Autumn Hearth

Glad I read the description of the grading before I started commenting, helps me understand why I am looking at darker, more broken leaves. So I’m drinking this the day after Upton’s Pai Mu Dan and to be fair I should have done a 2 and half min steep but I felt like short steeps. When I brewed it up and couldn’t pin point what I was tasting I decided to do a 30 sec steep of Pai Mu Dan and the differences became very clear. Pai Mu Dan is all honeydew on the first steep while Shou Mei is all veg and pine and herb, more sipping back and forth narrows it down to rosemary and sage. Second steeps mellow out both teas a bit but adds a bit of cocoa sweetness to the Shou Mei while the Pai Mu Dan got less sweet and the third steep of Shou Mei is more cocoa and spice while Pai Mu Dan is like over ripe melon. I enjoyed the later steeps of the Shou Mei more than the Pai Mu Dan, even though its supposed to be a lower grade tea. Tomorrow Moonlight, just found out its Yue Guang Bai :)

Revisiting this nearly a month later with longer steeps, which interestingly enough makes the herbaceous notes take a back seat to cocoa and nuttiness on the first steep. It does make sense as I am basically drinking all three of the shorter steeps in one, I find it very interesting.

This is enjoyable. I steeped it for the recommended 3 mins as I have a massive headache and was not feeling the gongfu mojo. As such this review shall be brief and edited over time (I have enough for one or two more samples).

Smell is very familiar, reminding me of the white Darjeeling, but I can’t be sure. Leaves are very unfamiliar, I really only have experience with variations on silver needle so very spring green leaves amongst the buds was most welcome though there are also brown bits and scraggly bits and choppy bits. Smell of brewed leaves and liquor is familiar as well, sweet artichoke, that is probably not at all close to artichoke but it comes to mind. Taste is all nectar and grain though after reading the brief description melon and but certainly fit the bill.

There is something similar to Upton’s Downy White Pekoe Yin Zhen which I did go ahead and finish up western style the other day, that says not quite top quality. Maybe it’s in the floaty bits or the dull brown bits but it translates to the cup and while it’s not poor quality and still enjoyable, I’m not blown away. But I’m cranky right now and am going to withhold rating.

Drinking the last of this nearly a month later: first steep is definitely melon with some herb, second steep is totally green beans, I should know, I’m eating some for lunch ;)

I needed something special tonight, and was thirsty so instead of grabbing a glass of orange juice and a cup of rice pudding I grabbed this gem out of the sample drawer. I had opened it before to smell it and tempted to make in last week after Thai food and mango sticky rice, but I thought it was best to let this stand on its own.

The smell is spot on and do is the well I don’t want to say aftertaste as it changes just as you are swallowing. The first taste on the tongue is familiar and spa like and I’m thinking may be my water so I’ll try it next time with spring water, but this can be very easily overlooked as the second taste is the longest and most prominent. Love it! Will reinfuses but for now relaxing with this cup and enjoying the Doctor.

Edit: argh second steep is bitter due to the fine slits on the glass infuser straining ridiculously slow from tiny leaf particles. Will have to use a different strainer.

So this is actually from today. Dried leaves smell quite earthy and are smaller, green/grey/browner than the downy white silver needle I’m used to.  Rinsed leaves very winey sour, muscatel but a 20 sec steep renders them less so.  The glass infuser has lots of particles in it that don’t want to settle and pour directly into my bone china cup and only settle once the first cup is drained.

A lot going on taste wise but all of it subtle.  First sip is sweet and that’s nice but it doesn’t last.  There’s a nuttiness and flouriness, like dough.  There is perfume snd some later sour notes that come through more in the second steep which is override very flat and blah which is not to say that it’s flavorless, just nothing bright or deep or exciting, but second steeps tend to be my least favorite.  Still even the first was dry, not what I would call refreshing.

Third infusion leaves smell Darjeeling cup smells sweet, tastes like spicy cardboard, black pepper.  I think I may try a fresh brew as I don’t see how this could get any better.  Might wait to get some spring water though.  Ugh. Must not rate.

