Bonnie

272 Followers / 294 Following

Hand Picked Autumn Tieguanyin (2011) from Verdant Tea

Bonnie drank Hand Picked Autumn Tieguanyin (2011) by Verdant Tea

First Review. I’ve been beating around the bush…waiting for just the right time to taste this tea. The reports being so glowing and all…I wanted time and a peaceful state of mind. Tea is for that moment when we stop and appreciate what has come from the Earth. For me, I offer thanksgiving to the Giver of Life. I have a new toy called a PIAO I Teapot which I bought from Amazon for $28 plus shipping. It is glass and has a pitcher and a top infuser that you put the tea in. You pour in water and after steeping push a rod and the tea is released to the bottom of the pitcher when a glass ball lifts up. No stainless basket or anything. So I used this method for this tea and it worked well. (Bought it mainly for Puerhs).
First steep 4 minutes…Beautiful large green leaves…the scent is like artichoke hearts when warm and fresh (not the canned kind). Beautiful light golden yellow liquor and a taste that is almost non-floral at all but there is a hint of orchid…a tease only. Where did the napoleon pastry come from? That custardy buttered layered crusty pastry? And then, a juicy rush that takes over your whole mouth and almost goes up your nose. The flavors linger. As the liquid cools the butteriness deepens and the flavors mellow like a sigh after the last crumb has been devoured on the dessert tray.
Second Pour: I’m afraid to drink anymore after the first deliciousness. The juicy mouthfeel is still there. I peeked at the reviews and saw something about Keiffer Lime…OH REALLY? I have Keiffer Lime in the cupboard, so I went and got the jar down and sniffed it…then sniffed and sip-slurped the tea. OK, there IS a subtle flavor of Keiffer Lime in the tea but you’d have to really know lime to know that it’s there. The Marshmallow comments I can understand more. Marshmallow is SUGAR and this does taste at times like a vanilla, custard sugar like a NAPOLEON pastry. Or like vanilla cake (in case you never have tasted a Napoleon). The comments on grass flavor in this tea I do not get. I went to smell the tea leaves and on the second steep there is no vegital scent but just a nice sweet plant leaf smell like lettuce but not like artichokes anymore. I bought 4 oz of this and I’m glad I did! I get to keep steeping all day!!! Hooray for me!!! Pastry tea!!!

2012-03-29 16:20:43 -0400

I Like This

17 likes

7 comments

People who liked this

Comments

Indigobloom 2012-03-29 23:08:23 -0400

oh yummmm that sounds SO amazing. Now I’m scared to order some, the reviews are a little intimidating lol

Bonnie 2012-03-30 00:00:45 -0400

Waaa you scared?! I thought you were Wonder Woman! Believe me Verdant is easy to deal with. This tea was easy to brew so no fear. Oh..1tsp dry expanded to half a cup of big leaves wet!

Indigobloom 2012-03-30 06:55:35 -0400

I know but, the reviews are so good, what if I am the only one who hates the tea!
(I kid, kindof… just being silly, really!)

Kittenna 2012-03-30 06:59:44 -0400

You definitely won’t hate it! But you might be like me and be disappointed because your taste buds refuse to acknowledge all the delicious flavours that everyone else is tasting. I would recommend picking up the oolong sampler from Verdant :) (I’m eagerly awaiting April so I can pick up another sampler and a couple small bags of other teas! Since there’s that $10 off $40 coupon, I figure I should use it!)

Bonnie 2012-03-30 09:46:21 -0400

They also have a new black tea that is supposed to taste chocolatey and the elderberry puerh is slightly gingery if you like ginger. Who cares what others think! I remember when I worked at Fortino Winery visiting Mondavi and having a discussion about some of the good wines Gallo produces. Point being, it’s fine to like whatever you want!

dark_light 2012-03-30 15:46:30 -0400

i had place an order of this, and some other sample…. and yes i’m lucky , i was just in time to picked up the Golden Fleece ….
yumm i feel the hype

Spoonvonstup 2012-03-31 23:12:18 -0400

Great note! I had the PIAO for a long time before we went down that long a slippery slope of teawares.. They work really well! For fun, I might suggest trying out shorter steeping times. 15-30 seconds for the first one, and then ten or more seconds for later ones. It’s how I usually make my oolongs in a gaiwan, and it usually worked well for me with the PIAO, too. As for the “vegetal” notes, I think they come out most in comparisoo a Spring TGY. Hope Verdant gets some spring stuff in soon (I’m almost out!). Also.. I’ve got to find this Napoleon pastry you mention. Never heard of it before, but if it tastes like TGY, it’s a definite must have!

Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Bonnie

People who liked this

Comments

Profile

Bio

Location

Website

Following These People