#mandala tea

[apoostrotea]

Colored Species | Mandala Tea | Oolong Tea

Look at those leaves!

Oh boy, I haven’t had a lightly oxidized oolong in forever. This one is super vegetal, wet leaf smells like freshly steamed veggies and rice, very umami. The flavor and color changes a lot with every steep. From a somewhat floral brussel sprouts taste with a light yellow color, to a neon green thick umami bomb. Bummer, this isn’t my favorite flavor profile, but for those who like this profile I recommend giving it a try. It’s probably the most well rounded I’ve found in that category, and of course, huge leaves. Mandala Tea rarely misses with these oolongs, but I certainly prefer those higher oxidized and roasted oolongs.

My plans for the weekend include me watching anime with my neighbors, and playing a bit of Dark Souls.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

GABA Oolong | Mandala Tea | Oolong Tea

The effects of gaba in tea are pretty inconclusive. I’m not a huge believer of it but I do need to chill out today.

Mandala Tea has some amazing oolongs. They’re worth the praise that they receive, however I’m unsure if this one can keep up with the other oolongs in their shop. Grassy green aroma with hints of fresh bread and a nice light yellow liquor color. Grass and hay are the prevalent flavors here along with a bit of bitterness and creamy mouthfeel. A nice tea for the warmer spring weather. Not nearly as good as the other oolongs I’ve had from Mandala, but it’s not a bad one at all. GABA is all the rage right now, but if I want a good oolong I’m much more likely to pick up one of their other teas.

My new tea set arrived in New Jersey, so now I need my family to mail it to me here at school LOL.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Milk Oolong | Mandala Tea | Oolong Tea

Been wanting to try this one forever, heard good things about it on Steepster.

I’ve had the desire to drink some milk oolong for some time now, and I’m super happy to finally have my hands on this one. Right away this tea is extremely aromatic; smells of coconut and buttered popcorn. The leaves open up quickly on the first steep and are massive. Liquor color is very clear and slightly yellow-y green. The drink itself is crazy. I had high expectations for this tea but it somehow managed to hit them. Super sweet, toffee, and buttery flavors with a very creamy mouthfeel.

Absolutely lovely tea! Lives up to its hype. I urge you all to give it a try.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[apoostrotea]

Shui Jin Gui | Mandala Tea | Oolong Tea

The love my little tea comic post has gotten is crazy to me ;-; tysm reading the tags has been super sweet.

Shui Jin Gui is a Wuyi oolong! Wuyi is a favorite for me with tea. That rock flavor is something I really enjoy. This oolong is nicely roasted, the initial aroma is very coffee like and a bit dark chocolate-y. Liquor isn’t as dark as you’d assume, a much clearer brown than some other roasted teas. Flavor is very roasted wood and malt with some caramel. Very lightly energizing, not too caffeinated at all! Lovely tea, I don’t think it will last long in my stash.

I’m quite the fan of oolongs so my several recent oolong reviews are quite biased lol. I always enjoy oolong in the warmer months, especially since I don’t drink green, and it’s already hot as heck here in Georgia.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Big Red Robe Dark Roast | Mandala Tea | Oolong Tea

Starting to get addicted to oolong… that YS gift card might have to go towards a teapot pot for oolong lol

Another Wuyi oolong; these are usually my favorites. Aroma is nice and toasty, very fruity. Like bananas or apples roasted over a campfire. I usually say that oolong is my second favorite type of tea, but it’s really fighting for top spot with how good these have been. Flavor is super sweet, fruity, delicious. Thick liquor with a somewhat dark gold color. Later steeps continue getting sweeter.

Bit hard to take pictures of my tea when my dorm is so dark. It’s been very rainy and cloudy these past couple days.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[midwestteafest]

Joyful Exploration of Tea

Source: Mandala Tea

[finelinebooks]

Gathering

At a tea demonstration with my fellow coworkers today, we were told a story of a family who started coming to the tea shop back when it first opened. They bought tea, then later an infuser and strainer, then eventually ordered their own complete tea setup, the works.

One day in the store, the husband pulled one of the owners of the tea shop aside and said, “I just have to tell you that because of…

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[theoldaeroplane]

suddenly tea

So since i had most of today off due to my carpal tunnel I wound up going into this little locally-owned tea shop (Mandala Tea—url doesn't seem to be working right now), and I just sat and drank tea and chatted with the owner for nearly an hour!

I was expecting it to look like a Teavana or something when I went inside, very fancy and busy-looking and decorative, but to my surprise it was a small, low-key space. There were bags of tea on the right wall, some simple and elegant teaware on the left and in the shop window, and more on a small table in the middle. Behind all that was a counter with a full-blown Chinese tea setup—tea desk, water boilers, teapots, etc. Really cool.

Mandala only sells Chinese teas and teaware, and Garrett, the owner, has been going to China himself to get his teas since 2006 or so. He was very passionate about the subject, and it was infectious. I definitely didn't go in with the intent to buy anything, but I left with two ounces of Milk Oolong and an adorably tiny glass teapot with a built-in strainer.

Chinese tea brewing is a totally different world from the English-style tea I'm used to. He has a video on the process here, which I am about to follow and probably screw up since I don't have a water thermometer. I am excited!