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Ok, these are super cute and quite delicious, thanks Roswell Strange! I hadn’t tried a mandarin pu’erh before, and so wasn’t quite sure how to proceed… so I just kind of broke the whole thing in half (it’s small, like 4 cm diameter and 1.5 cm tall) and scooped out the tea to infuse. Wasn’t sure if I should put peel in, but my mom (with whom I was sharing this with, because I was 99% sure she’d enjoy it, which she did) felt like we should, so I did. It probably amped up the orange essence a bit, but I don’t really know (since I added it to both cups).

Regarding the tea itself, I think a white was a great choice for pairing with the citrus – there was a subtle orange flavour (like mandarin orange – delicious) with a lovely, light, malty pu’erh. Great smooth, warm finish, too. I’m honestly tempted to try and pick some more of these up before I head back out east (any interest, Toronto area tea buddies who I see with some regularity?)

We got three delicious steeps out of it (so far), and I only used half the cake for two mugs. Definitely a great sample for me, Roswell!!!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec
AllanK

Too much of the peel will make it too smoky but you definitely want to put in some peel.

Sil

I’d try it out

VariaTEA

I have some of this and I am too scared to try given the pu’erh

Roswell Strange

@VariaTEA, I think it’s really nice! You should try it. I’ve got another still, and I’ve been really trying to find time to sit down and make it again because it’s one I think I’d want multiple infusions of. @Kittenna, did you ever find time to pick more of this up? I can always buy more and send it out to someone in Toronto like VariaTEA to be split up for people who want to try it. I think it was about $10 for three of those cakes?

Kittenna

We actually did manage to make it to McQuarries! So I got 3 more cakes. I left the rest of the one you shared with my mom, and brought the three whole ones here – one for Sil and two for me (for now). (I also bought their Cappuccino tea, and Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos. The latter is for my bf’s mom, and the former was pretty good, but I’ll write a note later.)

Kittenna

Also, AllanK – thanks for the input! I had no idea at all what to do, but I’m glad I did the right thing. I only put a small chunk of peel into each cup; might try a bit more next time, but good to know that “too much” is a possibility.

VariaTEA

So I might sound really dumb for asking but do I use the whole cake for a cup or should I be breaking it up into multiple pieces? Also, don’t worry RS, I shall try it eventually seeing as you were kind enough to send it but first I must build up the nerve to do so.

Kittenna

Not dumb at all! What I would do is peel back the top part of the orange, and scrape/scoop out about your usual amount of tea from the cake inside. Break off a half-thumb-sized piece of the peel, and add it to your infuser. Brew as you would a white (or rinse if you desire, I suppose. I didn’t rinse.)

Kittenna

To be honest, I found it easier to break the cake/peel in half with my hands and scoop from there (it loosened things up a bit. I didn’t want to crush all the leaves!)

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Comments

AllanK

Too much of the peel will make it too smoky but you definitely want to put in some peel.

Sil

I’d try it out

VariaTEA

I have some of this and I am too scared to try given the pu’erh

Roswell Strange

@VariaTEA, I think it’s really nice! You should try it. I’ve got another still, and I’ve been really trying to find time to sit down and make it again because it’s one I think I’d want multiple infusions of. @Kittenna, did you ever find time to pick more of this up? I can always buy more and send it out to someone in Toronto like VariaTEA to be split up for people who want to try it. I think it was about $10 for three of those cakes?

Kittenna

We actually did manage to make it to McQuarries! So I got 3 more cakes. I left the rest of the one you shared with my mom, and brought the three whole ones here – one for Sil and two for me (for now). (I also bought their Cappuccino tea, and Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos. The latter is for my bf’s mom, and the former was pretty good, but I’ll write a note later.)

Kittenna

Also, AllanK – thanks for the input! I had no idea at all what to do, but I’m glad I did the right thing. I only put a small chunk of peel into each cup; might try a bit more next time, but good to know that “too much” is a possibility.

VariaTEA

So I might sound really dumb for asking but do I use the whole cake for a cup or should I be breaking it up into multiple pieces? Also, don’t worry RS, I shall try it eventually seeing as you were kind enough to send it but first I must build up the nerve to do so.

Kittenna

Not dumb at all! What I would do is peel back the top part of the orange, and scrape/scoop out about your usual amount of tea from the cake inside. Break off a half-thumb-sized piece of the peel, and add it to your infuser. Brew as you would a white (or rinse if you desire, I suppose. I didn’t rinse.)

Kittenna

To be honest, I found it easier to break the cake/peel in half with my hands and scoop from there (it loosened things up a bit. I didn’t want to crush all the leaves!)

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Bio

I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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