Noble Mark Ripe Pu'er Blend 2012

It’s times like this that I think Puer isn’t for me. I like it on occasion, but it’s not something I’m super into. Most puer makes me think of a wet cave… in a good way. The flavors of this are pretty mellow and it’s nice, but it doesn’t excite me the way other types of tea do. I feel like there is a whole section of tea enjoyment I’m missing out on!

This sample is part of the Ripe Puer sampler I got from Mandala teas a while back. I drank it prior to writing this review (I usually drink tea while writing the review), so I can’t say too much about it in specific detail.

Shu Puer is a strange category to me in that I find most of them to be mediocre. They rarely have really distinguishing qualities and often taste rather similar to me. Further, they have never really “wowed” me yet, but this is what I like about them. They are easy to drink without giving too much attention to them. They are gentle and comforting, mild.

I will say this one didn’t have any real mustiness or leatheriness to the flavor. It was mild and easygoing all around and rather enjoyable. However it lacked any notes that really stood out. It got a little sweet in later infusions.

This is an all around good Puer to have if you want to drink tea casually and relaxed, perhaps with some conversation.

I haven’t been writing too many tasting notes as of late. Part of it was the site being so buggy. Part of it was just sheer laziness on my part.

But I told myself I would write one for this pu. And then I didn’t take any notes while I drank it all day.

Shame on me.

I liked it. I was very sad to see it end.

Unfortunately, that is about all I can say.

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Brewed Western-style. 15 second rinse. Steeping times: 30 sec, 45, 60, 120, 300.

The wet aroma smells sweetly of fresh leather, and then of creamy chocolate mousse as the leaf cools. The liquor is consistently full-bodied, thick, and sweet. The first infusion is very sugary, tasting of maple syrup. Underneath, mushrooms. A peppery finish. The second infusion – my favorite – has a wonderfully creamy texture. Sweet again, but with dark bitterness like hot cocoa. I shared this cup with my non-tea drinking dad, who liked it (seems he like shou in general).

The creaminess disappears in the third infusion, which has a distinctive leathery note. In the fourth infusion the mushrooms and pepper return, and there is also a musty note. I can’t say anything about the fifth infusion because I drank it after I ate, like, 15 handfuls of chocolate Lucky Charms. But at that point I think the leaf was overworked anyway.

This was from the shou sampler. Man, I wish I got some of this when I made my larger order a couple weeks back. I like it so much more than the 2011 blend.

I got this in my Ripe Pu-erh sampler from Mandala. It has a wonderful complex earthiness, hints of leather, cream and oak. I did a 15 second rinse followed by a 15 second steep, 30 seconds and so on. I liked this sample, but Phatty cake is still my favorite – that may simply be by virtue of being my “first”. I would like to try this again, I started it late in the day and only got 2 steeps. :-(

Marco Lewis TTB

Tried this today and it was really good! I rinsed it 3 times and had to through out first 2 infusions because they were too bitter, but after that I got my steeping times just right and drank 4 or 5 infusions. It got sweeter and sweeter as I kept going. Will consider purchasing this! Maybe I’ll for it for Christmas? :P

Another sample from my lovely Mandala ripe puerh sampler! It definitely sounds tasty from the description. It looks very similar to the Year of the Dragon sample I had. It’s mostly one big chunk from a cake, and the leaves are a variety of browns with a few metallic golden spots on the chunk. Dry scent is very mildly fishy, with cocoa and a vague sweetness. I followed Mandala’s instructions and did a 15s rinse, then 30/45/s steeps. I found that there was a teensy bit of bitterness, so I decided to do another 45s steep instead of 60s. I may keep going, but they’re all tasting pretty similar so I’m writing the note now. :)

The brewed aroma is somewhat sweet with chocolate and woody notes. This tea is actually somewhat similar to Year of the Dragon. It has that same lovely smooth, creamy texture and similar milk chocolatey flavor. However, this tea veers more toward savory instead of being quite as sweet as the other. The wood flavor is quite similar, but this one does seem to have a bit of a fragrant, slight spicy cedar edge to it. There’s a very mild earthy/mineral quality that seemed to fade as I kept steeping. I can definitely taste the nuttiness mentioned in the description, and to me it tastes specifically like pecans or walnuts – slightly earthy, but quite rich and creamy.

Overall, this is a very tasty tea and I love the woody and nutty qualities it has mixed with the chocolate. However, I still like Year of the Dragon better… ;) I’m a sucker for vanilla!

Puerh and I have not yet become friends, so I jumped at the chance to try a number of good quality puerhs in Mandala’s new sampler. I thought the sampler might help me get a better understanding of ripe puerhs, and see if there are any I might truly enjoy. Thanks, Garret, for offering this sampler!

I wasn’t sure which one to try first. It might be helpful if the note that comes with the sampler also indicated which puerhs were good for beginners to start with. I decided to start with this one, since it was listed first. Logical, eh?

I don’t have a gaiwan yet, so I used a small teacup and covered it with a saucer for steepings, a Pyrex measuring cup for a pitcher, and one of my cute cherry blossom teacups for sipping. Verdict? I think I need a gaiwan. ;)

I followed the recommended brewing procedure and here’s what I got:

Overall aroma – sweet, milk chocolate, vanilla. Yay!
30-second steep: leather, earthy, smooth, maybe some cocoa in aftertaste, maybe some cedar.
45 seconds: silkier, similar in notes to previous steeping, more cocoa coming out at end of sip. Yay!
1 minute: I think the note I used to think as leather is really a cedar note. More cedar than cocoa this round.
1min15sec: less cedar, more balanced.
1min30sec: generically sweet, honey.
1min45sec: same as previous.
2min30sec: sweet, weak. I think I’m done now. ;)

Favorite steep: second one, because more cocoa!

Side effect: serious caffeine effect…very jittery. Guess I should watch that.

Overall, I wouldn’t mind if this passed my way again, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out. I’m definitely looking forward to the other samples!

Question: Do you reheat your kettle for all steepings? Mine cooled significantly between steepings.

In other news, I made my first kale smoothie today, with mango and banana, and it turned out pretty good! This has been a “try new things” day!

This turned out lighter than I was expecting. It smelled more earthy dry. Now I get a bit of malt and cocoa. The flavour is sweet and smooth.

I’m drinking this while watching Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (live action of the anime.)

I received my sampler pack from Mandala yesterday (I may have let out a squeel upon opening the puffy envelope of goodness….). Deciding to try this one first, I chose to only use half the sample (about 3.5 grams) since in the directions it mentioned you could do this for a lighter brew. Pu-erh is still new to me, although I’ve loved it every time I’ve had it, and I feel like I’m still just getting to know what it has to offer….which, in turn, makes me feel like a newb and that I should take the ‘lighter’ route when offered (maybe I should get over that and just dive right in…I don’t know…).
I drank this tea all day…. ALL DAY. “One last time”, I kept telling myself, but that ‘one last time’ would be utterly delicious, and I’d go in for another ‘last time’.
The beginning was milk chocolatey with such a warm nuttiness, and always a fantastic aftertaste. Near the end (hours later), the woodiness in the infusions was brought forward, with that cedar note becoming much more prominent. So interesting, and so delicious.
Thank you so much Mandala, for offering a sampler pack at such a steal of a price!
I will definitely be coming back for more. :)