90

(This sample was generously provide to me by Mandala Tea with my order. Thank you Garret.)
Dry Leaf: Has a spicy aroma with a light wood aroma think pine or cedar.
Wet Leaf: Has a spicy aroma the wood aroma was very faint.
Liquor: Was clear
Taste: This tea was very light think “white tea.” There was a spicy aspect to this tea that warms you up. When I say spice think pepper. There is a light wood I get like pine or cedar which can give that earthiness some may describe it. But, for me it’s a woody taste.
Vessel: 100 ml or 3 oz. gaiwan and sample we will call 5 grams. I brewed it gongfu style and brewed it about 15-18 times I would guess. Sorry, I didn’t keep track. But my number should be close.
Overall Opinion: My score is a 90, I have not had enough of this tea to know the good,the bad, and the ugly from this type of tea. What I can say is this tea is very intriguing. The texture of this tea as you steep it out is soft and smooth. After I was done steeping this tea I threw it in a container with water and put it in the refrigerator and cold brewed it and actually had nice iced tea the next day. So, amazingly enough this tea is great hot or iced. As for the people who always need to add a sweetener to their teas this one works well with honey in my humble option. I am more of a guy that keeps things plain but I had a hunch that a dab of honey would work fine with this tea and wanted to try it out for all the people who have sweet tooth’s out there. I also want to add this is a very forgiving tea. I am very curious on how this tea will taste aged.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec
Garret

Interesting what you say about sweetening this. Had not occurred to me to do so, I guess because I find these kind of sweet in their own right. But… for those customers of ours who do like a little sweet, it does seem to me that honey or perhaps a hint of light agave nectar might go well in the tea liquor, particularly for the iced version. I shall have to let a couple of our folks know about this.

Also… these particular buds were picked in very very very early spring of 2011. I’ve got 40 lbs aging in the same vault where our pu’ers are stored. I stored them airtight for one year and then opened them up for storage in there. In spring of 2013, I’ll open up the 2012 buds. And so it’ll go, year after year… buying and storing, buying and storing :) Glad you enjoyed these, my friend!!

Tea_is_wisdom

@Garret- I like to keep my tea plain Jane so I can enjoy the tea as the tea master intended. But, I do like to test adding a sweetener if I feel it could be added without it tasting terrible. LOL! But, taste is subjective. My wife adds sugar or equal to all her teas which is why she is more of your red tea drinker aka black tea. I think she does better with the English/Irish breakfast or and Orange Pekoe. I have got her to come around to some shu puerhs but again she wants that sweetener in there. So, now you know where her taste buds lie any suggestion on what else she may like? LOL!

Garret

Tell you wife better sugar than equal or any other artificial sweetener. Not to prescribe any health stuff to you, but the artificial sweeteners are really tough on the body, particularly the metabolism and the brain cells. I’ve been suspicious of them for some time, but the latest research has really made me happy that I have stayed away from them.
Your wife may very well dig the Black Pearl hong cha we have. I bought a ton of them on my latest trip to China and the success and popularity of them makes me realize that I will have to buy more sooner than I thought. We’ve had many customers tell us it is the best hong cha for breakfast they’ve ever had. Definitely worth a try. She can try them in a lighter infusion without sweetener to see what she thinks. Otherwise, many customers are brewing them up strong, adding a dash of milk and a wee bit o’honey -not the candy :) – or sugar. Rock on!!

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Garret

Interesting what you say about sweetening this. Had not occurred to me to do so, I guess because I find these kind of sweet in their own right. But… for those customers of ours who do like a little sweet, it does seem to me that honey or perhaps a hint of light agave nectar might go well in the tea liquor, particularly for the iced version. I shall have to let a couple of our folks know about this.

Also… these particular buds were picked in very very very early spring of 2011. I’ve got 40 lbs aging in the same vault where our pu’ers are stored. I stored them airtight for one year and then opened them up for storage in there. In spring of 2013, I’ll open up the 2012 buds. And so it’ll go, year after year… buying and storing, buying and storing :) Glad you enjoyed these, my friend!!

Tea_is_wisdom

@Garret- I like to keep my tea plain Jane so I can enjoy the tea as the tea master intended. But, I do like to test adding a sweetener if I feel it could be added without it tasting terrible. LOL! But, taste is subjective. My wife adds sugar or equal to all her teas which is why she is more of your red tea drinker aka black tea. I think she does better with the English/Irish breakfast or and Orange Pekoe. I have got her to come around to some shu puerhs but again she wants that sweetener in there. So, now you know where her taste buds lie any suggestion on what else she may like? LOL!

Garret

Tell you wife better sugar than equal or any other artificial sweetener. Not to prescribe any health stuff to you, but the artificial sweeteners are really tough on the body, particularly the metabolism and the brain cells. I’ve been suspicious of them for some time, but the latest research has really made me happy that I have stayed away from them.
Your wife may very well dig the Black Pearl hong cha we have. I bought a ton of them on my latest trip to China and the success and popularity of them makes me realize that I will have to buy more sooner than I thought. We’ve had many customers tell us it is the best hong cha for breakfast they’ve ever had. Definitely worth a try. She can try them in a lighter infusion without sweetener to see what she thinks. Otherwise, many customers are brewing them up strong, adding a dash of milk and a wee bit o’honey -not the candy :) – or sugar. Rock on!!

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IF ANY TEA COMPANY WOULD LIKE TO SEND ME SAMPLES OF THEIR TEA I WOULD BE GLAD TO DO A FULL REVIEW ON STEEPSTER FOR YOU AND ON YOUR COMPANY WEBSITE JUST SEND ME A MESSAGE.

I am a simple guy that enjoys making new tea friends and enjoying different teas and tea culture.
My favorite type of teas are green, oolong, pu-erh.
I do have a special love for black (red) tea and chai since they were the teas that started me on my tea adventure. I wish the whole community well.

My Tea Scores
100 points: Perfect experience. Beyond what you would expect from the aroma, the leaf, the liquor, the taste.
96-99 points: Excellent. A tea that will show true greatness in it’s character with at least 2 infusions.
93-95 points: Superior.Teas that achieve high quality in one dimension, and shows it’s high quality character and their variety in other dimensions.
90-92 points: High quality. Quality leaves, liquor hold to it’s true profile, the teas character can hold it’s flavor for 2 infusions.
85-89 points: Good. Above average tea that is lacking something to make them high quality.
80-84 points: Average. Nothing special
79 and lower points: Low quality. Not worth buying and a tea you would never remember drinking unless it tasted that bad.

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