97 Tasting Notes
I learned a lesson today. A letter opener is not the proper tool to break apart a pu-er cake. It took me half an hour and a coring knife to dig into this one. I don’t think I destroyed the cake too badly but I did end up buying a pu-er pick from Mandala…and more tea because I am a weak person.
I planned to drink this tea to comfort myself in case my hockey team decided to give me a migraine but strangely enough, they won. And I was still lucky enough to drink 5 steeping of this lovely tea. It has tied Bu Lang Gong Ting as my favorite. It’s ridiculously good. And my team won so YAY!
1st Steep-30 seconds
In spite of my mess-up with the breaking of the cake, the initial flavors of this tea is nothing short of mind-blowing. It’s a spicy, leathery and musky. I know that sounds a bit strange but those flavors together are just so perfect.
2nd Steep-45 seconds
I’m getting raisin notes. Very sweet and a bit smoky on the finish. So nice. The slight smoke cuts the sweet of the raisin notes in the best way possible.
3rd Steep-1 minute
Brown sugar, raisins and rum. That’s what I am getting from this steep. And boy oh boy is it perfect. Three of my favorite things in the world. This was a very cakey steep. Very sweet and syrupy.
4th Steep-1.30 minutes
Brown sugar, caramel and a fruity flavor that I can’t place right now. This tea keeps improving with each steep.
5th Steep-2 minutes
Fig! Brown sugar and fig notes. I cannot tell you how happy I was to come across a pu-er with roasted fig notes. I love anything fig so this was just PERFECT.
I love this tea. So much. It’s not even rational how much I love it. I want more and I haven’t even finished this cake yet. I may be a little obsessed with it. I am holding the leaves over for tomorrow because there was absolutely no fade to the brew. I’m just going to keep brewing until there is no flavor left.
That 5th steep is something I cannot get over right now. Is there any other pu-er out there with fig notes in there?
Preparation
I experimented a bit with the steep time while brewing this tea so it’s probably a bit crazypants because it jumps all over the place. I think I will follow Garret’s suggested steep times from now on because it worked brilliantly with the Bu Lang Gong Ting.
1st Steep- 1 minute
Very mushroomy and earthy. It was pleasant in its earthiness and not at all overpowering. I think this may be the first earthy shu that I’ve liked.
2nd Steep-45 seconds
Still a bit earthy but with a nice leathery note. Very smooth.
3rd Steep-2 minutes
Yet again the third steep is my favorite. This steep was buttery with a bit of roastiness to it. I don’t know exactly what to compare it to but it brings to mind breakfast.
4th Steep-3 minutes
Still very buttery with a touch of honey. Perhaps a bit more intense than the 3rd steep.
5th Steep-1 minute
This was my final steep and it was lovely. It tasted like molasses. So very good.
I had to stop with this tea after the 5th steep because I tend to drink tea late at night. I know that’s probably not normal but I’m generally a not very normal person.
I loved Four Leaves. Perhaps not as much as Bu Lang Gong Ting but I think that one may be my benchmark tea. I really enjoyed the earthiness of this tea. If I was going to replace my morning cup of coffee—which I still need to be human—-this would be the one.
Preparation
I’m not normal either!
Ha! I have a feeling normal is a bit overrated :)
Normal is what 95% of the population is. Sisters, you don’t want to be normal :) And I, for one, am glad that you’re not! Thank you!
I need to find an old dude like you Garret with a stash of PU who appreciates the odd eccentric female.
Ditto. I need to find a man with a stash of tea, a love of hockey and the ability to deal with my obsessions. Such a man does not exist.
Garret-I am going to break into the Phatty Cake tonight. Is it acceptable to use a sharp letter opener to break the cake? I completely forgot to buy a breaking pick.
Bonnie… did you just call me an old dude? :) I do have quite a stash, for sure!
Grace… can’t wait to hear of your Phatty Cake impressions. Sharp letter opener should work just fine on the cake… Just go slowly in order to keep the leaf as whole as possible. Also… check the MandalaTea FB page status today :)
I am going to give the letter opener the good ol’college try. If I don’t post my review tonight, it’s likely because I stabbed myself. It’s antique and sharp.
And thank you for mentioning me on Facebook. Made my day all bright and shiny.