Sigh I’m a week behind in posting, but I keep my notes on my phone: Okay lets get back to these samples shall we?  Finally the white Ceylon!  The leaves (buds) are slender, short and silvery with darker tips.  Leaves smell like tea, black tea, like a golden needle or golden monkey with a strong, wait what? artichoke? after note?  Yeah, artichoke shrug.  None of that is in the brewed leaves that come out all shimmering silver,  it’s all steamy and spa like (I do hope I’m not smelling chlorine in my water because I’ve gotten this pool scent on my whites before).  

Regardless, I rinsed and did a quick steep and the liquor is very very clear but tasty!  It’s sweet for sure but not in that vague light white tea way.  It reminds me of the Kenyan white, maybe not as chocolatey but there is definitely some cocoa and honey and while I’ve never had agave it comes to mind as there is something kind of nectary about this without being fruity, no there’s dry cocoa again, figs maybe and currents?  This is also quite similar to Golden Jade only you know white.  Hmm I was skeptical about this being special but it is certainly very good and very sweet.  Oh gosh I need to stop comparing and searching for something distinct about this and just enjoy, it’s delicious!

Second infusion is pretty meh and scratchy, not sweet, not vegetal, maybe a bit like the white Assam.

Third and fourth infusions bring forth that odd artichoke note I was smelling.  It has a sour winey muscatel note, this feels very Darjeeling in all the good ways (it’s not dry or astringent).  There are also some piney rosemary notes at the end. I did try this for seven infusions but didn’t take notes, sixth was bland as the leaves needed awakening, seventh was tasty.

Will probably try this with a longer second steep next time, but I love the first short steep to much to extend that to recommended western brewing times.

I’m the only one of all my co-workers who likes this, though I have some friends and guests who love it. During our tasting last fall I got both cups of this, sweetened and unsweetened. I must say the rock sugar gives it more of a holiday spice feel rather than the earthy culinary spice feel it has without. It is very clove and pepper dominant and leaves the whole body feeling warm and buzzing, this physical sensation is why I come back to it.

While for the last couple months I’ve been drinking mostly straight tea there are a few flavored oolongs I decide to brew every now and then. Monday it was French Spice Quartet. I was surprised to get three infusions out of it and Was pleased at how large the oolong leaves unfurled. I have yet to try a straight pu-erh though I have several samples, but there is a nice earthy punch in there that doesn’t seem to come from the oolong or spices. This time the blend was less warming and more churning, I had three 16 oz servings before a very late lunch and my stomach seemed to be nawing on itself, perhaps aided by the digestive properties of the oolong and pu-erh.

Overall a very interesting blend, not a chai masala and not a dessert spice tea. It is strong and not for everyone. I’m not sure if it will last past this year, but I’ll enjoy it while I can, next time after a meal.

I’ve had four or five sessions with this tea, two at tastings, and still haven’t sat down and written detailed notes of this, but thankfully there is plenty in my tin. Still it needs logging, so here we go. This is nice and light and bright and so very spring. I never thought to steep an oolong for 30 secs but it brings forth some interesting results (I tried it with Teavana’s Monkey Picked Tie Kuan Yin and it brings out a perfumeyness that seems almost artificial, though that fades after a three minute steep). It is greener both in leaf and cup than Teavana’s as well. There is a creaminess and a sweetness and it is very enjoyable. In later and longer steepings it doesn’t shine as much, it translates sure, but it just tastes like oolong. I will have to experiment with steep time more though. It wouldn’t really be fair to compare this to Verdant’s autumn harvest, though it is the freshest, due to being well, literally the freshest (more recently picked) and there are so many other weather, soil and growing factors. But yes very enjoyable.

Sigh, I am sadly out of you, but you are by far the freshest, greenest, smoothest, most complex Tieguanyin I’ve had the pleasure of drinking (though to be fair I’ve only had a few). I foolishly shared you, twice, but thankfully everyone appreciated you. I must order more, before you are sold out so I can compare you to your spring sister and I must try you gongfu style, but no longer will I just seek our first flushes when you have shown me what my favorite season has to offer, I thank you.

Mmmm I need to revisit this again, but today I feel the ick, so I shall backlog. This though, this was a beautiful balance of soft buttery mellow oolong with a nice punch of roasted Dan Cong. In fact this was right in between Teavana’s Emerald Dan Cong (which I love the buttery mouth feel of but lacks flavor) and their Phoenix Mountain Dan Cong (which is too roasty for me) and was by far my favorite of the three at the oolong tasting I hosted a month ago. This is definitely the Dan Cong I would return to and I shall, just not today.

