Another great sample from Nicole! Thank you! This one looks really similar to the Yunnan Sourcing sample of Black Gold that Nicole also sent. Hmm. There is plenty of gold here. It looks like a variation of a snail tea. Black and gold tight bundles that somehow artfully unravel into these huge leaves. The flavor is fantastic. The deep amber cup has all the characteristics I love in a black tea: at first it is floral or like wine, then there are slight pepper and smoky notes, while being malty, honey yet still rich. Hints of fruit. This is really somehow everything except a chocolate tea, which surprised me. It’s a very complex tea, very intoxicating and addicting. I think the favorite that I’ve tried from Mandala over the years. I probably didn’t need to use 1 1/2 teaspoons, one heaping teaspoon would do, but it was fantastic steeped this way anyway. Three solid steeps with none of that oversteeped oaky flavor some black teas tend to have. I’ll try the YS- Black Gold with these parameters.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 10 minutes after steeping // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 6 min a.b. // 2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 5+ min
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
That’s a very beautiful name for a tea, or any kind of product really :)