100 gram Mandala Silver Buds Raw Pu'er - 2012

This tea got me into trouble.

As I was sipping away, writing my review, I started looking at tea ware. Once the 3 hour tea session was done, I dented my paypal account with a yixing pot. Be warned! Actually, it’s probably all my fault, I get into trouble all the time!

This cake – gentle and beautiful! Apple, floral, apricot, earthy, and mineral notes with a fantastic smoothness in later infusions. I can see this tea being loved greatly by a white tea lover – it’s almost similar in intensity, but with a earthy flavor and better resteep ability.

I was very impressed how little smoke and astringency was present despite it being a 2012 – the least smoke and astringency I’ve had in a 2012 raw cake so far! Very nice!

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/mandala-silver-buds-raw-puer-2012-from-mandala-tea-tea-review/ featuring thirsty tea turtles and pu’er pick happy Owl.

This is delicious, OMGsrsly. I drank this all day, using short steeps of 5-15 sec and I never once became bored.

I also had a mini heart attack when I visually interpreted the delightful tea bubbles as a scary tea spider upon sip. Luckily the steeped tea spider appears to be a mythical creature. Good times with tea and absurd brain. To be fair, they were very lively bubbles.. It’s amazing what stress does to the brain.

I’m going to combine two reviews. In March 2015 I bought a cake of this tea and tasted it twice soon after delivery. I loved it. It had a light honeysuckle flavor, with underlying depth. Similar to a white tea on top but with wood/straw puerh character adding depth. Later steeps added some vanilla flavors. It was rich and had quite a bit of cha qi.

Fast forward to Dec 2015: I have stored this with other, stronger sheng since March at 60% RH. The tea has lost the lovely floral character that made it special, though has more classic puerh flavors that make it a good but not great tea. It is quite a bit lighter than my other teas so I’m not sure how it will age.

I initially rated the tea a 93. Now it is probably an 87. I blame my storage, since I had a 2011 in late 2014 that was delicious. I suspect that the down-side of that wonderful pumidor smell is that the teas exchange flavors. In theory this imparts richness, but it may also detract from the unique character of each tea (one reason why I don’t use my yixing pot very much). In the case of this tea, it was that delicate floral flavor that made the tea special.

I drank some 2011 white buds from Norbu yesterday so I pulled these out to compare with today.
I find this to have a stronger taste, but not in the good way. There is a wild element to this tea that showcases the way that it was created, but tat is not a taste I like. Some people may like that really earthy notes within the tea that make it taste alive… but I want a smooth hot liquid that has a complex taste that doesn’t make me think about the process the tea went through rather what is happening in my mouth.

This might nice, but it isn’t my favorite white/silver bud tea that I have had

Finally broke into this one! Very nice and light tea. Semi-floral and fruity, like crisp apples and maybe a pear note. Steeped it many times over the past two days. Definitely a good bargain :)

Soo… I may have just “accidentally” placed a rather big Mandala order. Including this! (And on a side note, I totally forgot to get some Smark Soak to try. WHOOPS.)

I blame the order on Sil. And Dex. And my paypal balance that I was actually trying to save for the next month of Tea Club. :)

So I hadn’t tried this version yet. I have a sample of the 2008 and it is divine. I’m not sure how different, I’d have to test them side by side to see what I think. But I’m really liking this. It’s tea. Definitely tea. Hay and pea shoots. Sweet, malt, hopefully highly caffeinated.

I’m drinking part of the 4th steep right now. I combined 1-3.5 in a travel mug for work. It’s a golden shade, looks lovely. And I used a ceramic mug to be extra fancy. :)

Here’s hoping all the cakes I now have survive my rather shoddy storage conditions (paper shopping bags on a shelf in my room…) until I get to drinking them and sharing them out.

I managed to find a moment of silence.
Sun was streaming through the living room window, I was in a comfy spot, and all my kids were busy…away from me. ;)
Even the dog was sleeping.
It was one of those tea moments that get ingrained in your memory…. it was that special.
And this tea… Oh, this tea! I really can’t thank you enough, Dexter. :))))
I think I’m on about my 10th steep of this…and the cup is still absolutely delicious!
The leaves smelled of sweet hay after their rinse and first 10 seconds.
The cup itself was almost fruity (I swear I was picking up melon…. then I swore there were hints of ripe plum skin…).
I knew right away that this was one special tea.

20 second steep left the leaves more bright and fruity, less hay like… The cup wasn’t as fruit centered; I found it to be buttery and creamy… So good!
At this point, I seriously want to shout from rooftops that I love this tea!

I continued on… getting distracted by kids… but loving this tea the entire time… It took me through episodes of Steven Universe, and through my time perusing cook books trying to come up with the weekly menu, and now it’s time for me to start dinner, and I’m still drinking this tea.
I loved how it tingled my tongue and left my mouth just wanting more.
Yes. This tea is a keeper.
Dexter, I wish I could hug you right now!! :)))

(This whole session was done using boiling water… I have enough to try it with a lower temp, as suggested on the website. I’m really excited to see what that’s like!)

MzPriss’ Unflavored Tea Box – Tea #24
I appreciate trying this one, but I’m not sure my tastebuds can comprehend these delicate raw pu-erhs yet. The ripened are so robust yet the raw are some of the lighter teas. I have no idea if I steeped this one right… I really wish Mandala would have instructions for their teas. They would know better than I. I also don’t think I used enough leaf, as I was trying to save a little bit for the tea box. So I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon and filled the mug 3/4. This one just seems like a fuzzy white tea to me: light without much flavor.. hints of apricot maybe. The second steep was a little stronger, but my tastebuds still couldn’t figure it out. I’m leaving the other raw pu-erhs in the box for the rest of you to figure out!
Steep #1 // 20 min after boiling // 40 seconds
Steep #2 // 10 min after boiling // 1 min steep

I’m having a lovely evening at home, relaxing with my dogs, reading some Joseph Campbell. You simply haven’t lived if you’ve never read “The Power of Myth”. It’s a life-changer, swearsies!

Method: 3.3 g, 3 oz, rinse, 10-15-20 seconds, 200 degrees, ru kiln gaiwan

Aroma: fruit and new leather. Hey, dried apricots! This also smells like dried plums! And spring forests!

Flavor: This is so mild and pretty. I think this one has a slightly more astringent finish than some of the other shengs I’ve tried. It’s kind of refreshing. It definitely has some fruity flavors, but is a little less sweet.

The only things missing from my wonderful evening are my boyfriend, who is at work, and a huge, puffy reading chair which I do not own. Yet.

I think I am going to work out some kind of goal to read at least one chapter of a chosen Joseph Campbell book per week, and to do so while drinking a pretty sheng. JC and sheng are pretty much a perfect match. I really have to work on that puffy reading chair, too…

I love white tea but I rarely ever have it. Why? Because it must be brewed at such low temperatures. I like my tea hot and white tea always cools down too fast. No problem with this tea since it’s a pu’er white. I can brew it at high temperatures and it’s still delicate. This tea does not have any smoke or bitterness. It’s smooth , light, with a fruity apple taste. I’ve been considering what shengs I should order in cake form from Mandala. I had two picked out but this one is very good too. Hard choice!