drank Black Pearl by Mandala Tea
1759 tasting notes

I do not. Like this tea.
First cup was grainy, bready, and a touch floral. Kindof a Jasmine floral that stuck in the back of my throat. Some sugar spruced it up, but even then I had trouble sipping it down.
Then… I made the mistake of brewing a second cup. MORE Jasmine! eeek. Added some sugar. Well that didn’t work so I tried it with milk. Still bad. Down the drain it went.
This came from the traveling tea box and it’s the first one from the pile I didn’t like at all. Ah well, can’t win’em all :)
Thanks to whoever gave me the chance to try it!!
Rating: 60

EDIT: and now I’ve made another cup of tea, a White Peony from STE and I can still taste the jasmine and none of the delicate notes I was craving. Dang that stuff is potent!

Angrboda

Funny, I didn’t get jasmine at all when I had a chance at these. I quite enjoyed them. Is it possible that they could have been contaminated with something jasmine-y from the box?

Garret

Hi! Our black pearl tea is not a jasmine tea. It is strictly a black tea, not imbued with any scent. I’m not sure what happened for you, but I source these black pearls myself and they are stored nowhere near jasmine scented teas.

Hmmmmmm…..

Angrboda

Just to clarify, I meant contaminated by something jasmine-y in the travelling teabox where Indigobloom got it; not in storage or shipping from you.

Garret

I totally understand what you were saying, my friend. :) I am trying to figure out what happened and your theory makes sense to me. I wonder if other teas in the box they received were also jasmine-bombed? If so, if would likely mean that something within the box was scented with oil of jasmine (or even artificial jasmine) in order to scent something else so strongly!!

Garret

Sad, too, I suppose, cause I know how excellent this tea is. And word on the street is that I’m not the only one who thinks that :) Thanks, Angrboda!

Kashyap

looks like you have one to trade away :)

Indigobloom

Hmmm, no Jasmine in this one?! really? that is so odd. None of the other teas I sampled from the box were affected and it seemed a natural aspect of the tea, like a ceylon base etc.
Sorry I couldn’t praise it the way I know it deserves :(

Indigobloom

Kashyap, luckily I only had a sample. None left!

Garret

Are you sure you didn’t try the green jasmine pearls? Those are scented 9 times with fresh jasmine petals. Black pearls are not scented whatsoever. But even with our jasmine pearls, we often hear how subtle the natural jasmine scenting is because they are not sprayed with jasmine oils. I just want to figure out what happened for ya!!

Indigobloom

Garret, it was labeled Black Pearl but it was also in a ziploc bag. Not sure who put them in the box but they’d be the best ones to answer that.
It did have some black tea elements though.

Indigobloom

Thanks Garret! I’m a bit confused lol

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Comments

Angrboda

Funny, I didn’t get jasmine at all when I had a chance at these. I quite enjoyed them. Is it possible that they could have been contaminated with something jasmine-y from the box?

Garret

Hi! Our black pearl tea is not a jasmine tea. It is strictly a black tea, not imbued with any scent. I’m not sure what happened for you, but I source these black pearls myself and they are stored nowhere near jasmine scented teas.

Hmmmmmm…..

Angrboda

Just to clarify, I meant contaminated by something jasmine-y in the travelling teabox where Indigobloom got it; not in storage or shipping from you.

Garret

I totally understand what you were saying, my friend. :) I am trying to figure out what happened and your theory makes sense to me. I wonder if other teas in the box they received were also jasmine-bombed? If so, if would likely mean that something within the box was scented with oil of jasmine (or even artificial jasmine) in order to scent something else so strongly!!

Garret

Sad, too, I suppose, cause I know how excellent this tea is. And word on the street is that I’m not the only one who thinks that :) Thanks, Angrboda!

Kashyap

looks like you have one to trade away :)

Indigobloom

Hmmm, no Jasmine in this one?! really? that is so odd. None of the other teas I sampled from the box were affected and it seemed a natural aspect of the tea, like a ceylon base etc.
Sorry I couldn’t praise it the way I know it deserves :(

Indigobloom

Kashyap, luckily I only had a sample. None left!

Garret

Are you sure you didn’t try the green jasmine pearls? Those are scented 9 times with fresh jasmine petals. Black pearls are not scented whatsoever. But even with our jasmine pearls, we often hear how subtle the natural jasmine scenting is because they are not sprayed with jasmine oils. I just want to figure out what happened for ya!!

Indigobloom

Garret, it was labeled Black Pearl but it was also in a ziploc bag. Not sure who put them in the box but they’d be the best ones to answer that.
It did have some black tea elements though.

Indigobloom

Thanks Garret! I’m a bit confused lol

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Profile

Bio

Let’s see… I’m a tea and workout fanatic, I work in HR, and most of my friends consider me to be an egg. White on the outside, Asian on the inside :)
-from philosophy to food, I love it all
Otherwise, what you see is what you get! I can be very straightforward and yet shy.

Also, I’ve started taking tea sommelier classes and it is an absolute blast! Well, so far I’ve only finished the first out of eight courses, but I am really looking forward to the next one.

Anyhow, if your curious as to how I rate things, this is how I work…

0-25
Like eating dirt, or some other unsanitary indelicacy that mentioning in my profile here would likely get me banned.
I don’t think I’ve found cause to banish a tea to the wasteland yet though so who knows what it’d inspire ;P

25-50
You know that expression “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”? I imagine drinking that water would be terrible enough to warrant this rating!
I’d never make my enemy drink this, but perhaps I’d throw it at them. Good thing I don’t have any enemies!

50-70
This is “tea”?? I tried finishing the cup… but my body rejected it. There may be others who enjoy this tea, but it’s beyond me!

70-80
I tried liking it, and I can almost get there! I certainly don’t hate it, but something is holding me back. Allergies? Men in white suits? who knows… certainly not me!

80-90
Lovely tea! Not my all time fave but close. I likely wouldn’t repurchase, but may decide to based on many factors: price, accessibility, whether it fills a “tea gap”, medicinal applications, and how often I crave it.
Every once in awhile I find the sweet spot that bumps these up to 90+. Those are the days I need to buy a lotto ticket!

90-95
Sweet Camellia! this is realllly good tea! Don’t talk to me until I’ve finished my cup…

95-100
Tea of the gods. I would do anything to get my hands on more of this liquid gold!

Location

Toronto (Mississauga, but I work in TO)

Website

http://hrslinger.wordpress.com/

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