Verdant Tea

Trying another new tea today! This one intrigued me, as I haven’t ever had frankincense or saffron in a tea. I will try to accurately describe everything, although the descriptions might not be quite right as I don’t have experience with those ingredients.

So the dry smell is so intense! I get quite a bit of citrusy Bergamot, very bright. There’s also something else, definitely some floral notes, not sue if that’s the goji and jasmine, and I don’t really know what frankincense smells like, but I’m sure it’s in there!

Wet leaves are more familiar Tieguanyin, very creamy and green (haha, I wrote greamy instead of creamy and green first time I typed!). But there’s an extra note, something fruity and intriguing, mixed in. As it cools, I get a bit of the Bergamot, and then it seems kind of weird, like Earl Grey with Tieguanyin? It is intensifying slightly too I think. Interesting! Also, I steeped a tsp for 2 mins.

Now for the taste, this is spot on. I am very impressed. It is very much like Earl Grey to me, but with Tieguanyin. It’s creamy, bright, and delicious. I am not sure if there is much in the way of floral in this steep, or the frankincense, but that may be because I don’t know what it tastes like! Ooh, I got an interesting pop of an aftertaste! That could be the jasmine!

Overall, very nice. I’m not sure if I did a good job summing up what I tasted, but I like it, and that’s the main thing. :) very interesting, I love interesting teas! Excellent blend with Tieguanyin, first blend I’ve had with this tea in it! Not really sure what to rate yet, maybe need a few more cups worth to fully decide. Luckily my 7g sample will go for at least a few more :)

ETA: It’s doing a good job of making me feel uplifted. With finals and the depressing news in the States today, this is a welcome friend. Prayers out to those affected by the Connecticut shooting, sending <3 and support from Canada.

I couldn’t resist the chance to try this tea and ordered a sample. The dry leaves smell deeply green, with that peculiar ‘Dragonwell’ aroma. I’ve only ever had one other Dragonwell, and I was interested to see if they had the same aroma. They share characteristics, but this tea is definitely has more depth. It’s also probable that it’s fresher.
I’m trying to brew this the recommended Dragonwell way with a glass tumbler. To keep from eating leaves I’ve resorted to using a large spoon to hold the leaves back as I sip. I’m still managing to sip in a few but so far this working much better than without. And this tea is WONDERFUL. It blows the other Dragonwell I’d had out of the water.
I finally strained the tea into another cup, leaving leaves in a little water in the tumbler. It was taking me so long to sip through the leaves that the tea was getting a bit bitter. Once I added more water and strained it though, the sweetness came out more. I’m using filtered water but I think next time I may make sure I have spring water on hand, and see how much of a difference it makes. I also want to try this western style, without as much leaf.
This tea is really good!

SIPDOWN! I thought I didn’t have this one in my cupboard, but I forgot I logged it under Laoshan White rather than it’s true name, Immortal Springs Laoshan White, probably did because this one has more reviews lol. Anyways, this tea was quite tasty while it lasted, a different type of white tea that is almost like Laoshan Green but just a bit nuttier and lighter and not quite as beany. Tonight was especially nutty tasting, bordering a bit on bitter due to it being the last bits of tea in the bag. But still delicious, probably can get a few more steeps out of it if I want as well, have had 4 between me and the guy. A nice, different white tea profile, and I am very happy I had the chance to try this one while it was available! See previous notes :)

Another tea I haven’t had in ages! This is so tasty and I am definitely getting sugar snap pea flavor tonight. The mouthfeel is also super silky. I did the first steep for 20 seconds in my little glass walled teacup with a brew basket, probably 4 g of tea. Absolutely delicious! Going to have a few more tonight. See previous notes on this tea!

Had a few steeps of this with my mom this morning! She came in for tea and to go for lunch. She wanted something with a bit of caffeine, so I made this, starting with a 10 second steep and adding 5, in my tiny 6 oz cups with my brew basket. The caffeine didn’t really wake her up in this one because it is so nice and light haha. This tea is as delicious as ever, for me, snap peas were the main flavor, and the sugary aftertaste perfect. Mom thought it was pretty good too, very mild but she noted it tasted like there was honey dissolved in it.

