Verdant Tea

Good bye, Laoshan Black.

This tea brings up all sorts of conflicting emotions for me. The first time I tried it, I thought I had tasted the perfect tea. I was ecstatic. Then I bought a pouch and it wasn’t how I remembered it tasting, so I sold it and bought another pouch from a different season. It still wasn’t how I remembered It. I guess that first taste I had was a unique batch or maybe I’m just out of my mind. But I’ve been drinking that last pouch I bought and the taste, while not perfect, was very enjoyable. Today, I dumped the last of the leaves into my steeper basket and wasn’t sure if I was glad or sad. It’s a tasty cup, but will I restock? Probably not for a while if at all. I over did it a while ago on buying straight Chinese blacks. I’ll be opening a new pouch of something soon. Maybe Loashan Black and I will grow fonder for each other in the interim. :)

Bit nervous about drinking this 2013 spring picked version. It smells like dreams come true. Dark chocolate ice cream. Fresh baked brownies. Wow.

The smell when hot water is added is kinda really roasty. Uh oh.

Taste is…really roasted. :( I guess the magical Laoshan black from my sample pack a while back is gone for good. It leaves a charcoal after taste in the back of my throat. I do get some dark chocolate flavor but the heavy roastiness is just not my thing. Sadness. Maybe I’m just crazy and it never tasted like I remembered it tasting.

This is still a good tea though, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not magical.

Aaargh! I can’t do this! This…just isn’t tasty. Barely at all! I tried everything! Various temps and times. Gong fu and western. Water filtered and not filtered. This batch just doesn’t taste good to me. I see from the description on the website that this is from the autumn 2012 harvest. So, note to self: don’t get autumn harvest of Laoshan Black ever again. It’s just too heart breaking.

So is there a summer harvest? Or do they just do spring? I need to know which harvest produced that nectar of the gods I had the first time I sampled it. As for the autumn harvest version, if you want it, let me know. It’s maybe 1.5 oz at this point. I can’t deal with this batch anymore. I’m also removing my rating because it’s too confusing for me to rate. It’s good sometimes but not always…what? See? Too confusing.

Sadness.

I dunno you guys… This current batch of Laoshan black is not as tasty as the sample I had just before they sold out. It’s nowhere near as chocolatey and tastes way roastier. Is this a spring picked version? Maybe I only like the autumn or summer picked batches? It tastes more like plain tea than awesome tea. This tea as it is would not have converted me over to black. This is my third attempted since getting this pouch a few weeks ago, so I’m pretty sure it’s not just my brew style. :(

I had taken the remainder of my sample to work since it’s where I need tea the most. I was craving it all weekend and couldn’t have any! And we had Monday off! Argh! But today nothing was going to stop me!

Mmmm…. pure chocolate decadence. Made three very satisfying western steeps. The second one went on a tad too long and turned into dark chocolate. So rich and lovely! I’m going to need to order a full 2oz of this, at least!

It’s rare that I give 100s, but this tea converted me to the “dark” side. :) And it’s magical!

Chocolate and rose? How is this possible? This tea exceeds expectations. I think I’ve got allergies or I’m getting a bit of a cold, so I hope I’m getting all the nuances here because this tea deserves it.

This tea somehow really reminds me of rose flavored truffles. Mmm… and vanilla! So smooth! I don’t even like black tea! I’ve clearly been drinking the wrong kinds! Wow. This is so desserty and malty! A dessert tea without dessert flavorings! Mmmm… I definitely smell honey in the liquor. Most black teas I’ve had just beg for a bit a cream but this tea…it would be sacrilege to add cream to this. Gotta savor it just the way it is! Not a hint of astringency! love this!