I did not take detailed notes on you, either at my oolong tasting or with my husband, but you, my first Big Red Robe, you were roasty, toasty, sweet and delicious and thankfully there is a serving left of you in the sample pouch and this time its all for me. I look forward to seeing your long, dark, luxuriously twisted moist leaves again soon. Oh and what everyone else said.

These leaves while long and pressed flat are less uniform than the dragonwell I have experience with.  There is variation in size, shape and a lovely contrast of fresh bright and lush dark green leaves, they are beautiful.  The smell of the leaves don’t bring anything to mind except tea (lame I know, but there are too many other smells going on in the kitchen).  

It is in the rinsing of the leaves that a strong vegetal aroma is released and stays for the first 15 sec steep.  Very pale brew, with a tinge of blush against my white bone china cup, later steeps are near clear in my glass infuser mug. It is fresh and sweet with a hint of nut and evergreens.  The taste isn’t an overwhelming sort of vegetal, it’s light, bright and smooth and just so very fresh, which is what I have come to expect from Verdant’s teas.  The smell reminds me of matcha, the taste more of Gyokuro with such a nice sweet finish.  As I reach the bottom of the first cup there is a bolder, thicker body .  

I didn’t take notes for the second and third steeps which I also kept short, though I surely enjoyed them.  Yes there was a bit of mint and even vanilla. Fourth was warm and pleasant (I had it with breakfast so don’t ask me about flavor) I let it steep a minute.  

The fifth which I steeped for two mins had an interesting orchid note that of course brought to mind Tieguanyin and the sixth which I steeped for 3 mins was the least vegetal and the most sweet.  I don’t really get the banana but then I didn’t read that last night but there is a desert quality, maybe like a meringue minus the lemon.  Oh hey and there’s nice green tea flavor at the bottom of this cup.  Let’s have another go shall we? Hmm bit of spice, tastes like a second or third steep of a tea that isn’t meant for multiple infusions. I’m sure I could have gotten more if I had kept to shorter steeps, but my toddler renders me impatient sometimes, but thankfully there is another servings worth left.

Of course I had to give in and try a yellow tea with my samples. I read a bit on the processing but the leaves look like nothing I could have imagined, their dark brown with cream streaks remind me of elongated sunflower seeds and even seem to have a similar density in the teaspoon. I brewed my first round Tuesday with shorter steeps, worried about the recommended 3 mins and thinking hey why not try this gongfu style albeit in a glass infuser mug. I neednt have worried though as today I am enjoying it with a full 3mins on the first round. The first infusion the other day was a bit more sweet and intense than today’s full yet more dull infusion. There was a really nice cocoa scent that didn’t really deliver much taste wise, but I enjoyed smelling it all the same. There was more nuttiness and yes a seaweed like note that others have mentioned. Today’s session smells like honey (mmm mead) but has a dryness in the finish that came out in later infusions. Second infusion has spice notes. The brewed leaves smell heavenly, taste disappoints. Did not hold up to a third infusion brewed either way.

No notes yet.

Was not in the mood for anything either too heavy or too light, not an oolong, nothing flavored, not something I’ve never tried before and something I have plenty of in case I botch it in my grogginess.

Golden Jade it is, a green black mix I have tons of from Teavana’s Heavenly Sale.  So I preheated the cast iron pot and looked under my hutch for one of the tins- gold with white cranes and jade green trees and yes I have two of them full.  This should tell you I love this tea right?  

Shrug it’s never gotten bitter for me and isn’t too vegetal which is why I sold lots of it when it was 75%.  But I don’t think I’ve ever taken the tiTme to fully appreciate it, only brewing it at work a few times.  So I thought I’d treat it right and hoped it would be as delicious as I said it was.  

The leaves are fluffy and curly, soft grey and gold. Looks like moss, smells like sweetgrass. I recall its descibed as light bodied with cocoa and floral aroma, when has that ever meant anything? After experiencing Verdant’s Autumn Laoshan Black and surprisingly Upton’s Tinderet White I was prepared for Golden Jade to fall short of cocoa.

But it didn’t, those first two sips were full on sweet remarkable cocoa, fading to a nice smooth Chinese green nuttiness with a bit of veg and yeah I suppose a bit of floral, but nothing fragrant thank goodness because that might be weird, just a good clean soft floral.  Sure it’s not as bold a dark chocolate as the Laoshan Black and it’s not as high a sweet as the Kenyan white.  This is the middle ground, it’s got good body and the cocoa is definitely there though it doesn’t hang on for long.  It kinda reminds me of kettle corn in an odd way without any dry saltiness.  

I haven’t tried a second infusion, but I will, but for now I’ve got a pot on its warmer to enjoy and a boy who has just informed me he wants popcorn.  Ironic. Toddler chugged my last cup and said “mmmm that’s good!”

Fragrant indeed!  I keep on expecting astringency and it’s just not there.  I wish more purportedly fragrant teas were like this.  There is some perfume yes, but the body is so soft, not all high and buzzing.  This is a really lovely cup, not a type I would generally seek out, but I could drink this and I shall.  

Second infusion- well there’s the bite, phooey.  Not like this tea is available outside the set.  Oh well, nice first run. Update: better as it mellows, not so much fragrant anymore, but spicy and nutty particularly black pepper and almond. Meh.

Interesting for sure, smells like Assam, looks like silver needle but less silver and slightly larger. Its certainly larger than the Kenyan tips and Darjeeling white. The color of the liquor of this first 3 min steep (what can I say, I’ve become cautious with these sample sizes) is quite striking, it’s a peachy champagne.

The tea has nice light notes but with all the depth of an Assam, minus the big bite. I definitely prefer this to black Assam but it’s a really hard to top the Tinderet Silver Tips surprising cocoa sweetness, I do think it’s more interesting than the Darjeeling Arya Pearl though.

Two more steeps adding on a min each, color is more golden, flavor stronger on the second and lighter on the third. It’s a good Assam and a good white, but I dont really care for Assams unless they are the base for spices, so I shan’t be ordering it again. Tomorrow, a white Ceylon.

Update for sipdown. There is a something roasty but still vegetal and still light about the first two steeps. I’d recommend this as a white for those that like roasty blacks and oolongs. Third and sixth steeps are quite sweet while the fourth and fifth had something dry and winey going on. I steeped these at 3-4 mins each the second time around. To be fair I did add the white Kenyan as I had less than a teaspoon of it left, but I definitely was tasting mostly Assam.

This. I like. A lot.  The smell of the leaves- cocoa.  The brewed leaves- sweetgrass.  The cup both of those plus a nuttiness.  The taste morrre dark chocolate.  It has a good maltiness just when I was thinking that was something I didn’t like.  And the mouthfeel is pleasant, not really buttery but not too much dryness.  This like a white version of Autumn Laoshan Black.  Toddler agrees, chocolate or perhaps he is just humoring me.  This tea wins and I’m going to need a moment alone with it now. If it reinfuses well, I will be buying lots. I need people to share this with its that good, despite wanting to hoard it.

Update to add that I took this to work yesterday and the boss who is a big white tea drinker (though she does mostly fruit blends) said “Wow Autumn, this is really good!” and I know she wasn’t humoring me. Barista boy said there was something meaty about it. I didn’t like these two steeps as much as my first session, but the leaves at the bottom were broken and there was dust, so I imagine that and brewing in a teamaker instead of glass had something to do with it.

If this is a classic malty black tea then I do not care for them. It’s not horrible, it does mellow and sweeten as it cools and has intetesting rye notes, but I shall save the rest of the leaves to make sweet tea for the husband. Main reason I drank this is because I’m going to try a Kenyan white from the same estate and because it was in the house as part of the gift set I ordered on sale for the copper tins. Again probably unfair to rate, so moving on.

Edit 8/16/12: Made this iced for the toddler this morning because the husband brought a jug of Gold Peak into the house which is now empty and Rowan wanted me to fill it. Me thinks this would be much better cold brewed and that is how I shall use up the remainder of the leaves, but you know impatient toddler so hot to cold which of course results in more bitterness. I actually took a sip of this before I iced it and was shocked at how much it tasted like apple cider, I did a tsp of sugar for the pitcher. Not so much cider in the iced version, though it reminds me a bit of Ceylon. Still not rating, leaves are prob old anyway since it was on sale an whatnot. The White Tinderet from Upton was a amazing btw.

