I just got my new glass mug from Mandala and I figured that I should pick a sample that I haven’t tried in a long time to break it in. I chose Year of the Dragon because…well, it’s the first one I saw.
I am going to try something a bit new. I am going to use the same brew time throughout. I’ve settled on 15 seconds.
1st Steep-
I may be a bit in love with this tea based on first impressions and I am deeply regretting not buying a cake. Very creamy and absolutely no earthiness. The only comparison I can think of is dates. Dried, dark yummy dates that I wait for at Christmas time and hoard them.
2nd Steep-
It’s getting to be more of a prune flavor. I don’t want to say that because most think of prunes as unappetizing but that’s what I’m getting with this steep—dried prunes. And it is yummy.
3rd Steep
Still tastes like a cross between dates and prunes…can’t decide which one. But it’s delicious.
4th Steep-
Still with the prunes but kind of candied because there is almost a burnt brown sugar aftertaste that you get with candied prunes.
5th Steep-
It’s starting to lighten a bit. Not much but enough that it doesn’t look so much like coffee. It’s lightened to the taste of raw figs. Oh boy.
I am now upping the steeping time to 20 seconds.
6th to 8th Steeps
Still figgy. A bit of candied fig taste with a brown sugar background.
I upped the time to 1 minute
9th to 12th Steeps
Still figgy but less so. Some vanilla notes peeking through at various levels of intensity.
13th Steep-5 minutes
Tastes like vanilla extract without the alcohol. Can’t say it’s not pleasant.
14th Steep-15 minutes
I think this tea is done. Tastes like hot water.
I love this tea. It hit every single flavor profile that I found appealing. Figs, prunes, dates…that’s like heaven to me. I’m a weird one I know. And as a bonus, I loved my new mug too. It’s adorable. It’s short and chubby and looks like it should be wearing a bow-tie. No, I am not crazy…I named it Stuart…maybe a little crazy.
P.S. This tea experience was completely different from my first time around with this tea. Just realizing that now when reading my tea note.
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oh good….i’m excited to get this now :)
LOL will just add it to the list……
I think I ordered a sample of this one
Terri, you did :) Grace, your package shows out for delivery today on the shipping software.
As far as this YOD ripe tea you reviewed, it has already gone through some very positive changes since its pressing last year. So excited to see what 2 more years will bring out in this cake. I was only able to press 25 kgs of this tea (100 cakes)… it was all I could buy from that supplier. The wild spring picked stuff is quite rare to find for a ripe tea. I’m really happy you are liking it!
oh good….i’m excited to get this now :)
LOL will just add it to the list……
I think I ordered a sample of this one
Terri, you did :) Grace, your package shows out for delivery today on the shipping software.
As far as this YOD ripe tea you reviewed, it has already gone through some very positive changes since its pressing last year. So excited to see what 2 more years will bring out in this cake. I was only able to press 25 kgs of this tea (100 cakes)… it was all I could buy from that supplier. The wild spring picked stuff is quite rare to find for a ripe tea. I’m really happy you are liking it!