Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’er, Pu-erh, Ripe, Shu
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
We totally scored with this find! We have sampled so many different ripe teas over the years both in China and here at our shop. Samples are continuously sent here from various tea merchants and most of the time, we find them ok at best. But when we tasted this gong ting (imperial court quality, smallest leaf) tea, we immediately had every last bit of it shipped to us so we could share it with our customers not to mention drink it ourselves!
Hailing from Bu Lang mountain in Menghai, this is an expertly crafted tea. Rich and sweet, hints of dark chocolate and slight nuttiness with a creamy aroma becoming more pronounced as the post-fermentation smell quickly becomes a memory. We are sure that this gong ting, given a bit more age, will easily rival our favorite Golden Gong Ting from 2005. We are extremely pleased when all the conditions come together to create a memorable tea and this, my friend, is one of those teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I had logged eight steepings before I lost focus, and became too full to do more. Each steep brought forth new and wonderful flavors!
When reviewing a pu’er I find it difficult to write in paragraphs because each steep is like a new tea unto itself. So with that I give you my tea log with short notes on each steep. I know it may be dull to some, but to those who really enjoy pu’er I hope it gives even a small glimpse of the wonder of this tea! These are my actual notes.
Steep One: 30 Seconds (after an initial rinse)
Light, Juicy mouthfeel, Dry in back of throat, Mushroom flavors, Spicy, Creamy, and my favorite flavor.. Leafy!
Steep Two: 45 Seconds
Leafy, Oaky, More Creamy than first steep, Autumnal Flavors and aromas like being in the woods after a light rain in autumn! Love it!
Steep Three: 1 Minute
Leafy aromas with an amazing mossy flavor again the wet leaves in autumn flavors but more prominent!
Drier, Earthy, Hay, Tingly, Mushroom.
Steep Four: 1:15 Minutes
Light, Clean, Milky, Nutty
Steep Five: 1:30 Minutes
Weaker on flavor in this steeping, Mellow, Leafy, Sweetness coming out!
Steep Six: 2:00 Minutes
About the same as the last cup but sort of getting weak. I went for another steep anyway.
Steep Seven: 2:30 Minutes
Mossy, Juicy and now Fruity!
This shows just because one steep is less flavorful its always a good idea to steep one more time!
Steep Eight: 2:45
No real flavors present although a light golden color. No notes taken, by this time I was absorbed into a movie (Red Tails – GREAT movie!)
Overall I was surprised to find I did not get any of the chocolate notes as in the description but was not disappointed! I think I will allow this to age quite a bit and re-visit it later on.
I did enjoy it very much and there were some wonderful flavor notes and a few surprises even once I began to think it was past it’s steep-ability!
A nice tea with mellow flavors through out that over all remind of me my favorite season! You can’t beat that!
On another note. My husband, who drinks very little tea to begin with, at first, said it smelled fishy. “Fishy” is a word that seems to come up often with pu’er, but I proved something to him and myself.
I said rather than fishy think of it as MUSHROOMY!
He disagreed so I made him go get an organic mushroom from the fridge!
He took a bite and said “OMG your right!!!”
I think the two flavors are similar in some ways but distinctly different enough. Plus for most mushroom is more palatable to stomach and mind than “fishy”. Honestly, I did not get a bit of fishiness in this pu’er and I only bring it up because all too often, especially with those who are first starting out on their pu’er experience that word comes up. My suggestion is to grab yourself a couple of mushrooms, and take a couple of bites to compare.
After pointing this out to my husband he drank with me the entire time! I was so shocked and happy!
It was a great experience to share a pu’er session with him and he also shared his tasting notes with me during that time. We both enjoyed this tea very much.
Honey Malt With Chocolate Malt Tea from Malt Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Grain Tea
Where to Buy: Malt Tea
Tea Description:
This tea mixes the intense sweetness and honey aroma from Honey malt with the extra roasted coffee flavor from the Chocolate Malt. Be Advised: Chocolate Malt gets it’s name from the dark brown color that is similar to the color of dark chocolate. It does not taste like chocolate!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A long time ago I used to do home brewing, so when I saw a tea company offering whole grain teas I had to try it! When I saw the price for this tea, and all the others on the site I was floored at how inexpensive the teas were, and could not help but getting one of their sampler packs! I am so very happy that I did.
I will say this “tea” may not be for everyone. First of all its not technically tea. It is different, and hearty, robust even. This particular grain tea should not be confused with a chocolate flavored tea, be it naturally flavored or otherwise. It does not taste like chocolate. As the tea description says, it is simply called chocolate because of the deep chocolate color of the malt in this tea. It is however decedent, like chocolate.
This tea would be perfect for anyone trying to get off the coffee kick, anyone who appreciates home brewed or crafted beers, or anyone who appreciates a very unusual, sweet, yet savory drink.
I find that this tea is similar for me to genmaicha, which is also sold on the malt-tea site. When I crave it, I CRAVE it and nothing else will satisfy me. I find myself longing for this tea as the weather becomes cooler and cooler heading into autumn, and once winter is here I know I will be keeping a steady supply of this tea around!