We had a nice little visit over this tea, then went Famoso, the Italian pizza restaurant nearby. Had pizza, tomato soup, and gelato! A very good lunch, but now I miss her and wish we could have talked longer! Haha, visits are always too short :(

Yay! I’m over halfway through finals, only 2 left, so I am treating myself to caffeinated tea today :D and my Verdant order came yesterday! Now just waiting on my brick of pu’erh from them then all Black Friday orders will be here haha.

Anyways, onto this tea! It is most definitely a Laoshan, the leaves are the nice little springy curls that I like so much. The dry smell is nice and light vegetal, reminds me of a lighter version of Laoshan Summer green, which I LOVE!

The wet leaves are more vegetal goodness. I used approximately a tsp and steeped the first steep (for my boyfriend, as he was the one who requested I get this tea haha) and second steep 25 seconds for me. I just tried a taste of his, it’s very beany! Yummy, also, the liquor is a nice white tea color, looks very refreshing.

As for taste of mine, I like this! It’s very vegetal and fresh tasting! I get a tiny bit of sweetness at the end, not a lot yet though, might have to wait for later steepings. This is unlike any other white teas I have had, granted, I have never actually tried a pure white tea, only jasmine ones and ones with fruit flavors and things. So to me, this tastes like a lighter version of the Laoshan Green, but with more of a caramel aftertaste and less of the broth-like texture that I always get with the green.

Overall, this is very nice. I’m excited to see how the next steepings go. The aftertaste is actually very interesting, the sweet makes me feel like I’ve had something sugary, but the initial taste of the tea is quite salty! Unique and awesome, thanks again Verdant!

ETA: The boyfriend also enjoyed this a lot, and is ready for more! :)

I thought I wasn’t a fan of white tea, but I suddenly felt like giving it a try and came across a sample of this in my tea drawer.

Wow.

It’s difficult to come behind Paul and his Pulitzer Prize winning review… such a lovely write-up of this fine tea, but I’ll do a little follow-up.

Paul was so right…the leaves are beautiful.

Sometimes, I look at the leaves and marvel. Long and twisted, blackish/brown with a light smoky scent. I mean it, light smoke.

I love Lapsang. I’ve sent out so much China Lapsang Souchong from my local tea shop (Happy Lucky’s) that many of you have tasted it and know what I’m talking about. It’s been all over the United States, Canada and the U.K. (I even sent some to..gulp…David Duckler!)
I have some nerve don’t I!

My favorite Lapsang has been my favorite because it’s smoky and sweet. I use Lapsang Souchong mainly to COOK with! (David Duckler used what I sent him for a fish rub which is something that I do ground together with Urfa Chili, Peppercorns and Sea Salt)

Master Bi’s Lapsang is NOT for cooking (unless I win the lottery and go to China and buy up all of Master Bi’s stock)! This tea is for DRINKING!

When I was drinking the tea, the flavor wasn’t harsh or flat, but smooth…velvety smooth with a gentle sweetness that’s in a different league than any Lapsang I’ve had… ever.

The Smokiness is like the aftertaste of great bacon or bbq…not the firepit smoke in your face. No smoke knocks you down!

Here’s the part that got my ‘eyes wide open’…I could still taste the ‘tea’ under the smoke. Yes, a raisin, floral, bakery goodness that was present, wafting around in the aroma and taste.
Such complexity is not there in Lapsangs most of the time (IF EVER)!

Oh David Duckler, if you can get this as an item for regular ordering…it’s the BEST LAPSANG I’ve ever tasted!

(As an experiment for those who love Lapsang’s, I added some milk and the flavor wasn’t diminished at all. Still spectacular!)

Update
Further steepings are amazing!!! The roasty oolong flavor with a slight smokiness is the best of the best taste! This is not like anything you can imagine when you think of a Lapsang. Please, don’t just stop at the first steep!

