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I have been searching for a pu’er to take the place of my coffee in the morning. I have myself down to a couple of sips but I haven’t quite kicked the habit yet. I think this would come pretty close. It has everything I love about coffee without the jittery over-caffeinated feeling afterwards. So when Garret included this as a sample, I was joyful.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Very smoky and so very good. I am a Lapsang fan so the smokier the better. This would be probably a bit easier to take for people that don’t like smoky teas because the smoke is not as in your face as with a Lapsang

2nd Steep-45 seconds
Still smoky with an almost leathery note. I can see this replacing coffee for me…if I had more of them. Goals I have them.

3rd Steep-1 minute
I love how this tea maintains its smoky flavor while gaining complexity. It’s sweet now and smells so good. Kind of reminds me of pipe smoke. I love that smell and it brings back such pleasant memories.

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
The smoke is still there but not as prevalent. Dark chocolate notes are coming through. Probably my favorite steep so far.

5th Steep-2 minutes
Oh Lordy, smells like honey. Not sweet clover honey but something darker. Like leatherwood honey—my favorite. It tastes like it too.

6th Steep-2.30 minutes
It’s lost most of its smoke but now the leatherwood honey has transformed into a clover honey smell and taste. Kind of floral as well. I don’t think I will get much more from this tea—although I am tempted to try—but it ends on a lovely note.

I am borderline in love with this tea. It will be a part of my next Mandala order. Thanks to Garret for the sample.

This is the first flavored tea that I’ve had for a long time. I became kind of obsessed with pu’ers but last night I felt like something different. I decided on this one because I was craving some spice. It was between Hot Lips and Chocolate Chili Spice. Hot Lips won.

The smell of the dry tea is overwhelmingly cinnamon. It smells remarkably like Big Red gum. It’s also quite pretty with the green tea, the pink peppercorns and cinnamon pieces. The taste was great. It was very strong on the cinnamon and not the sweet sort of cinnamon but the really spicy kind. I just wish the base tea was a bit more assertive. I was really looking for that green tea almost grassy taste but I couldn’t find it. I did three steeps and only on the 3rd steep did I find the balance and flavor that working for me.

All in all, the spice was pleasant but there was not enough flavor in the base to really please me.

P.S. My team finally won a game and F1 starts on the 17th. Yay!

I have to admit that I was a bit frightened of this tea. I’ve had them in my cart to buy every time I ordered with Mandala and I’ve gotten spooked each time. So I am very happy that Garret included a sample with my last order.

I did the recommended 3 rinses on this one.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Perhaps a bit too earthy for me on the first steep. I didn’t hate the taste though. It was very earthy but there was a nice sweetness to it. I’m interested to see how this mellows.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
I get what people mean when they say a tea smells “barnyard.” Because this one kind of does. I didn’t find it at all unpleasant though. It actually brought back lovely childhood memories. The taste was very smoky. Kind of like a sweeter Lapsang.

3rd Steep-1 minute
It still smells a bit musty but it’s fading to a nice leathery note. The taste, however, is fantastic. Naturally sweet with a brown sugar, raisin note. There is also a wine-like tang that I find very appealing even though I hate wine. I don’t know quite what to make of this tea but all the feelings I have are positive.

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
It’s mellowing out in a very nice way. It’s a bit roasty and nutty like coffee with a nice chocolaty flavor. Kind of like Nutella on whole wheat toast.

5th Steep-2 minutes
Very light but still a bit roasty and nutty. It doesn’t seem to be weakening very much at all.

6th Steep-10 minutes
I always manage to forget about the last steep. This is very light with a very surprising floral note. After the roasty toasty of the previous steep, the floral note is very shocking and a great note to finish on.

This tea started out so bold and finished so gently. I liked it a lot. Perhaps not an everyday tea but when I need a good kick in the pants, I would definitely reach for this one first.

P.S. I don’t think I will ever see my team win again.

I have been drinking tea for a while but I never had a straight oolong tea and I have only had 1 or 2 flavored ones. Oolong could very well become another tea obsession because this was amazing. And by amazing, I mean that I want to hoard it like a crazy person.

1st Steep-15 seconds
A bit grassy but with a strong almost brown butter type of sweet nuttiness. Also a bit of coconut. So good.

2nd Steep-18 seconds
Oh my word is this tea amazing. Tasted like a toffee candy. Sweet and buttery. There is also a nice peachy note that I love.