Do you think of yourself as an ‘old dude’ Garret?! Har…I think you’re a youngster! I said, “I need to find an old dude…‘like’ you not you ‘are’ an old dude.” Otherwise, why not just stalk you! And I’m not a cougar, sooooo, you need to drink more puerh evidently and chill out today Garret! I’m going to have to break down and buy some tea from you one of these days. I’ve been getting samples of your tea from my buddy in Virginia, but I want MORE!
HI Bonnie!! :) Actually, at 46, I feel younger than I ever have in my life. The tea, the running, working out, meditation, qigong, yoga, good food has me feeling my best ever. As far as you not being a cougar, wouldn’t you have to be older than me in order to earn that moniker? I hope you are feeling wonderful today, my dear! Smiling and laughing and dancing and singing…
Oh brother…what a smooth line! Hahaha I’m almost 65!(Like you didn’t know…hahaha!) I feel great when migraine/fibromyalgia are not active and I eat well but can’t exercise other than walking or I end up in the ER with extreme pain. Lots to be thankful for!
Yeah. The letter opener didn’t work. I had to use a coring knife. Looks like I will be ordering a pu’er pick very soon.
A pu’er pick rocks. Get my favorite one: http://shopmandalatea.com/tea-wares/tea-accessories/fine-breaking-pick.html
I used one of these during my last buying trip in China and brought back many of them. They’re great. You’re great. We’re all so freakin’ great!
Another trick is that if you are happy with the flavor of a tea you can always steam the cake for a couple of minutes and it will loosen up. You can them lay the leaf out on a tray to air dry and then simply store as a loose leaf tea in a jar. This will pretty much stop the aging, but hey, if you are going to be drinking the cake up and don’t want to mess with prying the leaf off, this is a great solution for many!
ah yeah!
I decided to get the pick…and a couple of ripe pu-ers of course. I am weak. I got samples of Guo Zhi Yin Pu Shi 063 Tribute and Yong De Organic – 2007.
And the Phatty Cake was just…beautiful. Tea note will be posted shortly :)
I just realized that I had a couple of samples left over from my Davids order that I still had to try. I figured I might as well try the rooibos blend today while I am taking a break from caffeine.
I don’t know why but for some reason it is just not working for me at all. With each sip, I get more and more overwhelmed by the mint. I can barely taste the rooibos, the vanilla or the chocolate. I would have loved more of the woodsy flavor mixed with the mint and the chocolate but the mint overwhelmed my palate. I have Read My Lips in my cupboard and it has the same flavor profile but with better balance of flavor.
Rooibos also tends to be a problematic area for me as well. It’s a love/hate thing where it doesn’t work for me more often than it does. The only rooibos blend I’ve tried and loved is Oh Canada.
Preparation
I think this was my first ever transcendent tea moment. From the first sip, I was immediately in love with this tea. It was perfect. I was in utter awe while enjoying this tea. I am a former coffee drinker. You just don’t get that from coffee so this was a kind of milestone for me.
1st Steep- 30 seconds
Very leathery and, it’s going to sound strange, but there is also a note of parchment. I’m a book lover so this first steep worked very well for me. The smell of parchment and leather always brings happy memories. There was also a bit of bittersweet chocolate on the finish.
2nd Steep-45 seconds
The dark chocolate really came out. There was also a nutty hazelnut flavor. I loved this steep. I’m not a fan of Nutella but that is what it reminded me of. Maybe I just like it in tea?
3rd Steep-1 minute
The third steep is always my favorite for some reason. There was a lovely vanilla bean flavor with a brown sugar finish. In a way, it kind of reminded me of crème brulee with the brown sugar crackle on the top.
4th Steep-1.30 minutes
I got a lot of cinnamon. Very light and naturally sweet. There was also still a bit of the brown sugar flavor with some honey coming through. I love this steep almost as much as I love the 3rd one.
5th Steep-2 minutes
Honey. This steep was just one note but it was intense. And delicious.
6h Steep-3 minutes
This final steep was suddenly very fruity. Like peach. Maybe my taste buds are in a tizzy but it came out of nowhere.
Yet again, there came a point where I had to stop brewing this tea because it got late but I could have brewed this tea over and over again. This tea was perfection. Complete and utter perfection. I loved this tea. I wish I had bought more than an ounce of it because I could drink this everyday.
Preparation
This was another sample with my Mandala order. My initial impressions of this tea weren’t very good. The dry tea kind of smelled fishy to me. I hate fish so I am really sensitive to the smell. It wasn’t intense but it was there and initially it was a turn-off. But I soldiered on and tried the tea anyway.
