92
drank Special Dark by Mandala Tea
1500 tasting notes

This may well be my first Mandala tea, so I wanted to go big with the first try.

This is one multi-faced tea. I’m only on steep one, and already I can tell this will be a nuanced experience with each sip. Almost all of my sips are dark cocoa, which is interesting because I just had some 90% dark chocolate, and both the mouthfeel and taste are almost identical. It kind of reminds me of the texture of coffee, although it’s been so many years since I’ve had anything even remotely coffee-like (if I do drink it, it’s always espresso-based, which is a very different experience for me than drip). Regardless, this is thick in flavor, rich in taste, nuanced and multi-faceted. I look forward to many more steeps, to see how it evolves.

EDIT: Okay, so how do I do re-steeps? New tasting notes? It is a new cup of tea. And yet… same leaf.

Steep 2: 9 minutes, only because I forgot about it. A bit more cocoa, something sweet as well, really sweet. Surprisingly sweet. I want to say caramel, but it’s thinner and more candy-sweet.

Steep 3: 19 minutes, again because I forgot about it. Really thin now, which always ‘tastes’ odd to me in a pu-erh. Cocoa notes are all gone, and now it’s more earthy and sweet.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec
TeaLady441

Oh man! I’ve had this for about a month (and it was the only one from Mandal I could justify ordering) but I haven’t tried it yet. I really need to make time for it where I can re-steep it and enjoy it…

ifjuly

It’s so intense! The chocolate-iest pu erh (granted I’m no expert in them), and one of for tea in general, I’ve had.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

TeaLady441

Oh man! I’ve had this for about a month (and it was the only one from Mandal I could justify ordering) but I haven’t tried it yet. I really need to make time for it where I can re-steep it and enjoy it…

ifjuly

It’s so intense! The chocolate-iest pu erh (granted I’m no expert in them), and one of for tea in general, I’ve had.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

A few years ago, the obsession with tea started. The cupboard got bigger and bigger, more swaps occurred, group buys, secret rendezvous with local teapassionistas… and that’s how you end up with 500+ different kinds of tea in your home. At one time.

Almost all of the tea was given away, sold, or otherwise shared. A few relics still remain. I now travel full time with only two carryon bags to my name. One quarter of those bags are tea.

It’s still a challenge to avoid the chipmunk-like hoarding of The Teas, yet, the lightness of being from having so little compels me more.

If I have enough, I’m happy to share. If I’m in your area, I’d love to swap, meet for tea, and explore together.

As for the day-to-day stuff, I’m focused almost entirely on Love, (yes, with a capital L), Spirit/Self, transformation, travel and my writing and speaking work.

What kinds of teas do I normally like?

YES: flavored teas, fruity, dessert, chai, and spicy (REALLY spicy).

A FONDNESS FOR: all white teas, malty black teas, any herbal or medicinal teas, strange/weird teas you can only get in one place.

ALLERGIC TO: strawberries, lavender

DISLIKES: any added sugars, grains, lapsang souchong, and overly floral teas – I might enjoy a Jasmine Green every once in a while, but unless it’s a creamy floral tea (think roses in a chai, or the smoothness of a floral note in a French tea), I’ll likely pass. Earl Greys are a hit or miss with me; heavy on the cream or fruit notes and I might like it, heavy on the blergamot and I definitely won’t.

http://instagram.com/teatravelninja

http://teatravelninja.com/

Location

Canada

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer