Verdant Tea

My first order from Verdant tea. And it was great. I really liked this Oolong and would recommend to people who like ‘heavier’ notes. The notes specified on their page are right in tune with the tea. The most apparent to me were: Cinnamon, Chocolate, Malt; the fruity notes were more like hints to me.

I’m saving this tea for those moments that I’m fully dedicated to tasting, this is the kind of tea that makes it worthy.

PART II

I am very busy lately, and a total of two days pass until I am able to get back to this pot of exquisite tea.

Steepings 6 through 10, 2 to 8 minutes. The flavors have digressed significantly over the two days, probably because I am stupid enough to leave wet leaves out for so long. Nonetheless, I still get flavors of melon and sweet vegetables, and not even the slightest hint of bitterness. I am immensely pleased with this tea experience, and as soon as I get my next paycheck, I will be placing my next, bigger, order with Verdant.

PART I

So what’s all the hype about Verdant’s tieguanyins? I have been asking myself this question since I first joined steepster. Finally, I broke down and ordered an ounce of this tea just before it sold out.

I open the bag at home. Subtle scents of orchid and plumeria greet my nostrils. As my 5oz yixing pot heats up, I spoon my 5g of tea into a lotus plate. I see deep green, loosely rolled pearls. This sight tells me that the tea was lightly oxidized and lightly baked, indicative of a modern Anxi-style tieguanyin. My yixing is hot, so I dump out the water, add the leaves, shake the pot thrice, and enjoy the aroma once more. Once again, I smell tropical flowers, but the warmed leaves release a much heavier scent.

First steeping: 30seconds, longer than what David recommends, but I want to give the leaves an opportunity to open up a bit. No scent greets my nostrils with this brew. I become quite skeptical. Why do people on steepster rave about a tea with no aroma. I take my first three sips, and I suddenly understand. Candied honeydew melon and sugar snap peas. A lingering aftertaste of saffron. Thick, rich, buttery mouthfeel like I’ve never experienced it before. The color of the brew is a glowing yellowish green.

Second thru fourth steepings, 5 seconds. The sweetness of the honeydew dominates, but the sugarsnap pea has not left completely. A fine balance of sweetness and umami. The saffron aftertaste is still there and getting stronger. The buttery texture leaves in the second steeping, but returns full force by the fourth steeping. This is an outstanding tieguanyin. I’m beginning to wonder if David mistakenly replaced my order with his personal store of award-winning gold. Could it be?

Fifth steeping, 10 seconds. More butter, more melon, and candied peaches. Mushrooms with exotic spices. This tea is changing the way that I think about tieguanyin. Flowery? Yes. I would expect that. But I don’t expect the lingering aftertaste, the smooth, heavy body, the durability to last for five full-flavored steepings under 10 seconds. I am almost nearly convinced that David accidentally mismatched my order with some competition winning tieguanyin that was meant to be sold for $20,000 for 100g.

I know that this tea can give me more steepings, but I am currently unable to do more. I must take a break. I will log my appreciation of more steepings on another note.

Thank you David Deckler, you have won yet another loyal customer.

This was my first experience with Yabao Silver Buds. This is a very welcomed new experience. I already knew Puerh was world by itself but I had no idea it was so broad as to deconstruct my perception of Puerh and what to expect.

When dry it has very faint scents, that reminds me almost of freshly cut pine wood in the distance. While steeping the scent is more apparent but seems a little more wood like. The tea itself is very subtle and sweet, a bit spicy but not heavy more refreshing than anything. Once again, I’m glad I tried it.

I’m glad I tried this tea, and I’m glad I went back and ordered more to keep. Simply put ‘Sweet and gentle but very present Jasmine’. Usually all you can taste is the Jasmine if it is overpowering the actual tea, but I feel like this one is like a well written melody and everything goes in place, complementing each other. Once again I recommend to Jasmine lovers and those who are ‘Meh’ about it.

I just received this tea and I when I opened the bag I felt nothing but excitement and anticipation. I was about to have a sip of water while I held the bag looking at the leaves, when the wonderful scent hit me. Just amazing, I’ve had around 4 other white Jasmine teas and non have hypnotized me like this.

The buds are just beautiful and when I picked them they were soft, felt like picking up a bunch of cotton in my hand. While steeping the scent because more apparent and more pleasurable. The liquid was almost clear with just a bit of yellow and the scent was as if it had cloned into the liquid itself, yet the leaves felt just awakened not depleted of its smell.