These leaves are truly beautiful. They come in graceful green leaf pairings with a long thin bud hidden usually in the fold of one of the leaves, but you can coax it out once it’s brewed.  They are unusually hard for being the least processed and have an almost waxy cast with nearly undectable hairs on them.  This is not your soft downy silver needle.  They have elegant curled edges with tiny little teeth.  Why describe the leaves so much?  They are pretty much the most remarkable thing about this tea, which is very light.  

There is only the slightest hint of sweetness and tang.  The pear and melon that are described are not juicy but more pear skin and the frothy hairs surrounding the seeds of honeydew.  Vegetal? Only the tiniest trace, just enough to know your drinking a tea, but it is not a word I would use to describe this tea compared to others.  

I can taste that it is a Darjeeling, though I’m sure it helps that I know it’s one.  It’s something inherent about the soil and the altitude and all that cold rain but there is absolutely no bitterness.  I’m not sure of this tea could get bitter, but I’m not about to scorch it to find out, I’ll keep the temp right at 180 and keep drawing out the time.  I somewhat regret not using the whole sample amount for strength’s sake but I feared if I ruined it I would have none left.   I recommend multiple infusions, I’m on my third, as the first is the lightest. I’ll update if something remarkable comes through on a later steep. Toddler chugged two cups of this and said it smelled delicious, I think he was really thirsty.

 So this tea does solve the problem of the astringent Darjeeling for me and while I’m glad I tried I know there are many other white teas out there that have a lot more to offer.  Heck I’ve got twenty samples of them just waiting to be tried.  Tomorrow perhaps I shall try the White Assam.

First Darjeeling I ever tried, limited to Equal Trade Gift Set, we opened one over the summer, when Teavana didn’t have a Darjeeling on the wall due to flooding in the region.  Leaves are mostly olive, brown and grey, fine and short.  They didn’t smell pleasing in the bag, something artificial but was probably smelling the packaging more than the tea.  Brewed leaves resemble shredded mush (wonder how much the Special grading improves this) looks like there may be many stems.  

Leaves smell of grape leaves again, weird.  The aroma of the cup is my favorite, it’s comforting and somehow feminine.  It reminds me of mothballs, books, a muddy spring and my mother’s jewelry boxes.  

The mouthfeel is astringent like an IPA and unfortunately I’m more of porter, lager and stout kinda gal.  It makes me wonder if the soil is more acid in this region/altitude.  I get the muscatel notes on the first steep, the second is all crisp and spicy and is like drinking a citronella candle.  I upped the temp by five degrees and even that makes this tea intolerable for me.  Bleh.  

I can’t help but wonder if this tea is too old.  I got it on sale online last month (really just for the copper tins) and only opened the vacuum sealed pouch today but I notice a freshness difference between spring and autumn 2011 teas, so Spring 2009 when it’s not aged… very possibly stale, no preservatives and what not.  I thought I liked this more than the de Triomphe, but definitely not now.  Dump.

This is another tea from the prosperity gift set. These notes are a blend from trying the tea yesterday and today as I botched the second steep yesterday. It starts: This is quite nice, it’s different than Himalayan Splendor, the leaves are broader and have nice variation with silver, carmel and darkest brown.  The scent of the dried leaves is familiar and comforting, maybe wine and leather.  The brewed leaves are different altogether, they smell like stew with a sherry and shallot broth and carrots from a roast, there’s also a hint of tobacco.  The brewed liquor is not quite as intense but is still oddly culinary, this time it’s fresh rosemary and garlic bread dipped in olive oil drizzled with balsamic vinegar.  So yeah there’s wine in all three but its much more complex than that.

This tea greets you with warmth and a bit of sweetness that stays on the tip or really the side of the tongue, its a little bit winey but not as intense as a Formosa oolong or some other blacks.  There is some vague floralness like the Himalayan Splendor, but with nice spice notes followed by a dryness I don’t care for.  I like the mouthfeel at the beginning of this but it leaves me dry  ( like an English Breakfast) and erases all memory of the smoothness I appreciated just moments earlier.  Sigh.