3rd Steep-20 seconds
It tastes like peaches and cream. I am kind of flummoxed as to how this tea can get any better. And I’m not usually a fan of lighter teas.

4th Steep-40 seconds
It reminds me of vanilla buttercream. Pure sweet vanilla with a nice buttery bite. There is still that note of fruitiness but it’s faded. It’s almost lemony. Come to think about it, I always add lemon zest to my vanilla buttercream so it makes sense. The tea gods make sense.

5th Steep-1 minute
Starting to smell like jasmine tea which has never been one of my favorites but it works for me here. But the taste is like heavy cream with a bit of a floral finish.

6th Steep-1.20 minutes
The floral note is really taking over in the scent and taste. There is still a buttery note but it’s fading.

7th Steep-1.40 minutes
I couldn’t resist saving this tea for the morning because I loved it too much to throw away. I had this right after I drank my morning coffee. It was a lovely contrast to the bitter roast of the coffee. Reminded me of a jasmine green tea. Very floral. Very calming. Lovely.

I really was expecting to be all “meh” about this one because I am not a fan of lighter teas. I like my tea dark and roasty. But this was just lovely. It was creamy and fruity and I even liked the floral notes. So my first oolong was a success. I would be interested in trying a more roasty one.

P.S. Team is now on a 5 game losing streak.

Garret was nice enough to send me some of this shu with my last order. I saved for a day I know would be stressful—and it was. My team lost…again…I mean, scored against 8 seconds into the game…it was bad. Otherwise, I was just having terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I ended up drinking this tea for two days straight because I ended up falling asleep after my 2nd steep.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Very hayish with a sweet finish. Almost fruity. Reminded me of dates. Which I love almost as much as figs.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
Still a bit hayish but its taking on more of a smoky type flavor. There are also some nice dark chocolate notes. The fruity note is still there making this steep taste kind of like a Fruit and Nut candy bar.

3rd Steep-1 minute
Takes on an interesting berry note with some vegetal undertones. Not grassy but more basil or mint. Definitely not what I was expecting based on previous steeps but very good. There is still a bit of the sort of smokey earthiness but it’s very much in the background.

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
This steep is all berry with a creamy vanilla finish. Very sweet. I almost miss the herbaceous note.

5th Steep-2 minutes
Vanilla and brown sugar with a bit of the berry flavor. Not much though. The flavor is starting to lighten up but I really did like this steep.

6th Steep-10 minutes
I always manage to forget the last steep. It hasn’t burned me yet or destroyed good tea so I guess it’s okay. This final steep has taken on a very vegetal flavor much like green tea. A bit grassy and a bit sweet on the finish.

I really liked this one a lot. It might not become a staple—-or it may if I end up buying a cake. It did give me that shiny happy people feeling. I know it was the tea because I usually mope after my team loses and I was all cheerful this time. It was also pretty tasty.

I have tried many pu’ers but not many tuochas. This one was my first and they were great. I’m very glad I bought 4oz of these lovely little tuos.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Very hayish with a molasses finish. Starts out very bold and strong. Could replace coffee for me…I’ve been actively searching for a replacement for a while.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
Might lighter. Still earthy but more roasty. Like coffee but without the bitter finish. The tea still finishes on a sweet note.

3rd Steep-1 minute
This steep was very smooth and had the flavor of a nice chocolate bar…a good one. There is also a salty bite to it at the end.

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
This was my favorite steep out of all of them. Strange because usually it’s the 3rd. This one reminded me of butterscotch which I love.

5th Steep-2 minutes
This steep confused me a bit—-in a good way. It was a weird combination of all of the previous steeps. It was a bit roasty with a buttery note. There was also a slight chocolate finish.

6th Steep-7 minutes
I forgot I was steeping while I ran an errand. It didn’t seem to impact the flavor at all. Honey and vanilla. Getting much lighter even with the long steep.

7th Steep-20 minutes
I was watching a hockey game (not my team) and got distracted because that team was playing well while mine just doesn’t so I let this steep for the first period…bad me. But the tea was so light I really didn’t notice. It had a nice chamomile-like flavor with nice floral notes.