Azz this sample is being drank with great appreciation towards you. I’m also glad that I did not make the mistake to totally dismiss this tea, for I had made a small amount of a Spring Tieguanyin and found it to be bitter, problem is it was earlier on and I very well may have messed it up. I don’t think I messed it up this time…
A jolly little drink to be sure. Flavors jumped out at me too fast to pen with the first few sips, so I will try to get what I can out of it.
I followed the well written and informative directions to a TEA (yukyuk). At first I noticed a creamy/buttery mouthfeel that was saturated with a floral sweetness. We had honeysuckle growing thickly on a fence so I feel informed enough to agree with the description as to this part. I tasted the orchid note as well.
As the drink cooled the green flavors started to surface, though with such a faint astringency that I, AWM (see comments on Bananas Foster), was able to overlook it. The grassiness was not super strong either.
I’m on the third steep now and surprised at how strong this is still going. It’s changed without deminishing. There’s some kind of mouthfeel that reminds me of chicken noodle soup, though clean and not oily at all. I guess it’s the overall presence being bold, yet light, that impressions me with soup broth/stock.
The quality of this tea is obvious. I would definitely suggest this to others.

additional notes: Some tasting notes mentioned this type of Dancong recently, so I thought I’d steep mine up.  This must be one of my OLDEST teas, and it still has this lovely peaches and cream flavor, so I think it is definitely my favorite type of roasted oolong.  Not really any flavors of charcoal that I don’t like – just a mellow, fruity, sweet, flavor profile, far different from any other type of oolong to me.  My tasting note from NINE years ago (same sample) says peaches and cream so I’m very happy the flavor is holding up so well.  However, even while being gentle on steeps, I’m still noticing the first steep has the most flavor and subsequent steeps just seem bland.  I’m a fan of the Mi Lan Xiang – that first steep anyway (but I can forgive these poor leaves for their age)!   This type is one I’d keep around in the cupboard and probably not any other roasted oolongs.  
Steep #1 // 50 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minutes
Steep #2 // 35 min after boiling // 2 min
Steep #3 // 17 min after boiling // 2 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 3 min

THANK YOU TeaEqualsBliss for including this in our tea swap! I’ve been so spoiled with teas for the last few months, mostly from Steepsterers. I really appreciate it.

First steep / 37 seconds: I had to read the instructions for steeping this on the Verdant site! It really does not need much steeping at all. It’s very impressive that so much flavor was there so quick. The first cup already has amazing flavor, that isn’t normally tasted in oolongs until a couple cups in, when the leaves have unraveled a bit! This one is PEACH. A light peach, with a bit of a subtle cream flavor. Peaches and cream?!! It also seems like a bit of cantalope or honeydew melon. So it’s a fruity tea. It’s pretty amazing that these flavors can come from tea leaves.

Second steep / 42 seconds: It’s interesting there isn’t much of a floral flavor here that I usually find in light oolongs. This one is strictly fruit. It’s very sweet! This cup is much like the first.

Third steep / 52 seconds: I think I had too high of a temp on this one. The peach flavor is entirely gone now. I thought I waited long enough for the water to cool…guess not. I wonder why the peach flavor isn’t even listed on the flavor profile for this one the Verdant site?

Fourth steep / 57 seconds: I think this one was still ruined from the high temp steep. But now there is more a floral flavor now. With my oolong flavor rating where one is the lightest/most floral flavor and five has the strongest flavor, this tea would be a two.

Unlike most oolongs, I think the first cup was the best. I didn’t rinse the leaves like the Verdant site suggested. I think this is the first Verdant Tea I’ve tried! Nice!

The buds smell like brown sugar. Soooo good. They still smell like tea, just with a great earthy sweet spiciness permeating them.
I went with western style brewing – I rinsed them, then steeped for 4 minutes. The liquour is such a delicate light color.
The liquour smells a little woodsy. Like taking a tree, deep red with rain and drizzling honey over it and brown sugar and then sticking it over a fire, letting the sugar crystals pop and spark into a molasses syrup imbued with the scent of the wood.
I’m honestly not sure if I like the flavor. It is a strange mixture of sweet and woodsy. It certainly isn’t bad and it is fascinating but it’s not necessarily a flavor profile I’m feeling.
It does have a really nice aftertaste of nectar or sugar.
I think I prefer brewing Verdant teas gongfu style. Today I just seem to lack the mental energy.

Today, my newest grandson Hayden is being adopted into the family! He’s almost 3 and when I come over to the house he announces “Grandma’s home!”

Indeed! Welcome Home Hayden!

I wrote a story about grandparents and how the legacy of elders is passed on to the younger generation. I hope some will read it. I also posted a picture of Hayden which is allowable today for the first time. www.teaandincense.com

Laoshan Genmaicha
Verdant Tea

One reason I chose to review this blend is because like my new grandson Hayden, this is a playful tea.

I can’t say that I am ever in a serious mood when I drink Laoshan Genmaicha. Maybe you are, but not me!
I’m in the mood for sweet and salty, chocolate and caramel…cocoa puffs or cocoa rice popped something.
The idea of dropping a little maple nugget into my tea sounds good, hum.

This is why I think of playfulness and my newly adopted Hayden on this adoption day.

Hayden is playful to the max! If you know who the character ‘Medea’ is in the movies, well…shrink that personality down to a 3 year old and you have Hayden.
He is a precocious charmer for sure! I get to finally post pictures of him (which I could not do legally before).

Back to tea!

My feeling about this hasn’t changed from the first time I drank the silky brew. There’s a double hit of flavor…rice then chocolate cocoa finish.
My memory kicks in with Laoshan Black…oh yes! (But not)

The best way to prepare this tea is in a tumbler or gaiwan not a teapot. The tea ends up somehow weak any other way, in my opinion, when you add too much water.

Innovative local sourcing of Minnesota rice makes me love this tea even more.

I’ve already written one review of this lovely tea, one where I was happily sipping it. Drinking the sweet and savory green bean and roasty rice deliciousness.

I couldn’t resist the next step. COOKING WITH TEA!

I’m always fiddling around in the kitchen with tea, mostly steeping, steaming, making a marinade or sauce of some sort.
(I have a few holiday goodies up my sleeve that I’m working on for gift giving…ho ho ho).

Tonight the lightbulb went off ‘bing’ when I decided to cook some tilapia in the oven. My usual method is stove-top but I had been considering a butter and Laoshan Genmaicha sauce to poach the fish in and just went with it.
All I added was a little sea salt and ground pepper when it was done.

I steeped 4 oz. tea 2 minutes then put in 1TB unsalted butter.
When the butter was melted, I poured the tea mixture over the salted fish and then into a hot 350F oven until the liquid was almost gone and the fish was flaky.

While the fish was cooking, I infused some Verdant Zhu Rong in a little Clover Honey, strained the tea leaves out and added a little unsalted butter to make a glaze. I pan cooked carrot spears adding the honey/tea glaze towards the end and cooking further until the carrots were caramelized.

A few minutes before the fish was done I put a handful of fresh spinach on top of the fish to steam.

How did it taste?

IT"S ALL GONE! I ATE IT ALL UP!

Play with tea! Butters, sauces, honey…it’s easy to do.

I mixed a bit of this brewed Genmaicha last week with some butter and poured it over spaghetti squash…then topped it with a little cheese…oh my…yes! Just a little pat of butter in the tea and it stretched through the whole dish making it rich and YUM!

I know this is a different sort of review but it’s still about our passion… TEA!

The Tea
I ordered this tea just in the nick of time so it seems, because the stock has already sold out. I know that Verdant will blend some more as soon as the autumn harvest of Laoshan Green is in! Waiting, waiting, wanting!

When I read that Minnesota wild rice and Jasmine sticky rice were being roasted at Verdant to be blended with the superior Laoshan Green tea to make this Genmaicha, I was all in. My taste imagination recalled the buttery green bean smooth tea. Um, with a pairing of toasted rice how brilliant!

Laoshan green leaves are lovely to begin with, very small and curly. The white and black rice, slightly puffy from roasting, made a pretty speckled trio with the tea.
The scent was roasty, like sweet sticky rice and the aroma of buttered popcorn.

The taste didn’t disappoint me!
The flavor was my best experience with a 4 hour Wedding Banquet at the ‘Empress’ in Chinatown San Francisco, and the best day at the
Butte County Fair eating BBQ Corn dripping with Buddah’!

This tea rocks! (Now that’s something you’ve never heard me say!)

The tea is SAVORY and a little SWEET at the same time almost like kettle corn. You won’t be able to stop because of that sweet, savory addictive quality that begs you to have more and more.

I can hear my self now…“Hi, my name is Bonnie and I’m addicted to Laoshan Genmaicha.” …“Hello Bonnie”, thousands of voices respond with the same problem. Sigh. (I’ll have to fill the complimentary hot beverage containers in the back of the room with this tea hee hee!)

There is enough flavor to drink this with a meal. I love the way the taste lingers lazily, a long while after the sipping is done.
With a piece of toast and honey for a snack or at breakfast…yum.

The Story:
Last night I stopped at my tea pub (Happy Lucky’s for those new to my stories) and brought Eric and Sam a sample of the new Verdant Earl of Anxi tea blend with the Frankincense in it. The evening crowds were gone (dinner time) all was quiet and I sat at the bar while they lined up tastings from a small Gaiwan.
The first was great, the second steeping also, but the THIRD…well that’s when the Frankincense began to bloom and meld with the Oolong into an aroma and flavor that amazed them and me.
What an awesome experience. I gave each a little sample to take home and then ordered a pot of Assam and a ginger cookie (Sam’s shift was over and he went home).

People began filling up the shop and I chatted with some, helping others while the lone Eric rushed to make tea orders. This lasted for an hour until another lull arrived.
Still sitting at the bar talking about tea while he frothed some milk, a long line of people came into the shop, behind the bar, past me and Eric and disappeared. “What’s going on?”, I asked surprised.
“Uh, oh, he chuckled, it’s the ghost walk.” “The what?, I answered, is this place supposed to be haunted?” “Well, you know this was a firehouse and had a jail in the back…but in the basement was solitary confinement,” Eric informed me. Yikes! And a few minutes later, a line of people came back up (about 25-30 in all) and filed past me again only this time I held up my hands and said BOO!

I watched the young couple on a date, the oldsters on a night out. The young couple with a baby enjoying Chai. Four friends playing a board game. Most of the people stayed to drink their tea as the sun went down and it became dark.

Never a dull moment at Happy Lucky’s Tea House! It’s beginning to be my Lake Wobegon.

I’ll have to share some of this Laoshan Genmaicha Tea too!
(but just a little since I only have an ounce!).
The sharing makes the tea taste even better I think!

First of all, sorry that I haven’t updated in a while. First, there were two weeks of midterm exams (they went very well, but it was a stressful two weeks), followed by that week where all my professors said “Okay, since exams are done, that means we can give you tons of work!” Finally, this past week was messed up by post-tropical cyclone Sandy, and everything went to hell. Anyway, I needed something warm and comforting, and this tea was perfect for the job.

The first steeping is delightfully complex and creamy, with the buttery mouth-feel working in harmony with the subtle spice and floral flavors and the caramel undertones to create a tea that is pretty much perfect. I was just drinking my other aged tie guan yin the other day, and it truly pales in comparision to the complexity of this tea. The aftertaste is also beyond compare, as it tingles delightfully on the roof of my mouth with a mineralish/metalic feeling. It also lasts for a good three minutes, at which point I could no longer resist this tea, and all took another sip.

The second cup was very similar to the first, but the taste was more…refined, for lack of a better term. The mouth-feel was still creamy, but not as overtly as it was before, the the fruit ans spice flavors were a bit more subdued, but it was still a well-balanced and interesting cup of tea. Luckily, the aftertaste has not weakened at all, and it’s length has not been decreased, so I’m very pleased with how the tea developed. It will be intersting to see what it’s like once the leaves are fully open.

The third cup was steeped for 15 seconds. The mouthfeel is no longer buttery or creamy, yet still retains a smoothness that is a bit hard to place. The tea has also lost the floral flavorstha I saw earlier, and is becoming a much “warmer” tea becasue of it. The caramel flavor is still strong, but there is something that counteracts the sweetness as well. Not sure what it is yet, and I’ll certainly be looking to see what it turns into during my next cup. All in all, the development is still ongoing, and the results actually preserve the complexity of the tea.

Well, as you can see, I didn’t actually get arround to drinking that next cup, as some friends came over and I ended up in a serious card game with them, and before I knew it midnight was upon me. I couldn’t have more tea, or I wouldn’t fall asleep early enough. Sorry about that.

Music of the Day – Requiem by Verdi, conducted by Semyon Bychkov

Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i-p659VMCc

This is a fantastic version, with very operatic soloists. Considereing that the piece is written by the master of Opera, it makes a lot of sense to perform it this way. It’s some really powerful music, and I hope that you guys enjoy it.

Second review of the day!

I actually prepared this astounding Tieguanyin in my new Finum brew basket, whic greatly simplified the process of making tea. This first infusion was steeped for 15 seconds in near-boiling water, which resulted in a rather weak infusion, since I didn’t wash the leaves first. This is pretty typical of Tieguanyins that I’ve tried before, so wasn’t discouraged. The flavor was very sweet, a bit like caramel, but since the leaves haven’t really started to open up the flavor is pretty muted. The texture of the tea is very smooth and creamy, which lingers on the tongue for a good three whole minutes, which is also amazing. My other aged Tieguanyin is similar, but this tea just takes everything to a whole new level.

Second cup, 10 second steep. The thing of note here is that the leaves have started to open up, so there falvors are much more intense, with caramel and something akin to chocolate dominating the palate. The texture of the tea is decidedly creamy now, and it lingers for at least three minutes now. I actually can’t resist taking another sip after three minutes, so that experiment is pretty much a bust now. Also, it should be noted that the caramel is actually stronger than the chocolate, resulting in a very sweet cup of tea.

Third cup, I actually lost track of time, so I don’t know how long this one steeped. Even though it’s provbably oversteeped, it’s still sweet and creamy, which is a pleasant surprise. The chocolate flavor is a bit stronger now, which is expected, so there’s no reason to mourn the loss of the caramel flavor, since I’m pretty sure it will be back. All in all, this cup wasn’t the best, but it’s still far better than my other one.

Fourth infusion, 30 seconds. This, this cup is pretty much perfection. Warm, sweet caramel flows through my mouth, leaving behind interesting flavors that are starting to emerge from beneath the chocolate. The delightful flavors dance across the tongue, then move up to the hard palate where they linger for three minutes, after which I can’t tkae it any longer and I have another sip. This, this is like the Platonic ideal of an aged tieguanyin.

Fifth infusion, 1 minute. This is where the flavor is really starting to get complex. There are a bunch of things muddled together, and it’s really hard to make out what everything is. The creaminess is fading, only peaking through at the very beginning of the aftertaste before it wades away into a pleasant tingly sensation on the hard palate. I think there is something a bit citusy present, but I can’t quite put my figer on it…

Sixth and seventh infusions were let to steep until I felt like they were done. They were both very complex, with subtle flavors that never really asserted themselves. There was a hint of citrus, a touch of spice, but other than that, I can’t really say. Regardless, this was an amazing tea, and I’m really glad that David actually sold it to us instead of keeping it to himself. I don’t know if I could have done that…

Music of the Day #2 – Mare Nostrum directed by Jordi Savall

I’m a sucker for good historically-informed perfromances, and this is by the same people as the previous album. This album actually focuses on the Mediteranean Sea, after which the album is titled (Mare Nostrum is the Latin name). The pieces on this album come from as early as Classical Antiquity and as late as 1690, and follow the themse of Mediteranean culture.

Sample – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bIoe8JXhQk

I got this sample size from Amanda. I really want to brew this gongfu style but my life has been so nuts I just can’t. I have a little bit of time before I run some more errands, so I’m just brewing this up western style (1tsp/cup, 175 degrees, 1.5 minutes) or else I might keep saving all my Verdant Tea for “later”.
The liquour looks so light, I really wasn’t sure if I didn’t add enough leaves (I hate measuring dragonwell without a scale).
Okay, amazing notes now!
This actually smells like rain.
I am a fanatic about rain. I cannot work when it is too bright out, I would be perfectly happy if it was almost always raining. There are so many perfumes, candles, etc that are supposed to smell like rain but they don’t.
This smells like petrichor. And it’s reminding me of The Wasteland. My own headcanon version of The Wasteland where the rains actually come and the thunder isn’t just dry and sterile.
I get a little of the banana scent as well.
This tea is interesting – it has a rather delicate flavor. Initially it tastes very green, goes into a sweetness, segues into a slightly bitter flavor, and then resolves tasting like cream.
There is a slight mineral aftertaste, as though I had the smallest square of tin foil between my back teeth. And because I like strange or interesting flavors, I am calling this a good thing. Nowhere near some of the other Verdant Teas I have tried but head and shoulders above some other teas I have been drinking lately. I might try the last of the gongfu style later.

First off THANK YOU Bonnie for the opportunity to taste this tea

Dry smell: The dry smell is a lot different than I expected. It has a very sour, green vegetal smell that reminds me of grass and dandelions in the summer. It has a wet tree bark smell, a slight hint of a green apple. I was expecting a much darker smell so I’m not quite sure what to expect from this tea.

Wet smell: The wet smell is delicious in a really strange way. It is very dark and I can smell the dark aroma of forest. It still has a sour aroma but became a lot deeper and richer than when it was dry.

Taste: This is a strange tea, unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. It has a really light flavor that I can’t place. It’s a smooth, creamy flavor of spices. I think the strangest part of this tea is that when I start to swallow, there is an extremely sweet flavor on the roof of my mouth. It is like sugar is melting right on top of my throat. It’s a strange flavor.

This is an interesting tea, I’m not sure if I like it or not. I was a good experience anyways

Alright, first time in almost two weeks that I actually had enough time to do a proper review. First of all, I actually tried this tea when I got it, but I had a paper to write and team mates to “motivate” so that the group wouldn’t fail a project (I refuse to do all the work, and actually had to bring the professor into the discussion to actually get them to work…).

As with all my green teas, I brewed this tea in my ceramic tumbler. I actually like to let my tea cool for a while before drinking, so the leaves had a few minutes to steep peacefully before I started to blow them out of my way. The first cup was delighfully clear and lightly grassy. It’s very sweet for a green tea, and it has an amazing smooth/creamy finish that is just perfect. It’s also amazing in that the smooth/creamy texture lingers for over two minutes on the hard palate, gently transitioning into a tingling creaminess (somehow, the smoothness dissapates). This is by far the best green tea I’ve ever had.

As the steepings ocntinued, the hashser edges of the grassiness quickly faded into a delightful sweet grass flavor. It’s like my beloved fukamushi sencha, but the texture of the tea is smoother. After about three cups, the creamy texture has faded, and it was relanced by a mineralish smoothness which lingers on the back of the tongue very delightfully. By number 5, vanilla was starting to peak out of the rest of the flavors, but it remained fairly weak for a quite some time.

The later steepings where characterized by a light vanilla flavor, a bit of sweet grass, and a general smooth, sweet taste. The amazing thing is that it never gets bitter, nor does the flavor ever really have anything unpleasant about it. It’s truly a finely-crafter tea, and I offer my humble thanks to both David and Mrs. Li for making this tea available to us.

Final experiment – How do the tea leaves taste? I remember somebody (I think it was Bonnie…) experimented and ate this tea after she was done, so I decided to give it a go. It was interesting, to say the least. The leaves didn’t have that much flavor, and they were very chewy, yet they wern’t unpleasant. It was fine, but I woun’t go out of my way to eat the leaves in the future.

Music of the Day – Dinastia Borja, directed by Jordi Savall.

This is a wonderful historically-informed performance, covereing music from the 11th century up to tail end of the renaissance, and from various cultures. THe common theme is the Borgia Family, and each peice can be related to them somehow. Also, the 3 cds come with a book in multiple languages, which explains both how the pieces relate to the Borgia family, tell their story, and provides the lyrics fo the music.

Here’s a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgU6-cz0RM0

Initially when I opened the package I picked up the aroma of butter – creamy melted butter! Like when you leave a stick of fresh butter out on the counter and it melts on its own, just perfectly soft and smooth.

The initial sip was of Hay, hay that has been warmed by sunlight sitting out in the field!
As the cup cools some the cinnamon starts to develop and I got a slight tingling sensation around the sides of my mouth.

Through out the entire cup I could feel a slight tingling sensation in my mouth along with a velvety mouthfeel to accompany the sparkle. This tea is a movie star! No, rather this tea is a voluptuous sexy lounge singer, female of course, in a long slinky yet classy dress with sparkles on it, on top of a piano.

Sorry – what I am trying to evoke here is that this tea will take you in and seduce you, if you allow it to, and give it time to temper as the longer I wait – the more this cup develops and this is only steep one!

This is the first cup today I have allowed myself to full enjoy, drinking every last drop so without further ado I am going to haul my behind over to the sofa and nurse as many steepings as I can out of this sample!

Dry leaf: This has a very creamy chocolatey smell. If I had to place it I’d say it smells like chocolate mocha filling that would go on a brownie. It has a very similar cocoa smell to teavivre’s black pearls, but it smells sweeter and has more of a creamy note.

Wet Leaf: The wet leaf has an extremely dark, chocolatey flavor. It reminds me of chocolate cereals from when I was younger. On top of the chocolate smell there is a smell kind of like a dried plant. It’s hard to place but it’s a strong, wonderful aroma.

Flavor: The taste is sooooooo surprisingly sweet. It has absolutely no bitterness or astringency. I am extremely surprised by how good this tea is. Verdant knocks another one out of the park. It has a dark cocoa flavor but it still isn’t overly strong. I’m not tasting any cinnamon but I am getting some vanilla and caramel flavor, especially on the swallow and aftertaste. The feeling in the mouth is incredibly moist and smooth. When you swallow there is a light vegetal taste and your throat feels very smooth.

Overall this is an absolutely amazing tea and I will be buying some as soon as I can

WOW I love this green! and for me to say that… well, that is big.
This is right up there with the Kiosque Dragonwell. Oddly though, Steepster has eaten both of my reviews, for both this and the Dragonwell. Odd!
SO this is definitely creamy, in a green way, not milky at all. Reminds me of creamed spinach. Only on my second steep, so will update with whatever emerges in #3!
Oh and I just made a cup of Golden Fleece for my boss. She said “It’s sooooo goood! I’m a fan!” Yay! This totally made my day :D
Anyhow, my head is spinning this month, I haven’t been sleeping well at all and I’m so busy trying to get my career straightened out that I feel my notes have been lacking. Sorry for venting here. I just needed to put this out there, anywhere…

Smells like honey, and a bit of sweet potato. This really tastes a lot like the sweet potatoes I had at Thanksgiving last week – they were pureed with butter and spices and probably some brown sugar. So good! The tea also has an astringent bite on the very front, that quickly smooths out into a honeyed sweetness.

I’m drinking this one at work, western style, but I feel better and better about the decision to rechisten my one little yixing pot for yunnan black teas, as time goes on. They have such variety, and nuance, and have really become my standby tea over the last couple of years. Of course, I’m almost out of a them at the moment, but that’s just an excuse to buy more :D

2 level tsp leaf, 8 oz water, 4 steeps

This smells so sweet and buttery, like sweet potato pie, or butterscotch. The flavor is more rugged, showing grain and the peppery side of yunnan rather than chocolate or cream. There is a sweetness though, as I sip longer. The description suggests honey and butter on toast – that seems about right, but it’s a hearty wheat bread, well-toasted and crunchy.

Sometimes when I first sip I’m convinced that I oversteeped this, but then the bitterness never actually materializes, it just rolls into that rumbly dark toast taste.

I’m also going to wager that this is highly caffeinated, from the way it’s going to my head already.

Overall, a good strong black tea to drink straight-up and start the day

ETA: On my 3rd steep now, more mild but still flavorful, getting more sparkly spice and a bit of fruit.

western style, 2 heaping tsp to 8oz water