Valley Peak (Ding Gu Da Fang)

A good tea, but not a great one. The vegetal characteristics of the flavor reminded me of a Dragonwell, which I typically enjoy. However, there was also a bit of a grain-y taste, which I associate with Senchas – and I really don’t like Senchas. I drank this slowly, and as it got cooler, the grain notes faded.

from the (Mostly) Unflavored TTB

Now this tea I like. I like it a lot.

Sweet, creamy, slightly nutty, slightly grassy, but sweet, very sweet.

Makes up for the last tea.

I’m feeling very dreamy about this tea.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/cheri0627/YB9H21

I received this tea yesterday, along with my Mandala Tea Thermos. I decided to test them both out today while I was out running errands. I drank the first steeping over the course of about an hour. It smelled strongly of seaweed, which I found appealing (my girlfriend is Japanese and we eat lots of seaweed). It tasted grassy and subtly sweet, almost as if there was a teensy bit of honey in it. It was great!

The second time I filled up the thermos, I also drank it over the course of about an hour while driving about. My goodness, it sure was sweet this time around! And equally as creamy! It still held on to that seaweed/grassy flavor, but it was deliciously sweet and creamy as well. I found the second steeping to be quite a treat! I am now taking a break from my errands, but I am about to fill the tea up for a third time and head back out. I have high hopes that this tea shall remain super-tasty. Needless to say, I don’t think these leaves are going to last long in my cupboard….

Buy Nothing Summer sip-down!

This is sample that I’ve had in my stash for awhile. The sun is down and the AC can finally keep up, so it’s finally a comfortable temperature inside to enjoy a pot of tea with my microwave Pad Thai.

When I opened the little zip bag the sample came in, I swear I caught a whiff of dill. But I think my sniffer is out of whack today – when the husbeast was heating chilli in the microwave, it, disgustingly, smelled like someone ran a marathon and was drenched in sweat. Ugh.

Brewed the tea in my small teapot I use for greens. It’s ceramic, and doesn’t absorb scents, but I have certain rituals, you see. :) Green teas get the Asian pot and cup set, black teas get the Brown Betty or my small white pot.

The brewed tea is nice and mild, slightly grassy, but not astringent in the first cup. There’s a bit of a sweet scent to it as well. My second cup is a little more astringent, but quite good.

I would enjoy this with some good sushi, like an avocado roll, or maybe a Philly roll. Something simple. Oh, or some veggie tempura.

Third cup – no increase in astringency. Still nice and mild. Not a lot of unique flavor to it, but
a good “green tea” flavor – I’m not getting “buttery” or the other adjectives tied onto the other reviews, but it’s got the flavor I associate with generic “green tea” but better. So quality basic green tea.

This is good, but not something that stands out to me. Not something I would order. But I’m glad to try it, and I’m enjoying this pot.

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

So this tea threw me for a loop. I think I may have under steeped it the first time. The taste was very faintly honey with a bit of floral. I tasted nothing that reminded me of chestnuts the way so many others did. The second steep I upped the water temp a touch and added 45 seconds to the steep. The result was a buttery sweet pea flavor. Both cups were really nice, and I’d be happy to sip on this again, but I can’t help but think I missed something with this one.

Dove into this little gem tonight. I’ve been neglecting my green teas. This tea is very similar to a Dragonwell for me. It’s very buttery, soft, and sweet with a light nuttiness like macadamia nuts. I only had three steeps but I imagine it could have kept going for at least two more. After cooking a heavy dinner of chicken fried rice (with rosemary!) it was the perfect end to the meal. Very subtle and delicate as rice paper. It has a lingering sweetness. It reminds me of honeysuckle flowers in the shade…Dewdrops on morning flowers. A little vegetal and a little floral. I could write poems to this tea.

Very clean and refreshing green tea. If you are a fan of Dragonwell teas, you will really like this. It tastes sweet and has a nutty flavor like a chestnut. Another very good quality tea from Mandala.