Pure Buds Black

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Apricot, Bread, Caramel, Cherry, Cocoa, Fruity, Honey, Malt, Sugarcane, Burnt Sugar, Wood, Yams, Roasted Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Earth, Sweet, Mineral, Stonefruit, Toast
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Jason
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 30 sec 5 g 8 oz / 227 ml

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39 Tasting Notes View all

From Mandala Tea

The highest grade spring buds turned into a black tea. Amazingly smooth and slightly sweet.

About Mandala Tea View company

Company description not available.

39 Tasting Notes

81
737 tasting notes

Got a sample of this from kimquat a few months ago. Finally getting around to it.
This one is absolutely delicious!
Sweet potatoes…Baked bread…Ugh, so good!!
Hints of earthiness but hardly noticeable. Definitely another win! Probably something I’d consider ordering in the future even. :O
Thanks, kimquat!

Flavors: Bread, Earth, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes

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518 tasting notes

from the (Mostly) Unflavored TTB

Slightly underleafed but I took all that was left.

I did the three shorter steeps directions from the package, 1min, 2min, 5 min.

Malty. And then it got somewhat bready.

The third infusion finally did I get this cocoa flavor.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one.

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1113 tasting notes

Mmmmm! Thank you Cameron B. for the sample :)

I had a feeling I would love this one. It’s a very good black indeed. Nice and complex. My kind of tea!

Cameron B.

Its picture on Steepster doesn’t do it justice, either! :)

Stephanie

Agreed. It is a very CUTE tea!

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90
3986 tasting notes

Purchased this from kimquat in her stash sale (I sincerely hope that her name is Kim and people call her that in person, too cute)! I am continuing my quest to try all the Yunnans! Honestly, it doesn’t say where this tea is from on their website, but I was assuming Yunnan based on the appearance and the smell. The leaves are very long and slender, slightly twisted. It’s almost all fuzzy golden buds with some dark grey leaves mixed in. The smell is mild malty bread with honey and stonefruit notes. I did a 3 minute steep at 200 degrees. I’m always so tempted to overleaf these teas because when I get the leaf in, it looks like so little leaf!

The brewed aroma is all baked bread and malt with the same stonefruit and honey notes from the dry leaf. I catch a little nip of earthy, mineral scent. Mm, this is very delicious. The strongest flavor here is crusty bread and malt, yum yum yum. One of my very favorite notes in tea! This bread happens to be toasted with a little bit of honey and apricot preserve over the top. It’s very smooth and lovely with a silky mouthfeel. I do get that little bite of earthy and mineral somewhere near the end, and I think it adds a lovely dimension, even though earthy isn’t generally my favorite.

Yum yum delicious! Thanks kimquat!

Flavors: Bread, Earth, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Stonefruit, Toast

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Stephanie

Well that sounds delicious!

Cameron B.

Om nom Yunnan! :P

Cameron B.

I have a couple of servings left if you want to try some. ;)

Stephanie

Wooooooot

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80
157 tasting notes

Tea of the evening!

First steep, 1min.
It’s mellow, “bright”, and fruity on the front end. As other people have noted it’s both sweet and slightly sour, though not unpleasantly so. There are grainy, malty flavors on the back end with whispers of cocoa and a lingering honey sweetness.

Second steep, 2min.
A little vegetal on the front end. I’m not a huge fan of it. Mid-sip, it morphs into sweet potato and finishes on a juicy, fresh honey note. Some malt and light cocoa still present (though not overly so).

I think I might have used water that was a tad hot. There is a bit of drying astringency that hasn’t been there before. Oops!

I’m not sure what it is, but something about this tea doesn’t jive with me. Maybe it’s because it’s brightly flavored without being bold, or mellow without enough malt/chocolate. I can’t figure it out. I’ve had it many times before and each time it made me feel blasé. It’s a very nice tea but it’s not what I prefer. Oh, well.

Flavors: Cocoa, Fruity, Honey, Malt

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85
1118 tasting notes

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

Oooh, this tea reminds me of a baked sweet potatoes with honey on it. The tea is smooth with a nice hit of malt, but the sweet potato flavor really is the star. A great tea, and one I’d love to try more of at some point.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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13 tasting notes

Wow…first sip exploded into my mouth with a fresh sweet creamy malt. I can’t wait to see what subsequent infusions bring.