I really did like these tuochas a lot. I don’t think any pu’er will come close to my Mandala Phatty Cake but this comes close. These Not-So-Mini Tuochas would make a great morning cuppa. If I was courageous, which I’m not, I would replace my morning cup of coffee with this tea.

I came into this tea with very high expectations based on the other reviews here. I expected it to be an Experience. And it was. A great one. There were so many flavors in this tea that my mind is racing to process them all.

1st Steep-30 seconds
There is a little bit of the mushroomy smell but I find it pleasant here. The tea tasted nothing like what the smell would indicate at all. It tasted like an amaretti cookie or Amaretto without the alcohol bite. It was much lighter than I would expect from a first steep.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
The tea is still very nutty but there is almost a berry finish. I’m leaning towards strawberry. Quite lovely.

3rd Steep-1 minute
The 3rd steep is now one that I look forward to because it’s always the best and this one was no exception. This one tasted like Tahitian vanilla bean. Very sweet and a bit floral.

4th steep-1.30 minutes
A cross between cinnamon bark and honey. In a way this steep kind of reminded me of baklava—-my one true sweet weakness.

5th Steep-2 minutes
The berries have returned. They are still strawberries but they are so much stronger and bring with them an almost whipped cream sort of finish. A perfect finish to a perfect tea experience.

This one lived up to my every expectation and more. It also gave me that happy buzzy feeling that only happens when you have a really great tea. Not really tea drunk just happy and shiny thinking nice things about the world and the people in it.

And thanks to Garret for hockey theming my latest order and for the Year of the Dragon pu’er. I’m saving it for Thursday when my team plays…to cheer me up because they are slumping terribly.

Thanks so Sophie and Laurent for sending me this sample.

I have tried many a green tea but never a genmaicha. I’ve always wanted to try one but I have never gotten around to it. I did like this one. Very much.

This one took me a while to figure out. It’s just not something I’ve ever tried before. I loved the nutty, popcornish flavor that the rice gave. It was pleasant and not something I thought I’d appreciate but I really did. There was also a lovely pop of caramel and chocolate that gave this tea the feel of a really decadent treat. I do like that it’s a black/green tea mix. The black tea complemented the chocolate in the tea and gave it a bit more maltiness.

Genmaicha is definitely interesting. It’s one that I’ve always wanted to try but never have. And I did love it. I loved the addiction of caramel and chocolate in Nina’s Japon. Kind of reminiscent of caramel popcorn…I always add chocolate chips while the popcorn is still hot. This will definitely be among the teas I order from Nina’s Tea when I eventually make my first order.

I would love to try some straight green genmaicha. Any suggestions?

Thanks to Laurent and Sophie for this sample.

I’ve had a bad day. My team lost and I’m subsisting on two hours of sleep. The only saving grace to this day was the arrival of my Nina’s Tea samples. I’ve been waiting for them and they did not disappoint. 

This is one lovely tea. It’s very peachy. And not artificial peach but a very sweet yet tart juicy peach flavor. There is also a bit of apple but it’s not as up-front as the peach. There was also a nice vanilla finish.The black tea base was lovely with no astringency. It was very smooth and creamy. 

I did a second steep because I loved it so much. The peach became more of a background flavor. The apple and vanilla really stood out. I was also surprised to see the apricot come out so boldly. It almost reminded me of apricot jam. There was absolutely no fade. It only got better.
 
I love this tea. I want to buy a whole bunch of it. It is one of the best flavored black teas I have tried so far. I can’t wait to try Nina’s Japon tomorrow. 

6th Steep-2.30 minutes
Still has the fig taste. But much lighter. Not as sweet or syrupy but very mellow. Also has a bit of a whole wheat bread taste.

7th Steep-3 minutes
Whole wheat bread. Very nutty and naturally sweet. I do miss the fig though.

8th Steep-4 minutes
Getting a lot of milk chocolate notes. Never have I had a pu-er where the chocolate shows up in the later steeps. Not that I am all that experienced with pu-er but still.

9th Steep5 minutes
Still chocolaty with a nutty note. Not hazelnut. Maybe pistachio. The flavor is starting to fade quite a bit. But after 2 days and 9 (soon to be 10) steeps, it perfectly acceptable.

10th Steep-6 minutes
Vanilla and floral notes. Very pleasant. I am almost regretting putting myself on a 10 steep limit.

I think this one will be a staple. I got so many lovely flavors out of it. I could drink this everyday and never get bored.