I was able to do multiple steeps of the leaves with out it becoming bitter or astringent and the scent wasn’t faded at all. It has a bit of delicate spiciness to it. If seems savory but it has an apparent sweetness to it. I’d recommend it to any Jasmine lovers and if you had bad experiences with Jasmine before, this should be the one that makes up for it.

An ode to my favourite Tuocha.
I shed a salty tear as I drink the last one down! Milking it for all it’s worth! I will miss you, Cornfields Shu.

<3 Ash

http://www.daisychubb.com/review-cornfields-shu-tuocha-by-verdant-tea/

Enjoying an amazingly delicious and soothing cup of this tonight immediately following supper. Supper being the BEST fish & chips in all of Halifax (imho) and poutine! Sooo full, and my tummy feels instantly better after my Shu Session.

Not only that, but the scent and flavour of this tea always takes me over the moon. Relaxing and so. freaking. delicious!

Buttery sweet corn and extremely refreshing, even on the final deep dark steeps. Heaven! Keeping me sane and comfortable while I work on my blog post for tomorrow: super chocolatey Nutella 2 bite brownies :3

It’s almost Friday, we can do it!

Enjoying this tea after a giant crock pot disaster! I exaggerate, I made a botched recipe of mac and cheese, the ingredients should have made a delicious creamy gooey meal, instead it was greasy, chewy and well.. we ate it anyways and I had to throw the rest out (enough for 4 more meals :( ). The joy and disaster of new recipes.

I knew I needed cheering up and a tummy settling, so immediately I craved this tea. I’m on steep number 7, and just now getting the slightest hint of spearmint notes.

I was naughty… I intentionally used cooler water than usual to coax out all the buttery, sweet corn notes I was craving. It worked better than I expected. Each steep was more flavourful than the last – but mostly just the flavours I wanted. That is manipulative of me o_o But I needed it today.

So yes, now the spearmint notes are coming out and tingling the tip of my tongue in celebration of alliteration. The water was the proper temperature this time, so now I will let the tea take me where it wants to. It’s a delicate balance, but we’ve definitely reached an understanding

:)

Had a wonderful gong fu session with this beauty.

The flavour is wonderfully light and smooth. Buttery corn in the air, sweet corn in the taste. Very refreshing.

The perfect compliment to soothe my tummy after a hearty and heavy meal – I took the time to enjoy the beauty of the sunny day and spend some time with this tea.

Details review coming next time I drink it. First – I enjoy. :)

This tea is well past its prime, and tastes like it too. It’s just a hint of its former self – smooth tieguanyin, and just a hint of floral. Still drinkable, but I know this used to be much tastier. Sad times.

Boo, this was another tea that didn’t work well at all in a travel mug. It just tasted off, and I’m not sure why. It is a pretty old bag of tea though, so maybe something has changed in the flavour over the years (yes…. years…) Will have to try it normal-mug-style to see.

The smell is oolongy and delicious. Not as much floral as I was expecting.

Taste-wise, I’m obviously getting lovely strong autumn tieguanyin floral flavours and butteriness, which just seem to be enhanced by the blending. Delicious. It really isn’t a blend that’s all that far off from the autumn tieguanyin, but just enough to make it different. I can’t specifically pick out jasmine, saffron, or citrus though (which is ok with me!)

Ohhh yes. Loving the oolongy aftertaste. Looooving.

Definitely curious to see what the second infusion will bring. Probably not tonight though, after looking at the time… (what can I say, I was in the lab until 1:30am!)

Thanks for the sample, Azzrian!

ETA: Ok, definitely tasting the orange in the second infusion! Actually, at a little over 3 minutes I feel it’s a touch oversteeped (at 94C this time). A bit of astringency coming out which is unnecessary. Definitely much less floral as well. (And again, the funky taste which confirms that yes, indeed, brushing your teeth half an hour before tea is a Bad Idea. Good thing it’s only an aftertaste.)

ETA again:
Mostly oolong in the third infusion, but I can get some floral notes that aren’t usually around in oolongs for me at this point. Still good. Mmmm!

What an unbelievable taste this tea has! The first two infusions were indeed mineral-y, it was as if I could feel the minerals on my tongue! This was strongest with the first couple of sips, and then an apricot-y flavor began to emerge. This apricot flavor became stronger with the third and fourth infusion. Subsequent infusions bring flavors of wood and spice.

Quite an incredible Oolong. But then, this is Verdant we’re talking about here, and they offer nothing but the most incredible teas!

This review is for the Autumn Harvest

Ok, I suppose I should review this.

This was probably my first completely Steepster-driven purchase. I’ve never looked forward to trying a new tea more-gobs and gobs of 90+ reviews from independent, knowledgeable reviewers here on Steepster, coming from a small farm, a small service and quality oriented company, blacks my preference-I looked forward to loving this tea.

But I don’t.

Today is my 3rd or 4th day I have brewed this tea-hoping at some point I would become enlightened to what everyone else sees in this tea-or just get used to it. And I am kinda used to it, but although familiarity has not bred contempt, neither has it brought love.

I love that it’s experimental-tea would be boring without experimentation. This is different tea to be sure-certainly not too much like various Keemuns and Yunnans I have tasted. The dry leaves are rolled tight with some slight bends. They appear to have little aroma unless you take a big inhale, then I get slight chocolatey and floral notes. The leaves are very dark-almost jet black-I was half expecting the liquor to be as dark as black licorice.

Fortunately, liquor was just a deep coppery brown. Brewed leaf aroma is roasty with a slight resemblance to a roasted oolong, a little resemblance to keemun and not sure what else. The first steep flavor is kinda roasted with a touch of chocolate, but not much. Can’t really describe the dominant flavor. It’s different and just okay. It’s very heavy in the mouth, but relatively smooth until it starts to cool when some bitterness appears.

The 2nd steep tastes a little more chocolatey. Can you taste the tannins? Because it feels like I can really taste the tannins. Third steep-the liquor is deep amber colored. It now has a medium heavy mouthfeel. Flavor is improved a little. A touch milder, more grainy perhaps. Also tasting a bit more oolong-ey than previous steeps-especially the aftertaste. Still, nothing too exciting-don’t really like oolong anyway. I’ve done 4 steeps before, but have no notes for a 4th steep. If I have a 4th steep today, I’ll edit this note to include the information. There’s lot of tannins and caffeine in this tea, and with my reflux, I can’t afford 4 steeps of this if all I feel is “Meh, I don’t understand all the fuss.”

I am happy with my experience buying from Verdant Tea-they are personal, responsive, and committed to quality. They have several other teas that I look forward to trying. I might even try the first flush of this tea-if someone can convince me it’s significantly different. But I doubt that I would buy this Autumnal Harvest again.

Thanks to Verdant for this sample!

I’m beginning to invision the Alchemist at Verdant like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, fitted with a pointed hat and waving a rather long wand (or spoon in this case) while thunderous rounds of Mussorgskys Night on Bald Mountain play in the background. (Naturally there has to be thundering and lightening outside the windows too!) Right?

I’ve enjoyed 4 or 5 Verdant blends thus far and what strikes me is the amount of subtilty and restraint that other alchemists (blenders) can’t do. Most go too far. Do they assume that WE the public demand gaudy, overly flavored in-your-face tea as though we’re so used to tea as a Mcdonalds Menu Item, that we can’t taste the difference! Well hey buddy no! There are tea companies out there (Verdant being one I know of and there are others I’m sure) that has respect for restraint and finesse! WE DO have some tea sense! Thank you! Preach on!

Ok I like this blend…good bye.
(Just kidding)

I’m used to big malty or yammy tea in the morning. Assam, Laoshan Black. A great Pu-erh!
When I read that this was more mellow with good caffeine and low acid, I could see that this would be a great tea for those with tummy issues. But, would the taste still be rich enough?
The liquor at 3.5 minute steeping is a nice medium dark brown with a great brown sugar molasses scent. I fully expected the tea to taste like the smell wafting up. Instead,it was much more mellow. This was nice and juicy, fresh and sparkling from the puerh rich underbelly. Where you would expect acid there is a hint of malt…a bit of spice that is not distincty cinnamon.
This is my morning cuppa. La Dolce Vita! Add creme it whispered! So I did this, being Continental and all that (remembering Rome) coaching out of my cup the creamy caramel smooth flavor of my tea with the added discovery of a hint of saltiness and Scots shortbread. A bonnie tea!

I must confess that without sweetening, this is mighty fine. You could pair this with any breakfast because the blend is hearty.

I’ve had this tea for awhile, unopened. I was saving it for a special occasion, which wasn’t planned, but ended up being today.

