Mandala Year of the Dragon Ripe Pu'er -2012

I just had to buy the ripe pu’er sampler from mandala. It arrived at a perfect moment. I just arrived home from a depressing day-I spent the entire day getting my tooth repaired right before a big birthday celebration. It felt like I got older and suddenly my teeth were fragile and the dentist was having issues and there was bad traffic etc. So that night I just looked at the samples but after the party I had to brew up year of the dragon. I was born in the eyar of the dragon! I used 1/2 the 7g sample in a small tea pot (western style). I rinsed and then brewed for 30/45/50 etc about a 4 oz serving at a time (so a mix of eastern and western styles) and ..wow the perfect thing! It has some of the hints of chocolate and vanilla from my birthday cake in the first brewing. It has that fantastic orange/brown color to the liquid which I love. The 2nd and 3rd brews still have the hints of chocolate and vanilla but with some cream and fruit sneaking in. By 4 & 5 its more fig and plum (or pear I couldn’t decide) and just a hint of mushroom. The last brewing was just light more scents than flavor but for @ 3 grams that was a long way to go! As a “dragon” I think I am going to have to own some of this in the future! it aslo helped to calm me down and sooth the pain and swelling in my mouth from the all day tooth repair. I have to be patient, try the rest of the sampler before I declare it my all time favorite ripe pu’er of course I have only tired a limited number of them but I could stop here! For those who like the dense thick pu’er this is not one of them, its lighter and glentler less “coffee like” than some, but that’s what I love!

Steeped properly this tea is excellent. I steeped it three times in a 350ml Yixing teapot, first 20 sec, then accidentally oversteeped the second steeping, then 20 sec. My review is based upon the two steepings where my strainer didn’t clog and slow my pouring. It was naturally just a little sweet on the first steeping. It was fairly light bodied with pleasant notes of I’m not sure what. Couldn’t quite put a finger on the taste but it was good. I was slightly bitter in the second and third steeping. Overall I give this tea a high mark.

Very solid, high quality shou puer.

no funkiness or fishiness here. Leaves are deep brown/black. Very clean, very high quality look and feel.

Brews up real dark, real quick.

I’m getting mostly mushroom on the first waves of quick infusions. There’s an underlying dried fruit sweetness, very subtle, but it’s there. Maybe fig, or dates. Creaminess too. Real clean, leaves the mouth refreshed, but nothing lingering around.

I’m tempted to put a drop of honey in, maybe next time, just to round it out a touch. Very solid component of a well stocked tea stash.

This shou is incredibly smooth. I like it. Creamy and fruity, some wood notes. The brew is dark reddish-brown color and clear. I had a nice session of multiple steepings
5g 100ml gaiwan 212F
rinse/pause/ 10/10/15/15/20/25/30/45 sec etc
Perfect for beginner or lover of Puerh.

So far this is my favorite Pu Erh! I just love this tea! I must, need to order more! I wish the cakes were larger because I am afraid I will go through this too quickly! I am trying to slow down and drink different pu erhs but I mindless go back to this one. I just love how smooth and full bodied it is! I have to give a better review than this later but I just had to drop by and say I LOVE this PU ERH!!

Smooth, tasty!! MMmmm…. May make more?

I got this cake recently and it is my new favorite pu’er. It has a well rounded and smooth flavor with a creamy texture. It also holds up well to multiple steepings (I get a good six in my yixing, which is as much tea as I can handle in one sitting!) I would also recommend for people being introduced to ripe pu’er tea. It is a bit more well “behaved” than many other pu’er out there.