I just wrote a story on my blog if anyone is interested: www.teaandincense.com

Here’s an excerpt:
Our first Christmas…living in the forest community of Paradise…we went on an adventure to cut down a tree together. We bundled up nice and warm and piled into my car.
Christmas carols were blasting from my tape deck and I had a big thermos of hot cider to share. The tree farm was decked out with lights and decorations… welcoming the 6 of us to cut down any tree for $10. (they had Christmas music playing too and a fire pit for warming hands and eating free cookies)

We took our time… going from tree to tree. Which one would it be? Too tall? Too short, too bare or too fat?! Our tree had to be perfect! We all had to agree! For these girls, Christmas wasn’t always a happy time. Someone was often drunk or high or missing at home (if there was a home at all). Some were beaten at holidays.

Finally, the nod was given and we drank some cider to seal the deal. The tree was tied to the top of the car and off we went to decorate our tree!

When we got home, someone had come by with a note that they wanted to give us a tree. I had to make a quick call of thanks and head them off. How nice of them though!

The next day, when I returned from work…the girls were all excited!

“Mom, look what’s in the kitchen…come and see…!”

Sipdown! 238/365!

Not as tasty as it once was, but still a pretty good genmaicha, definitely better than your typical genmaichas, with a more refined base and toastiness.

Weekend tea, but this had definitely lost flavour. Oh well. Also, it was the first tea in my newest travel mug, and it seemed to pick up some plasticky flavours… so I ended up actually dumping it out. Very sad.

Gotta stop putting this in travel mugs. Killed the flavour again. Or perhaps the tea’s just getting old (but I think it’s the mug). Taking the time to sip carefully now, I am getting a bit more flavour (nice beaniness from the green), but I know this tea can be better.

Backlogging.

This tea is definitely better consumed sooner after brewing rather than later (as most green teas are), and my delay in drinking it meant it lost some of its tastiness. Still roasty, but the base tea becomes very muted and it’s tough to catch the brown sugar/green bean notes after it has been sitting. Oops :(

More travel mug deliciousness. This tea is definitely best drank fairly quickly after infusion, as most vegetal greens seem to be, but I still quite enjoyed it about 12 hours later. The flavour had changed a little (not that I recall how it changed), but it was quite tasty!

This always smells a little fishy to me, but not in a bad way. Either way, it is pretty tasty today, and it’s really tasting like a premium genmaicha, with tasty caramel notes alongside roasty rice and green tea. Mmmmm. Unfortunately it’s in a thermos, so not optimal, but it’s still ok.

Quickie note as I’m at work and therefore should be working. This tea definitely doesn’t smell like a typical genmaicha… still toasty, but much more vegetal/seaweedy. I find the seaweedy part interesting because IIRC that’s not a flavour I associated with Laoshan Green. Granted, I think I only have the autumn and spring versions; perhaps the summer version has more of the marine notes. Anyhow, it’s in a Timolino, and I’m definitely tasting the toastiness, and although it still smells quite mariney, it doesn’t taste such. It’s good, but I’ll have to compare it against other genmaichas I have at some point! For now, tentative rating as it’s good but not mind-blowing (then again, it is in a travel mug).

This was another sample I received from the rewards points. This is another dancong I have never tried from anyone, and I have no idea what the translation is. I doubt it can be as amusing as the “Big Hemp Leaf” (Da Ma Ye) that I had the other day! I brewed this the same way, in my 3.7oz yixing that I have dedicated to dancongs. It has a pour rate of 4-8 seconds depending on how much I fill it with water. I did 12 steepings at 205*F with mostly 6 second steeps and made my way up to 10 seconds by the 12th steep. I do find a hint of bitterness with this because I can’t do 2-4 second steeps, but it’s tolerable and doesn’t take away from the rest of the tea.

The dry leaf was charcoal color with some olive color mixed in. They smelled wonderful. There was a floral note and the best way I can describe the rest of the scent if a grilled stone fruit (like a plum) with cinnamon on it! The infusion was golden and held notes of roastyness, a sweet spice, floral, and fruit.

I didn’t find this tea to change dramatically, no whiplash, no wtf moments, no what am I drinking moments. This one rode quite smoothly for me. Sometimes one note would fade in and another would fade out, but nothing drastic like with the Da Ma Ye dancong I had.

It started out fairly floral, with a nice amount of stone-fruit (again I’m going with plum here), and a small pleasant roasty note. These notes (besides the roasty note) lasted throughout the entire session. Sometimes a juiciness would appear and the stone fruit would become a little stronger, sometimes the floral note would come in a little stronger. But those two notes remained fairly constant.

Very quickly a citrus note appeared giving a taste of citrus peel and some pith to add just a hint of a bite, but not making it off-putting, just making itself known. With this citrus note, a note of tree bark came in. Trust me, I know what tree bark tastes like, when I had dendrology class (tree id class), tasting and smelling the tree bark and under the tree bark was a useful way to ID some of the trees. If you’ve never tastes Sassafras or Sweet Birch, I suggest you go do so.

In the earlier notes a slightly thick mouthfeel came in the aftertaste. Not nearly as thick as a tieguanyin, thick enough to still taste everything else and be pleasant. This came in around steep three and lasted for the rest of the infusions but did mellow out the further I took this tea.

Eventually the citrus dissipated and a sweet spice note came in, cinnamon or perhaps nutmeg. It grew stronger as the steeping continued and became more cinnamon than nutmeg.

I like this tea, it was a very nice, well mannered tea. It was like this is what I have to show you, to offer, I hope you enjoy it. It did so without shoving anything in your face or being cocky or being overzealous about it. While it may not have taken me on a fantastic roller-coaster ride, it did take me around to see some of the less visited sites along the scenic route, and I cannot complain one bit.

I’m on my second steep of this tea, which is the last of the sample I got from indigobloom and I am sad to see this is a sipdown since it means there is no more.

I think this should be renamed Golden Silk, since this tea is light and silky but with some texture. It is also incredibly smooth. The last two steeps I have done how I normally steep loose leaf tea, and more of a western style versus eastern which is more like the directions on the site. And I added milk and sugar this time. No matter, this tea is magnificent brewed either way.

This tea is light and smooth, like I said, and what astringency there is, is very very minor. I pick up honey and cocoa notes, but nothing smoky or bold. It is one of the lightest black teas I think I have ever had, possibly the lightest. I’d say that there is a bit of a malty mouthfeel as well.

It’s rare, in this day, where so much tea is flavoured with stuff, because we need so much extra stimulation, that going to a simple tea like this can be so refreshing, but sometimes I think it takes mental effort to break free from the glitz of the other to go for the subtly of a good straight tea.

Ok, so this is the tea that got the swap going with Indigobloom and I was waiting for a time where I could re-steep easily.

I don’t have a gaiwan or anything for gong fu steeping. I used a bag from DAVIDs, boiling water, and a measuring cup. I don’t usually measure the water…I just fill my Steeper to a point and brew. Because of the nature of the steeping on the website, and reading reviews here, I figured this was the closest I could come to East meets West steeping. I did not get rid of the first steep or “rinse” as I really wanted to max out what I could with my small sample.

First steep…my little special tea cup was actually less than 8 oz, so while I started the steep in that as I poured the boiling water from the measuring cup, I poured the rest in my mug, followed by what was in my tea cup, and the bag. I think I probably just shook the bag around a bit and dunked it up and down. I’m guessing this was all in the 20-30 second time frame. The brew that formed was light and pale and golden. It smelled very bready, considering how short a steep it was. My first sip was a spicy one, a sharp peppery spice at the tip of my tongue. I wasn’t prepared for that. Subsequent sips were not as sharp, and I could taste the bread again, but more like a honey bread. I will mention that this was drunk bare, which I rarely do. I could taste a subtle sweet note at the back of my mouth, sort of like an after taste. I don’t think I picked up any mushroom notes, which is good for me since I am not fond of mushrooms, but it is possible that was I did taste was a little of the roasted sweet potato that some have picked up on.

Second steep was longer, and I added sugar, but not much. This steep was stronger, and a bit more astringent than the first. The basic flavours appeared, though the brew was darker, and it was, as I said, a little more astringent.

Third steep I went a bit more Western, probably about a minute steep, and I used more sugar and also milk. I’m getting a very classic Chinese Yunnan taste from this…something I have had in the past, something that is very comforting to me. I do still get some of the peppery notes every now and again, and the malty honey bun flavour is what permeates most in this. The milk and sugar add a sweet creamy touch. It is a simplicity in flavour that makes it so comforting, even if the notes are a little complex still.

All in all, I find this to be of very good quality. It’s taste is a bit like liquid gold. It has all the traits of a good yunnan tea that I love, but a silky and glossy golden feel to it. It’s like a tea spun out of gold. Light and bright but balanced.

I don’t know if I will get more steeps out of this one or not, especially as my last steep had the bag in with the milky water. If I do one more, it will probably be more Western style, and continue with the milk and sugar.

I have enough of the sample for one more round of steeps, so I will use those leaves wisely.

Thanks agin to Indigobloom for sharing this delightful tea with me.

This tea tastes just like the no longer me safe brownies (Foods by George), I used to get. Chocolatey, malty, creamy, and a hint of something bright.

I got this one as a sample a few months ago and never reserved the time to try it. Well, I had a lot of free time today and decided to give it a go. It’s funny because I just finished 10 steepings when the mail comes in, I got the reserve month package and this happened to be in there! So, now I have more!

To start off, I used my 3.7oz yixing I dedicated to dancongs. It has (depending on how full of water it is) a 4-8 second pour. So, usually I put the water in and immediately start pouring out.

When I opened the package I was immediately greeted by a wonderful scent! It smelled like juicy grapefruit with wildflower honey, a touch of maple syrup, and the slightest hint of some spice…sweet cinnamon perhaps? There was another note that was predominate, but I couldn’t place. After getting the package in and reading the description, I concluded that it’s the honeydew melon.

The wet leaf smelled roasty, dark floral (orchid), maple syrup, wildflower honey, and fruity. By fruity I mean grapefruit and honeydew.

The first infusion was an explosion in my mouth! There were notes of roastiness, honey, maple syrup, a wonderful juiciness of grapefruit and honeydew. There was an interesting orchid note and creaminess that I can only describe as resembling a tieguanyin.

The second steep was more orchid notes and creaminess with a hint of a vegetal note. This was definitely tasting more like a lighter version of a tieguanyin than anything. There was even a thickness of mouthfeel that lasted well into the aftertaste.

Third steep was super thick, mouth coating.

Fourth and fifth steeps went back to being super juicy, the tieguanyin effect was starting to back off. The fifth steep I started to taste that hint of a spice element..clove? Nutmeg perhaps? It was very faint, so it was hard to tell.

The sixth steep went back to tieguanyin. Then the seventh steep was super juicy! I feel like I’m getting whiplash here!

The eighth steep decided to take it easy on me and was a nice balance between super juicy and thick mouthfeel lasting into the aftertaste. The mouthfeel was coating my entire mouth, but was focusing on the tip and sides of my tongue.

Ninth steep was a huge explosion of juiciness again! It was so juicy it felt like I had just bit into a ripe plum or melon where the juicy runs down your face! There were notes of orchid (as usual), orange and grapefruit, the honeydew, and a hint of clove.

The tenth and final steep I took with this started to go back to tieguanyin. The mouthfeel so thick and heavy. The aftertaste so long lasting. I also got a hint of almonds in the aftertaste with this one. I’m taking a break from it for now since my head is swimming and the bathroom and I are becoming close friends!