Second infusion with 175 for 2.5mins leaves smelled like stuffed grape leaves.  Taste was balsamic followed by the dryness of doom.  Third infusion 180 for 3 mins some smooth black tea body and a hint of cocoa, still dry.  Fourth 190 for 3 mins spicy, most black. Fifth umm no. I have no desire to have this tea in my cupboard if it wasn’t part of the Prosperity Collection.

Overall this tea has a very different beginning from the two Darjeelings and one other Nepalese tea I have had (I compare because of altitude), it’s not all airy and buzzing up front, this one hits you with warmth and later reveals its floral and winey notes followed by spice and an astringency I just don’t care for.  Whereas the Himalayan Splendor I tried yesterday at work for comparison started out all hoppy but mellowed out and revealed some cocoa and butter I hadn’t noticed before.  Probably will not pursue many Nepalese teas unless one has particularly good reviews.  Tonight I shall have Darjeeling, black and my first white!

This is a favorite in our house, very smooth green tea base and a natural sweetness that requires absolutely no sugar. I’m not on a big flavor kick right now but the husband brewed some up and let the tea maker finish draining over my mug. This everything Snow Geisha is not, no medicine, no weird astringency. The hibiscus can flair up a bit tart at times and the flavor does an interesting morphing thing as it sits in the cup, but over all it is very palatable. I often recommend this as gift tea especially for those that like Youthberry as they have some common ingredients and it’s beautiful and fluffy so you get more for your money and it fills a decorative tin nicely.

Trying this after the Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black and the dry leaf scent does bare some resemblance, very fresh and sweet with a bit of cocoa. Will all of this village’s teas taste like candy? I wasn’t going to find out. I didn’t trust the recommended western brew time suggestion of 3 mins but decided to compromise on 2, big mistake. I could smell it over steeping even though my kettle said it had dropped to 170 before I poured. Overcooked argaragus bleh, though I took a few more steeps enough to know there was good body there and a bit of spice. I should have saved the rest of the sample packet for the next day, but I was frustrated and wanted my tea. I tried it again for less than a minute, I should have lowered the water temp and steeped for 30 seconds because it still turned out “over cooked” I resteeped these leaves at 150 for 30 sec but the damage was already done. Very sad, I’m sure it would be excellent gonfu style but I won’t be ordering any of it, unless it is included as a free sample with a future purchase. I would like to compare autumn harvests to spring, but I still have the dragonwell style sample. Another day.

Edit 5/15/12: So grateful to have another sample of this, already much better, though it is certainly finicky, or perhaps I am sensitive to strong greens? A bit fuller and more savory than this spring. It is both warmer and cooler, in a very autumnal way. There is a warm creamy salinity on the tongue and a coolness that fills my nostrils. Interesting. Can’t say I’m getting any cocoa yet but shall keep on steeping on.

Finding myself at a loss for words especially with the dried leaves it is like no tea I’ve ever smelled before, its deep and rich but also fresh, it smells of quality.  Brewed leaves are a bit more familiar, chocolaty.  The small wiry dried leaves unfurled into long dark luxurious leaves.  

The first sip is amazing so sweet and bold and smooth (in a cool way rather than buttery warmth) there is definitely cocoa notes, dark chocolate, with a hint of fig and warming up to a bit of butter, later comes the spice, the end note is a tiny bit dry but I’m going to attribute this partially to my throat and it is much better than teas that start off dry.  

So… sweet, rich, butter, spice, repeat at least for the first steep.  Would make a good morning tea as well as an excellent dessert tea.  Second steep is even more sweet if that is possible and has less spice.  This tea is so accessible, I would recommend it to everyone.  

I did try a third steep and while there was some sweetness left it was but a ghost of its former glory.  Perhaps I would have extended it to 5 mins, but even still I dot think it would have been a whole lot stronger.  Still I drank it all.  I am okay with it only producing two delicious western steeps, not all tea needs to last all day long and this one is certainly special enough while it lasts.  Of course would be interested with gongfu brewing. The first steep I did at 195 for 3 mins, second at 200ish for 4 mins and third at 212 for 4.5 mins.