100
reviewed Smart Soak by Mandala Tea
4185 tasting notes

Thanks so much for sending me some of this, Cameron B!!! I always wanted to try it, so thank you. It couldn’t possibly work better! I had a basket infuser so encrusted with tea barnacles there was no way it was steeping tea properly. Scrubbing with a (new) sponge hardly changed the barnacles. SO all I did was pour a tiny bit of Smart Soak over the basket infuser in a mug, fill it with hot water, and left it for a couple days. The infuser and mug looked completely brand new. I also like that it mentions that it’s fine if you ingest the Smart Soak, so I don’t have to worry about weird chemicals. I will be using this Smart Soak for life, that is for sure.

Leafhopper

I can definitely relate to your “tea barnacles!” I might have to check this product out if I ever order from Mandala.

tea-sipper

It’s a must-buy if you’re ever placing an order from Mandala.

ashmanra

I don’t mean to take business from Mandala, but Oxiclean seems to be nearly identical and does an awesome job for me!

tea-sipper

Is it safe to ingest Oxiclean though? I have no idea.

ashmanra

I tried Oxiclean because it seemed to be the same chemicals as I recall. I would ingest either personally! Ha ha! But hot water and a couple of hours are all it takes for my Kamjove baskets to sparkle. I rinse them well and then start using them.

tea-sipper

Good to know. :D

Kawaii433

tea-sipper, I love this stuff so much and I use it to clean my stainless sink as well. I just fill up my sink with warm water, add a few tablespoons and let it sit. It makes it sparkling.

gmathis

Thanks for the Oxi-clean tip!

Mastress Alita

I love this stuff! Whenever I do a tea kettle descaling I pull apart my gravity well infuser and soak the mesh, silicone ring, and silicone gasket and it makes them all sparkling clean! The leftover water will take tea stains out of the sink, too.

LuckyMe

@tea-sipper, I use denture cleaning tablets to dissolve tea stains and it works very similar to this. I wonder if this uses the same ingredients

gmathis

I’ve done the denture tablet trick as well; I’ll give it a B- grade for quality of the gunk removal. It does help!

Leafhopper

I looked at Mandala’s website and shipping to Canada is $15, so I might have to go the Oxiclean route. How dare that so many good tea companies are in the U.S.! :D

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Comments

Leafhopper

I can definitely relate to your “tea barnacles!” I might have to check this product out if I ever order from Mandala.

tea-sipper

It’s a must-buy if you’re ever placing an order from Mandala.

ashmanra

I don’t mean to take business from Mandala, but Oxiclean seems to be nearly identical and does an awesome job for me!

tea-sipper

Is it safe to ingest Oxiclean though? I have no idea.

ashmanra

I tried Oxiclean because it seemed to be the same chemicals as I recall. I would ingest either personally! Ha ha! But hot water and a couple of hours are all it takes for my Kamjove baskets to sparkle. I rinse them well and then start using them.

tea-sipper

Good to know. :D

Kawaii433

tea-sipper, I love this stuff so much and I use it to clean my stainless sink as well. I just fill up my sink with warm water, add a few tablespoons and let it sit. It makes it sparkling.

gmathis

Thanks for the Oxi-clean tip!

Mastress Alita

I love this stuff! Whenever I do a tea kettle descaling I pull apart my gravity well infuser and soak the mesh, silicone ring, and silicone gasket and it makes them all sparkling clean! The leftover water will take tea stains out of the sink, too.

LuckyMe

@tea-sipper, I use denture cleaning tablets to dissolve tea stains and it works very similar to this. I wonder if this uses the same ingredients

gmathis

I’ve done the denture tablet trick as well; I’ll give it a B- grade for quality of the gunk removal. It does help!

Leafhopper

I looked at Mandala’s website and shipping to Canada is $15, so I might have to go the Oxiclean route. How dare that so many good tea companies are in the U.S.! :D

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Profile

Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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