I have a huge backlog of reviews to post. It’s almost daunting.
I received this tea as a sample with my first Mandala Tea order—and I will definitely be ordering most of my pu-er from them from now on. I was planning on saving this tea for tomorrow but my hockey team lost badly and I needed something nice to cheer me up.
1st Steep- 1 minute
Smelled very grassy. Usually this is quite the turn-off for me. It did taste a bit grassy but with a nice smoke flavor that I loved. I am a Lapsang Souchong fan so smoke is kind of my thing. There was also a nice spicy note that I loved. The first steep isn’t usually my favorite but this is definitely a contender.
2nd Steep-2 minutes
I can’t decide if I am getting apple or lemon in this steep. Some sips it’s lemon and some sips it’s apple. I think I prefer to think lemon because I don’t like apple and I very much liked this steep. There was still some smoke but it faded a little.
3rd Steep-3 minutes
The flavor completely morphed. It lost all of the smoke and citrus—bummer because I liked it. But this beautiful clover honey taste took its place. There was a lovely natural sweetness about this steep. This is actually a contender for my favorite steep. To be honest, I would have thought this was a completely different tea from the previous steeps.
4th Steep-10 minutes—It was supposed to be 5 minutes but I forgot about it.
This steep was lovely as well. It was still honeyish but a bit of floral flavor had snuck in there. This is definitely not my favorite steep but it’s good enough. I could have probably steeped this one at least two more times even with my timing fiasco.
Overall-I really loved this tea. I am almost beating myself up because I had it in my cart to buy a cake but I went with another one. I’ll buy a cake of it someday. Not near close to now because I did buy six cakes. But I am happy that I squirreled away half of the sample for tomorrow.
I am noticing a noticeable mood lift that normally would not happen on days where my team loses—I’m pretty obsessed I don’t know if it’s the tea but I’m feeling pretty peppy right now and I am most definitely not a peppy person.
Preparation
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I am so happy you enjoy this tea. I was enamored by it the first time I drank it while on my last buying trip. I also am intrigues by how many comment about this tea’s mood-lifting capabiliteas! It totally helped get me out of jet lag and just makes me feel so good. Already working on buying this years crop from the same place! Will have is in loose-leaf and will also press 250 gram cakes of it this year… thank you for taking the time to write up your tasting, my friend!
The Wild Monk deserves mindful tasting, but I’d add that it one of my favorite chuggable thermos teas when I am on the go. In fact, my wife and I make this in large mason jars before work sometimes. I love the way it seems to open up my chest and and lungs with a cooling sensation. And yes, by the third refill of the ol’ jar that enjoyable sweetness really does take over. The cakes are tightly compressed and we like to steam them apart – it is remarkable how this dense little cake makes such a huge pile of loose leaf.
Garret: This tea is definitely something special. It was one of my first (and best) experiences with sheng pu-er. The mood lift was definitely unexpected but very welcome. I will be buying a cake (or two) with my next order.
I do have a question about pu-er cake storage. Is it okay to store them in cardboard boxes? I’m fairly new to pu-er and I don’t want to destroy them.
Jamie: Any tea that I can stand up to a thermos is a tea for me. I carry my 16oz thermos everywhere. I still prefer my fancypants teacups :) I never thought of using mason jars to drink tea. Sounds kind of brilliant. I have a couple stored in my kitchen from my jam making escapade/tragedy.
Add one of these to the top of your mason jar and you’re in business! http://cuppow.com/
A jar without a handle will get pretty warm to the touch depending on water temp, though.
A cardboard box will do just fine for storing your cakes and they can be left in normal dry storage conditions (counter top or cupboard, etc), but there is more to consider if you are looking for long term storage and aging. Good discussion and a chime-in from Garret here: http://steepster.com/discuss/4608-puerh-storage-and-purchasing-advice?post_id=80109
A cake of Wild Monk never lasts more than a couple weeks at my house, so I just steam it, break it up, and put it in loosely sealed container on the counter.
Those Cuppow things look pretty awesome. Especially for iced tea which I really don’t drink much of but would if I could drink it out of a mason jar.
That thread is super helpful. I put them in cardboard boxes on a bookshelf. Tea doesn’t tend to last too long around me so I don’t think I’m planning on aging them unless I get really ambitious. I wish I had more cupboard space not in a kitchen to store them.
I could see myself becoming obsessed with Wild Monk and hoarding cakes of it. I will probably buy a cake when I finish at least one of the ones on my bookshelf.
nice teas thankes :)
I am so happy you enjoy this tea. I was enamored by it the first time I drank it while on my last buying trip. I also am intrigues by how many comment about this tea’s mood-lifting capabiliteas! It totally helped get me out of jet lag and just makes me feel so good. Already working on buying this years crop from the same place! Will have is in loose-leaf and will also press 250 gram cakes of it this year… thank you for taking the time to write up your tasting, my friend!
The Wild Monk deserves mindful tasting, but I’d add that it one of my favorite chuggable thermos teas when I am on the go. In fact, my wife and I make this in large mason jars before work sometimes. I love the way it seems to open up my chest and and lungs with a cooling sensation. And yes, by the third refill of the ol’ jar that enjoyable sweetness really does take over. The cakes are tightly compressed and we like to steam them apart – it is remarkable how this dense little cake makes such a huge pile of loose leaf.
Garret: This tea is definitely something special. It was one of my first (and best) experiences with sheng pu-er. The mood lift was definitely unexpected but very welcome. I will be buying a cake (or two) with my next order.
I do have a question about pu-er cake storage. Is it okay to store them in cardboard boxes? I’m fairly new to pu-er and I don’t want to destroy them.
Jamie: Any tea that I can stand up to a thermos is a tea for me. I carry my 16oz thermos everywhere. I still prefer my fancypants teacups :) I never thought of using mason jars to drink tea. Sounds kind of brilliant. I have a couple stored in my kitchen from my jam making escapade/tragedy.
Add one of these to the top of your mason jar and you’re in business! http://cuppow.com/
A jar without a handle will get pretty warm to the touch depending on water temp, though.
A cardboard box will do just fine for storing your cakes and they can be left in normal dry storage conditions (counter top or cupboard, etc), but there is more to consider if you are looking for long term storage and aging. Good discussion and a chime-in from Garret here: http://steepster.com/discuss/4608-puerh-storage-and-purchasing-advice?post_id=80109
A cake of Wild Monk never lasts more than a couple weeks at my house, so I just steam it, break it up, and put it in loosely sealed container on the counter.
Those Cuppow things look pretty awesome. Especially for iced tea which I really don’t drink much of but would if I could drink it out of a mason jar.
That thread is super helpful. I put them in cardboard boxes on a bookshelf. Tea doesn’t tend to last too long around me so I don’t think I’m planning on aging them unless I get really ambitious. I wish I had more cupboard space not in a kitchen to store them.
I could see myself becoming obsessed with Wild Monk and hoarding cakes of it. I will probably buy a cake when I finish at least one of the ones on my bookshelf.
nice teas thankes :)