1st Steep- 1 minute
My first words after taking the first sip were “Holy Crap!”. The tea still keeps a bit of the off smell but the taste is a big ol’shocker. It’s chocolate with a nice cream finish. I spent almost a minute starring at my teacup in shock.
2nd Steep-2 minutes
It still had the “off” smell but this steep was full of chocolate with a bit of nuttiness. I am borderline in love with this tea already.
3rd Steep-3 minutes
This was my favorite steep. It was all Madagascar vanilla bean and whipped cream. Perhaps a bit of a slight peppery bite as well. It was just perfect.
4th Steep-4 minutes
This had a bit of salty/sweet going for it. It still had the vanilla taste but there was a bit of a salty finish to it. Reminded me of salted caramel. So good.
5th Steep-5 minutes
I brewed this final steep at 1am—bad idea but kind of brilliant at the same time. This is probably tied for my favorite steep. It’s much lighter but I am getting a great brown sugar flavor—with no sugar at all in my tea. The salty bite from the last steep also got a bit more intense. So it’s even more like a salted caramel.
I did not want to stop brewing this tea but it was 1am and I had to get up very early. This was quite the lovely tea. It did not give off the best initial impression but once brewed gave off the most lovely of flavors.
Preparation
I keep hearing good things about this one.
HI and thank you for the review! When I finished this blend, I knew that with its very young age, that some might still pick up on that post-fermentation smell (the mushroomy, briny, some call fishy smell). But one thing is for sure – I am impressed with how quickly that is dissipating and how it is being replaced with a camphor-like quality.
I await the 400 cakes of this that I had pressed. I have went through 2 of the cakes as I had some express shipped and it is already quite different from the loose leaf version of the same leaf. This leaf is going to mature very nicely.
Thanks so much for sticking with it. This is my personal favorite blend so far… it is YOUNG, but for being this young, I’m pretty amazed at the depth of flavor and aroma.
Tea ya!
Bonnie: It is very very good. Especially that 3rd steep.
Garret: I am very very sensitive to the post-fermentation smell but it wasn’t strong at all and I drink my tea from a thermos so I didn’t really notice it. The flavor of the tea was brilliant. I will be buying a cake of Noble Mark as well as Wild Monk with my next order :)
Hi Grace! ooohhh… the Noble Mark cakes should be here soon!!!!! Can’t wait… I drank mine all up already!!!! I’ll post on FB when they arrive. Are you on Mandala Tea fazbukh page? If I remember, I can message you here, too! I’ll get you a sample of another ripe cake I did last year – and did you try the phatty cake yet?
My next order is probably going to be embarrassingly huge. I’m going to end up re-ordering most of the stuff I bought and the samples plus new teas I haven’t tried yet. It may be a while before I can convince myself it’s okay to buy more tea though.
I am on Mandala Tea’s Facebook page. I’m Grace Maria (https://www.facebook.com/grace.maria.35) on FB. I will be checking for the Noble Mark cakes because I kept the leaves from last night and brewed it again today and just kept getting better and better. I think you can message here as well but perhaps you can only message the people you follow or somesuch similar arrangement. I’m such a newb.
I haven’t tried the phatty cake yet. I’m waiting for Thursday. I know I’ll love it so I’m saving it for when my hockey team plays. I tend to drink tea during hockey games for some reason. Probably stress relief lol. My team gives me migraines. But I just had a tea session with the Bu Lang Gong Ting…it was brilliant. My tea note will be a big mess of tea joy.
I would love to try a sample of the ripe cake. I have become obsessed with pu-er and want to try all of it. But I guess that’s normal :)
I know all about the pu’er obsession. Green and black pu’er, I LOVE them. You got some great ripe teas on your last order! I’m so happy to see you getting so excited about your teas… your joy in it reminds me of my own :)
I just may have to get into hockey!
I was completely surprised by how much I loved it. I had heard so many iffy things but I just fell in love with pu-er.
I’m not sure whether to advise you to get into hockey or not. It’s so much joy when your team is playing well and such a stress filled hell when they lose. Safer to stick with tea :)
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
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 added a bit of nutmeg, cinnamon and caramel syrup this time. It tasted like a caramel banana pie. So much better than the last time. I think I prefer it without all the extras because they kind of covered up the vegetal taste from the guayusa.
