While I have never ordered from Mandela, I take everyone’s word about how good their teas are. This tea produces a smell similar to the yellow pu’erh cake I have; which is intense. On my tenth steep right now as I write this and I think I have a grasp on my feels for this tea. The first few steeps were a bit stronger and bitter but then I started to flash steep instead of using my 10s steeps for sheng. This helped out a lot. Unfortunately, it just isn’t as smooth as I would like it to be. What makes this appealing is that I do want to keep steeping it. I will continue to steep this tonight and be thankful that this sheng isn’t another that loses my interest after steep 6 or 7.
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You picked a good one here!
I think the advice I was given by a few people to drink older shengs has been the best advice so far. I pick up bitter taste much easier than anything and do not like bitter… I’ve been told the older the less astringent a tea is.
Agreed, the older is less bitter but sometimes more ‘earthy’ depending on storage. This one with some years under its belt is getting easier to drink. Give me a few years and we should see how my storage is coming along.
: ) I find storage of pu’erh with research and experience behind it quite fascinating.
Remind me to send you some things in a few years. I am trying to dial the storage thing in. So far seems to be working. ;)
Mandala has a controlled vault set-up so they can literally improve the flavor in tea.
You picked a good one here!
I think the advice I was given by a few people to drink older shengs has been the best advice so far. I pick up bitter taste much easier than anything and do not like bitter… I’ve been told the older the less astringent a tea is.
Agreed, the older is less bitter but sometimes more ‘earthy’ depending on storage. This one with some years under its belt is getting easier to drink. Give me a few years and we should see how my storage is coming along.
: ) I find storage of pu’erh with research and experience behind it quite fascinating.
Remind me to send you some things in a few years. I am trying to dial the storage thing in. So far seems to be working. ;)
Mandala has a controlled vault set-up so they can literally improve the flavor in tea.