (young) dark wet leaves smelled of strong leather and earth, rich forest soil. The flavor of the liquor had leather notes, but rather gentle, mild… Surprisingly not overwhelming considering the strong aroma. It also had the classic earthy notes. No fishy or dirt notes. In later steeps, I got some fruit notes of prunes or figs which gave it a slight sweetness but throughout the entire process, it mainly consisted of leather, earth, topsoil notes. I’m pretty sure my inexperienced ability is at fault here as far as being able to detect other notes but I still enjoyed all steeps regardless hehe. It’s full-bodied, rich, smooth, and a delicate soft mouth-feel, creamy, with a rich aftertaste of fresh damp earth.

212˚F, 110ml, 14 steeps:rinse, 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s, 60s, 65s, 75s (3:17 am… I think it outlasted me. Stopping now lol)

Zhang Ping Shui Xian, grown on Wuyi mountain in Fujian but so different from the roasted Wuyi Rock Oolongs in that it’s not heavily oxidized or roasted. I think it’s one of the few, if not the only, oolong that is compressed into shapes. It’s in a 10-gram compressed square, vacuumed sealed, and each in its own package. The pretty dry brick smelled like bread and orchids. It was easy to break apart. I split mine in two. This time gongfu and next time grandpa style. The liquor is a bright orange gold-ish color and has a floral aroma with a strong floral taste, a little sweetness of honey. It has a clean mouthfeel, no slickness present but has a smooth texture.

I don’t particularly like too floral oolongs, but if you love floral oolongs, this one is for you. It’s very fresh, bright, refreshing. It begins as a mild and light taste but then progresses to a stronger floral & honey tea.

Yixing teapot, 195˚F, 110ml, 9 steeps: 5s rinse, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s, 60s

Quick note… This tea is not the type of tea that you can take lightly. I’ve screwed up one or two early steep times due to being busy. I have to redo this on a quiet day. I work from home a lot so my Sundays are sometimes my busiest day.

It’s complex. It’s above my ability. It’s making me want to paint landscapes again. lol I’m thinking colors like umber, mahogany, burnt sienna… Earth colors. It starts off bold, like “Hey, pay attention!”, almost combative but then becomes more subdued, calming, mellow, sweeter.

Interesting experience.

212˚F, 110ml, 12 steeps: 5s rinse, 10s, 15s,???s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s, 60s, 1m15s

Update: I didn’t get any fig or fruit as some of the others.

So I got my Mandala package and am a happy camper. They gave me this free sample of their Alishan Light Roast oolong. It has been sold out for a while, and I was glad to see it come back as I have never been able to try it.

Oh no, no pro reviews. I’m on my own lol. :D

The tightly rolled balls were a nice dark green, no tea dust at all (throughout the entire process, screen was clean), a few stems. The wet leaves are highly aromatic. Vegetal, spinach-y, sweet, milky, and floral aromas, specifically lilac aroma (which btw I would probably never have guessed the flower had they not mentioned it lol. Maybe?), not much roast nor smoke.

The amber goldish liquor has a super super suuuper soft mouth-feel. It was as if I used different water to make it. I’m thinking this is what sets it apart from many others. It leaves a nice coating in my mouth. After a few steeps, and the leaves opened up more, the roast and other flavors came out to play and mingled with the creaminess. Up until that point, it wasn’t so much flavor but the mouthfeel. Some spice, sugar cane sweetness, light vanilla notes, floral, butter, popcorn… I’d definitely like to try it again.

Yixing teapot, 195˚F, 110ml, 10 steeps: 5s rinse, 20s, 25s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s, 65s

Just received my Mandala package with this tea thermos. Good and thorough reviews already. I got the large 14 oz one. It is double-walled glass, came with a black neoprene sleeve, a 2-way stainless filter and brew basket. Haven’t tried it yet, just washed it out but it feels solid, well made. I’ll use it next time I do anything grandpa style. I think this would be perfect for that. If there is anything to add to what was already covered, I’ll do that after I use it for a while.

Update: Very nice. I really like it. I’m using it right now. It’s not leak-proof but I’m planning to use this around my home anyway. I like Oolong Owl’s review on it. :) For road trips, I always bring my Zojirushi travel mug to carry hot water, and maybe I’ll bring this too as a sipper.

Update 1/14/19: Been using it every day since, and bringing it with me on the road. If you’re careful putting the top on level (not crooked) and not cranking it down too tight, it doesn’t leak. I left it on its side for the past few days, and so far, it didn’t leak but I’ll keep testing. Upped the rating.

Busy morning so I went ahead and followed their recommended first steeping of 2 minutes and added 1 minute for each subsequent infusion. I can do a little more work with 2 minutes to 5-minute infusions versus 15 seconds :D.

The liquor is pale and the flavor is lovely. Fresh pine needles, with fresh and light fruity notes, white peaches, stonefruits, hints of spice. Mildly sweet and floral notes. Refreshing, peaceful, clean, it changes slightly through infusions with gentle, soothing delicious flavors. No bitterness, no astringency, just a wonderful serene mood changer in a cup of tea.

175˚F, 110ml, rinse, 4 steeps, 2m, 3m, 4m, 5m

Sipdown on this one. Been working on trying to finish all my green teas. Wrong type of tea to stock up on lol.

Quick additional note on this one (already wrote a review on it). If you like jasmine tea, these pearls are definitely the one to stock up on. Because they are so tightly rolled, they remained fresh. The tea is so buttery smooth, creamy, and full of flavor. As I said in my first note, there is zero soapy taste. No artificial nor perfumey aftertaste just the fresh taste of perfect floral jasmine. Today (gongfu style) the stonefruits, particularly apricot came out in the middle steeps and blended so well with the jasmine. Highly recommended if you’re drinking Jasmine tea for flavor or health and are turned off by the overly perfumed aroma of others.

Tight small little light green balls, light pale liquor, a rather strong jasmine aroma. The flavor is delicate and subtle with creamy notes. So good that this “I’m not really into Jasmine” girl is seriously considering keeping this stocked. Ultra-smooth, not soapy, not perfumey, not overwhelming, just a fresh light jasmine flavor with honey sweetness. Drinking it = automatic stress relief and while not sleepy (green tea hehe), I’m in a nice and relaxed state.

I wouldn’t have ordered it at all since I don’t really like strong jasmine but Mandala tea on twitter suggested it to a client of mine during one of our conversations and since I ordered tea for him and his wife, he said to split it. ^^ It’s really good especially if you’re a jasmine lover.

Additional notes on this one:
Sipdown, and saw that they recently came out with a roasted version of this. :D I’m going to have to try that one. Instead of a full gaiwan session like I did before on this tea, I followed their suggestion. A tsp to 8 oz ratio (I did double) for 30 sec infusions. It was really good, and as I noted before, it really is like a TGY without that sour pull on the sides of your mouth. Looking forward to trying their roasted version. :D

A lightly oxidized oolong with vibrant green color, tightly rolled up large leaves. The liquor is very pale yellow, aromatic, smells similar to TGY. It’s kind of like a lightly oxidized TGY but without the sour kick and the floral is there but it’s really light. There is no sharpness or pull on the inner cheeks nor would I call it buttery. Hard to describe.

It’s fresh, crisp and bright, not slick but yet it’s warm, silky, smooth. Sheesh, I feel like I’m going in circles trying to describe this lol… But I really like it. (I haven’t had much ben shan, and this is a good one. Their site does not specifically say it’s ben shan though.) Well-balanced, snappy with delicate orchid notes. This would be nice when I feel like a TGY flavor but may need something a little easier on my stomach if it’s particularly sensitive that day. I think this would make a great daily tea.

5g, 110ml, 195°F, rinse, 7 steeps, rinse, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m25s

I had this last night before bed. I’ll see if I can remember the experience. I was kind of out of it as it was like 2 am. At first, the dry leaf smell was a turn-off. It was so strong of leather and/or earth. I looked at the description again and it said “without overbearing earthiness” so I was highly doubtful at this point. Well, when all is said and done, they pretty much nailed the taste description. In fact, it was a very clean, smooth, mellow medium-bodied cup of ripe pu-erh tea.

It was slightly earthy, woody, some cream, sweetness, slightly malty, no dirt nor too earthy, no fishy notes, full of flavor, silky and warm mouthfeel, well-balanced. Unlike many pu-erhs, it definitely lacks that strong earth, leathery taste, the mustiness. I did not find it fruity, and there were hardly any, if at all, floral notes (at least that I can detect. I think others differed.) and unlike The Shu Fits and the Imperial dark, it wasn’t as chocolatey but more just a well balanced all-around mellow cup of ripe pu-erh tea. A daily drinker for that calming moment of the day. Perhaps a good starter for those new to ripe Pu-erh since it’s so clean as there are zero signs of a poorly processed tea. Any weird odors, odd tastes, muddy cup, sour taste are non-existent. I can find some who like the stronger tastes to find this a little mundane but since I’m still getting used to shou, it suits me well.

5g, 212˚F, 110ml, 7 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s

Another nice one from Mandala. Dark liquor, like reddish-espresso color, with a leather, earthy aroma. The first couple of steeps there was earthiness, leather, hay, hints of dark cocoa. After a few steeps, I got some creaminess along with molasses, some spices, minerality, more chocolate, slightly nutty as well (not almonds though, not sure what type of nuts but it’s there. >.<). The later steeps I got some fruit notes and a camphor feeling. It was a very smooth, rich, mellow, clean Pu erh. Creamy and soothing mouth and throat-feel.