Starting my tea explorations with Mandala may have been a mistake. It’s going to be a monumental struggle to favor one tea over another, they are all so delicious. Hey….good problem to have I guess. But this one is in the mix for a keeper.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
TheTeaFairy

Lol, I had the same feeling after my first Mandala order. Everything I bought from Garret was just exceptional, especially his pu’erh and oolongs, so yummy!

inranger

I am in trouble then. Mandala’s oolongs and pu’ers are the two categories I’ve not had much experience with so far. I do have Special Dark slated for later today.

Stephanie

I drank some Special Dark this afternoon :)

TheTeaFairy

Inranger, be ready to enter the “Dark Side” of pu’erh then, Special Dark is fantastic! Let us know what you think later :-)

(their raw pu’erh Wild Monk is also spectacular if you’re looking for suggestions)

inranger

WOW – bout all I can say :) My notes just posted.
Thanks for the Wild Monk recommendation. I actually had one cake of Wild Monk on hand when I decided I needed 2. One to sample here and there and one to hold onto. I think I may have been destined to pu’er before I even tasted it.

TheTeaFairy

Then you have very good instinct!

inranger

I’m doing the homework, now just trying to get the experience to go with the theory. On that Wild Monk thing, looks like tea buying is part playing the horses or stock market. Yep instinct said buy. :)

inranger

BTW, done w/7 infusions. Left me in a real nice place. Not sure how to totally evaluate my first pu’er experience, but I know I’ve seen enough that I have to come back soon and take another peek behind the curtain.

TheTeaFairy

Never thought of it this way, but I like the analogy of tea buying and stock market! I’m an impulsive buyer, I admit I don’t always do proper homework, but of all types of tea, pu’erh is the one that requires the most research I think…Luckily, there are also active Pu’erh experts here on Steepster (cough mrmopar) who generously offer their help and knowledge to others :-)

Glad you enjoyed your first pu’erh experience!

inranger

Mrmo is the who told me how much tea to start with today :)

mrmopar

The Wild Mountain Green is a yummy one too.

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90
790 tasting notes

Another winner! Malty, sweetish but also with a bit of sour, cocoa-y, somewhat savory. Not as deeply bready as Golden Strand or Morning Sun but still a baked kind of taste. Beautiful, beautiful leaves.

Again, I went with the longer single steep. Will resteep in a bit to see how it fares. Right now I’m wishing I’d done a 16 ounce cup instead of just 8!

And again, no rating at this point. Need to give this a shot after allergies have subsided to make sure I’m doing it justice. Also I want to try it with filtered water at work. Using my tap water at home doesn’t provide a very good review for someone else since it’s not like they can use my water! :)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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84
15006 tasting notes

nom nom nom nom nom another one from dexter who is one of those awesome swapping tea friends. I hadn’t yet tried this from mandala so she sent me some to nom on. it’s deeeelicious! and also one of those teas that i just want to say YAYAYAYAYAYAY about. lol

scribbles

This is an awesome tea! My fingers are twitching to place an order for this.

Nicole

The list of wants from Mandala keeps growing. As soon as everything I want is in stock, my bank account is in trouble.

Dexter

Awesome glad you liked it. :))

Garret

Whenever I break open the crate of this tea to bag up for an order, I get excited. The smell of the dry leaf recreates in my mind all of the best things about my wood shop class in 8th grade. The sweet aroma that certain woods gave out when cut or planed makes me so very happy and this tea has the very best of those aromas in the dry leaf. I’m really happy that are enjoying it.

Garret

Hey Nicole! What have you been waiting for as far as out-of-stocks at our shop? Maybe I can help you with some ETA’s.

Sil

yum!

Nicole

Garret, I was trying to remember – maybe it was the Morning Sun or the Flowering Black Tea Cones? I tried getting to the site to check my wishlist and I can’t get it to come up today.

Nicole

Apparently I just hadn’t checked recently enough. Everything was in stock. And the bank account sighs… :)

Garret

Nicole! New teas are on the way to you, my friend. Wish I could deliver them myself and then sit down for a nice tea session :) Enjoy each of them. Thank you!

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286 tasting notes

This is great tea to start the day. Delicious, smooth, sweet, some malt.

My first cup had hints of fruit in the background, with a lighter profile. Second steep of these beautiful leaves…ahhh…rich, sweet, and so tasty. BF commented on how good it smells-he doesn’t drink tea.

Many thanks to Dexter3657 for sending this my way!

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