There is a very distinct honey flavor to this tea. You can’t get away from that so if you do not care for honey this would not be the best tea to select, however there are other non-honey grain teas you can choose from. The mouthfeel is full and broth-y and reminds me of an asian soup I had recently in a very nice Japanese restaurant – a mushroom like flavor. Of course it also tastes like malt, very good malt. While some may reckon this malt flavor to say, Ovaltine, and I have had my share of Ovaltine flavored teas, from pure experience I have to say this malt is by far superior to that malt taste.
As you swirl the tea in the mouth you find the honey notes dancing playfully around your palate while the malt notes sit more politely and well behaved on the top of the tongue carpeting it in warmth. The after taste is not very lingering which only makes you want to hurry to the next sip.
I will be headed out to the Renaissance Festival over the weekend and this tea makes me feel like taking it along with me! It would fit perfectly into that atmosphere and I fear I won’t find a better drink while there since I don’t indulge in alcohol anymore.
I do feel this tea would also be excellent iced in the summer.
This is the second tea I have tired out of my sampler pack which by the way is adorable! It comes with two samples, in bags, of five different teas. All of their materials are recycled. The box is cute and wrapped in thin twine. The labeling is very simplistic and they include a nice quote as well.
My quote said: “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evently, without rushing toward the future. – Thich Nat Hahn
I like this quote and will drink my Honey Malt with Chocolate Tea as such.
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea from Fong Mong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Hand-plucked Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Loose leaves
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea on eBay
Tea Description:
Sun Moon Lake black tea can be declared “Red Treasure” in central Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County is surrounded with mountains and lakes with remarkable environment and typical climate. Heavy moist and stable yearly average temperature make the tea trees grow thick and rich tea leaves which produce carmine and perfectly clear liquor. Its unique sweet aroma and strong mint taste make it truly unforgettable. It is also the best ingredient to make “bubble tea” (the most famous Taiwanese tea drink on earth).
Taster’s Review:
I was thrilled that Fong Mong Tea was offering some samplers a while back.
They provided a sampler pack that would allow two steeping sessions gongfu style.
I love it when a company includes enough in a sample to have more than one session. It allows for a learning curve if needed and for trying different steeping methods if one prefers.
I had the first session soon after I received the sample and now I am enjoying the second session.
I had been saving the rest of my sample for a day I needed a really relaxing and unique tea. A morning when I didn’t have to rush around, and didn’t want to. Today is that day.
Upon the initial sip my first thought was “is this a black tea?” well of course I knew it was but the flavor profile was so green. Fresh, vegetal, brothy, like juicy fresh from the garden green beans. I was slightly taken aback, although the flavor was absolutely delicious it was not what I was expecting. This prompted me to check my tasting notes from my first sampling of this tea! Indeed I also had felt the same way three months earlier when first trying Sun Moon Lake by Fong Mong.
I continued to sip and picked up mushroom notes, tree bark, and a hint of spice that caused a tingling sparkly sensation on the tongue. Ahhh, now the dark notes are beginning to show themselves lending to the black tea profile.
More of the black tea notes began to ring out loud and clear with a slight malt flavor, a milk chocolate flavor, and an oak moss flavor, however those light lilting green vegetal flavors never totally faded!
Lovely!
This is a very meditative tea. As a black tea I am not sure I would want this as my first cup in the morning as I tend to need far more of a punch in the face tea to wake up, however this is my second tea for today and its helping me ease into my afternoon beautifully. Its relaxing, assisting me in focusing on tasks I need to complete, and helping my creative juices to begin to flow gently, calmly, and with ease.
Now I have an admission to make. I used a lower water temperature than suggested. The reason why is quite simply that I was impatient and did not want to heat my water up. My Zojirushi water heater was already at 175 from the night before, and I just went ahead and used that temp for this tea. Granted I was taking a risk with this precious sample, being that one more session was all that was remaining. I have no regrets. This is obviously a forgiving tea, and of course it was not going to get burnt by over heated water but I have also not lost any flavors either. This tastes exactly as I remember it and matches my previous tasting notes perfectly. If nothing else perhaps steeping at this lower temperature will prolong my session allowing for even more steeps than I would normally have got. I am on my third steep now and it is ever bit as good as the first and I plan to keep on steeping until it stops giving.
I am surprised, actually shocked that this is not already holding a place in my permanent stash, but I am so happy that I had some left over as a reminder to place an order with Fong Mong Tea today!
In my previous tasting notes I said that this tea was like a soup created in the kitchen of a culinary master, one that needed to be allowed to simmer for a long time to allow the true flavors to develop. A broth that needed to age like a fine wine. This tea speaks to you as if it is knowing of secrets held within old trees, running streams that have spread gossip from one watering hole to the next and the memories of vegetation along the way. Sun Moon Lake is one that needs to be allowed to take you on a journey to unknown territories, allowed to tell you its stories. This is a slow, easy sipper tea, again not my preference for morning when I really need to suck a tea down in light speed to get “my fix”. This tea is one to be savored and appreciated.