I don’t know which one I like better The Shu Fits or this one. I ‘think’ The Shu Fits but I have enough to keep comparing them. It may be the name lol. I love it. Anyway, I had bought the Plethora of Pu’er and those two came with it (along with the Rice Aroma which I had bought earlier, liked it and reviewed) and the Noble Mark which I’m looking forward to trying as well. What a great combination to send in one package.

5g, Yixing gaiwan, 212˚F, 110ml, 9 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s

Nice blend. Not fishy, no dirt taste. Leather and earth taste in the opening few steeps. It’s very mellow, warm, comforting mouth/throat feel. It has dark chocolate and bittersweet notes, and on the 5th it became more milk chocolate and became more creamy, brown sugar notes throughout, still has leather and earth notes. Nice lightly sweet finish.

I think I’ll try it the way it’s suggested which is 30 secs, then add 30 secs next time and see how it changes it as well. I just wanted to extract little by little to see how complex it was.

Yixing gaiwan, 5g, 212F, 110ml, rinse +10s, 15s,20s,25s,30s (am still in the process of drinking this.)

Additional note on another way to use this stuff…

Commercial begins:

My sink gets stained due to all the tea leaves and stuff I put in it day in and day out. I hate cleaning it and it’s such a pain. Well, I thought I’ll try this stuff on it. I put a couple of tablespoons in each of the sinks (double sink stainless steel type), filled them with hot water, walked away for 30 min+ and after I drained it…

It was sparkling clean especially the area entering the garbage disposal that sometimes the tea leaves would sit in and stain.

End of commercial.

Wow, this works big time. Made all my porcelain gaiwans, cups look new. I just used the hot water from the faucet, put in 2 tsp in a big bowl and put my stained teaware in there and they all look new. No scrubbing, nothing. I’m impressed.

Received this as a free sample. The dried leaves smelled vegetal. The light green wet leaves also had a pleasant vegetal aroma. The liquor is a pale yellow. According to their site, one can brew it strong and you’ll get a bold and nutty tea or can brew it light and get a crisp and light tea. I made it my typical gongfu style which is 6g in 110 ml in a gaiwan, starting with a 25s infusion after a rinse, adding 10s each new infusion. It has a distinctive flavor. I liked it. Vegetal, grass, stonefruits, umami, marine plants, nuts. I did get a slightly nutty flavor but I also got the crisp and refreshing part so maybe I brewed it in the middle of what they recommended hehe. Good taste profile, and a good balance regarding bitterness and astringency.

Addition notes:

Upped the rating. I’m on the last of this, and while it was a bit too perfumy for me when I used gongfu style, it was so much better using Mandala’s suggestion. One tablespoon in 8 oz for 30 sec infusions. I didn’t have to go through perfume stages but instead got a full-bodied, lovely cup of roasted rock tea that consisted of sweet potatoes, stonefruits, honey, floral, roasted nuts and minerality and more.

I hope you’re all having a good Tuesday. :)

Another Mandala oolong to try.^^ It’s medium to heavily roasted rock oolong from Fujian Province, China. It has a gorgeous golden-amber-orange liquor. The dry leaves are darkly roasted strips. The wet leaves are dark green with a nice aroma that consists of stonefruits, floral, roasted nuts along with a hint of vanilla.

It’s a full-bodied tea with flavors of roast, ripe stone fruit, floral, citrus (orange?), nuts, caramel, honey, minerals, vanilla. Again, I could not pick up the root vegetables, bah. I need to work on that… Maybe go eat a lot of yams or something. :P It is complex and has a long finish. This is my first time trying this and I liked it, but it was a bit too perfumey on the first few steeps, although overall, I’m not disappointed. I have more so I’ll be able to enjoy it again and see how I feel.

Porcelain gaiwan, 5g, 110ml, 195°F (ramped it up to 200 later), rinse, 9 steeps, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m25s, 1m35s, 1m45s

Long green strips, very pale liquor but a surprisingly strong tea, not mild and a long-lasting sweet finish. This reminded me of some Chinese chestnut teas when I was a kid. It’s creamy mouthfeel/throat feel is comforting with umami, honey, chestnuts, floral, vegetal notes.

Porcelain gaiwan, 5g, 110ml, 175˚F, 15s, 18s, 21s, 24s, 27s

More notes:

Sipdown… But I’ll probably go order more of this soon. Roasted/oxidized oolongs, especially a good Da Hong Pao, are my current favorites.

This time I noticed more fruity notes to go with the chocolate, roasty, bready, floral, and mineral notes. Loving this rich, comforting, warm cup of tea right now during this gloomy overcast day. Mandala said "This is the finest Da Hong Pao aka “Big Red Robe” oolong we have offered to date." and it is really good.

I wish I wasn’t the only one making notes on this since my thought process while tasting teas goes like this: &*%##@?%^? Yum.

Yixing teapot, 6g, 130ml, 200°F, rinse, 6 steeps, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 60s, 2m