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I’ve only tried one other ti kuan yin which was from Teavivre, so going into this I expected something similar to that. I was expecting the tea to smell and taste floral, but what I got was totally different. I didn’t expect it, but this one is roasty like a wuyi oolong. But it’s not as simple as the roastiness of a wuyi, there’s some “greener” character fighting to come out. It’s like this tea has layers of toasted flavors and layers of green flavors, and I’m really liking the combination. Delicious.

This one is just alright in my opinion, definitely not one of my favorites from Verdant. I’m sure that it is a high quality tea, it’s just not really appealing to me (at least at this point). More than anything, it tastes like citrus and it is a bit creamy, but it seems a little too astringent and it’s reminding me of some bagged orange pekoe teas I’ve had. Of course I’ll keep playing around with what’s left of the ounce I bought, and I’ll come back with a rating later. Maybe my expectations are too high after the Golden Fleece and Zhu Rong black.

It’s safe to say that this is my favorite green tea, and it never ceases to amaze me. There’s nothing more relaxing to me than a properly prepared mug of this stuff. Soon I’ll be trying Teavivre’s Superfine Pre-Ming Dragonwell and I really look forward to it.

This is one of those teas that would be great for drinking on a stormy night. It’s flavor is toasty and deep with notes of dark chocolate. There’s a little bit of a tang to it on the aftertaste, and it almost seems a little bit acidic (but in a pleasant way). I also get little hints of pepper like in Verdant’s description. I am loving this tea. It’s so “dark” tasting and complex, it’s the kind of tea that gets you a little buzzed purely off of the excitement of having such a great cup available to you. This is tied with the Golden Fleece for my second favorite tea I’ve tried from Verdant, right behind the Cornfields Shu.

The description for this tea sounded incredibly enticing, so I could not resist. The people at Verdant are by far the best company at writing tea descriptions that make you swoon. I was surprised by just how strong the aromas of cinnamon and vanilla cream were in the tea as it brewed. I didn’t have to try hard to find these flavors, they really stuck out clearly. The earthiness of this tea is there, but it is very light and smooth and as I sip I get faint flavors of cinnamon and malt, and there is a tingling sensation on the finish. This is a very clean, smooth and delicious pu-erh. I’m so glad I was brave enough to try pu-erh so early on in my tea adventure, because I now know that it’s going to be a life-long love.

Mmm, this is good. It tastes like a combination of a green oolong and a plain ol’ green tea to me. There is a slight floral aspect, but it’s very mellow. There’s a bright, fresh “green” taste to it with a little nuttiness and strong notes of fruit, with a slightly creamy texture. Thanks for the sample, Fong Mong Tea!

My samples arrived today from Fong Mong Tea, many thanks to them. After I dealt with the mailman who seems to be a bit suspicious of a seventeen year old repeatedly receiving packages from China and Taiwan, I immediately sliced open the package in the most haphazard and self-endangering way I possibly could. I thought to myself “What’ll it be, a roasty highly-oxidized oolong or a floral and sweet green oolong?”; I concluded that today was a green oolong kind of day.

It was a warm and sunny day, I had just finished my last day of finals and I was now out of school…which in my mind warranted something reminiscent of summer, and to me a green oolong is the best representation of summer in a cup. For one, it’s deep green like the trees and other plant life now thriving in the absence of winter’s oppressive cold. And, of course, the sweet floral goodness that only a green oolong can provide.

This oolong was pretty much what I was expecting as far as its characteristics were concerned. Floral, check. Sweet, check. But it exceeded my expectations as far as just how WELL it actually pulled those things off. As I held the mug up to my face, I was transported to green fields in some vague yet familiar countryside filled with rolling hills and vividly colored flowers. I do love when a tea can fill my head with pleasant imagery. The sweetness was natural and balanced. And my favorite part about this tea, man it was MILKY. It felt very thick as a swished it around in my mouth and I just love that in a tea. You could cut it with a knife.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this oolong experience and I want to say thanks again to Fong Mong for the samples.

I was surprised to see this at a local grocery store and I had to try it (I’ve been having serious earl grey cravings lately). For the price, it’s very good. It was only five dollars for a 100 gram tin. It’s very very smooth, the bergamot is light and tastes natural. Very satisfying bargain cup of earl grey.

I’m still inexperienced with oolongs so I was happy to see this included as a sample with my order. I read over the tasting notes on Verdan’ts site and they really hit the nail on the head. INTENSE, intoxicating scent of sandalwood incense in the steeping leaves, I never imagined such a thing in tea but with each new experience my eyes are being opened up to the many different dimensions of tea. I also smelled a jammy scent, apricot maybe? And along with that Ican definitely sense honey like the site mentioned, along with the typical roasty oolong smell. At this point, I’m excited. This is right up my alley.

I followed the brewing instructions word for word because I’m confident the people at Verdant know their stuff. As for the taste, I’m really liking it. Late nights are great for drinking tea, and this one just feels like a night time tea. It’s dark. It’s mysterious. And most of all, it’s roasty. I really can’t fully describe the taste, the only word I can think of is roasty. But it’s much more complex than that, it’s just outside of my tasting vocabulary. As for the texture, it’s smooth like silk or “buttery” as I normally call it, and that’s one of my favorite things in a tea. I will be sure to do at least three more infusions and see what happens.

Infusion number 2:
As always, I smelled the tea as it was brewing and I got so lost in the scent alone that I zoned out and oversteeped it by about fifteen seconds. The sandalwood aroma is more intense than before, as well as the aroma of honey.

As I sip the warm tea I am sure to inhale a breath of the vapor with each sip. I am stoll lost in the aroma. But it’s more than the aroma, as the scent enters my nose and the fluid enters my mouth, the smell melds with the velvety smooth texture of the tea in perfect synergy. This is an experience.

More to come tomorrow.

This was another one of the samples that Bonnie kindly sent me. I was very excited to try this as I love pistachio ice cream (well, pistachio anything really). It had a more delicate flavor than I expected, but often times with green teas I’m finding it’s all about appreciating subtlety. The green tea base tastes fantastic, it’s very light and there are delicate flavors of cream and then stronger flavors of pistachio. Very good, it reminds me of Joy’s Teaspoon’s Enchanted Forest (probably because it’s the only other tea I’ve had that used nuts as flavoring). Butiki is definitely going on my list of places to buy from when I get more cash (along with Joy’s Teaspoon, PuerhShop, Den’s Tea, Fusion Tea Room and a slew of other places…).