The side-effects associated with migraine and fibromyalgia take over from time to time, and there’s not much I can do about it. Sleeplessness and depression are the two symptoms that I’m glad to get over with the fastest. Physical pain is easy to handle by comparison.
Today I woke up and reached for my Kindle Fire next to the bed. My daughter had a new entry on Facebook with a link to her blog that began with this quote:

“Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little and have a cup of tea” ~Elder Sophrony of Essex

Then she went on to quote me (shock):
My mother reminds me often that tea has a way of keeping you in the moment. It’s not like coffee which in our society is meant to keep you always moving forward.
Tea encourages the partaker to sit down and rest a moment. It is a sort of “reset” button for the weary.
If we push ourselves beyond what we can bear for the sake of being strong, we will fall over, teacup and all, and find staring up from the darkness of the abyss… far more terrifying than standing at the brink.

(Hum, I thought…something from an Elder (Monk) and my daughter to think about in the middle of my depression, and I went about my morning…considering those words from time to time.)

At about 4PM, I couldn’t figure out where the time had gone. I felt foggy headed and the depression had closed in on me.

I remembered the quote from the Elder (Monk) and went to my tea cupboard…rummaging about until I found the one unopened SPECIAL OCCASION tea that I had left.

Standing on the edge of the cliff as I was, seemed a great time for Hand Picked Spring Tieguanyin!

Without a care for the opinion of others, I smelled the leaves. They reminded me of the many years of art classes, the sweet scent of oil paint on my brushes and canvas (and on me).

When I rinsed the leaves, I was washing the gloom away with tea liquor like a new ritual, washing my hands and face with it’s pale perfume.

Each leaf was so dark I wouldn’t imagine it had seen more than the most gentle rays of sunshine.

I drank the tea.

Beautiful, delicate orchid, cool spearmint like a pool of mountain water…honey cream…that made me sit in another moment different than the one I had been in before.

Drinking the tea, I drew back from the ledge and the sadness was interrupted.

Through cups and cups, I continued to let the tea lift my spirit.
(Not only through the way natural chemicals in tea helps the brain, but through the exceptional flavor of this particular tea.)

Time and again, tea has come to my aid when my body gets the best of me.

I’m feeling…better!

Note that I moved this to 2012 from 2011Tieguanyin because I had all my notes under the wrong vintage! Oh yes! All the nice comments from Steepsters are therefore lost but not forgotten! Alas…old age strikes again!

If it were not for the awesome Verdant website (as I have said before) I would be LOST! The information on how best to brew each tea is invaluable to a rookie like me. I know how to cook, but I don’t know how to fix all these varieties of tea! Fortunately I have been acquireing several brewing pots…Gaiwan, Gongfu, PIAO, regular pots made of porcelain and glass and stainless infusers. AND an electric kettle which is essential since here at high altitude water takes longer to boil. AND (wait for it) a PUER KNIFE! Ok, it’s really pretty! Trays and cozys etc. Ya’ll know what I mean. It’s like I put on roller skates with jet packs and am fast tracking through the World of Tea’s over bumps and through bushes.
Now and then someone lends a hand so that I don’t fall and hurt myself. Thanks to you all for that!

I used my PIAO 1 pot for each steep and 1tsp leaves to 4oz water.

1.The instructions for steeping are to flush first to begin opening the tight green leaves.
Then, gently introduce the water to the leaves for a 1minute steep. OK. This done, the liquor became medium light gold with a tinge of green. A light lilac floral scent introduced the tea to my nose before my first sip. The flavor was creamy and salty sweet again with soft lilac and an aftertaste of buttered yukon potatoes. This is juicy tea. I noticed a mineral taste on the finish and hint of vanilla on subsiquent sips. The creaminess is outstanding and expansive with the juiciness of the tea…it goes on and on.

2. My steeping timer got away from me. I overdid it! Oh did the leaves chuckle at my ignorance! In fact I need to mention that you just can’t use a teaball for these leaves. No way would I use a regular tea basket either. My 1 teaspoon of dry tight leaves turned into at least 1/2 cup or more of large green wet leaves! AND they pointed their tea fingers at me and laughed! “ROOKIE!”
But the last laugh is mine. The tea was darker, but not bitter and I drank it all up! Still tasting buttery and good but not as great as it could have been.

3. Giving greater attention to the timing and fearing that I had stripped the tea of all deliciousness, I went with 1minute and 10 seconds. That and no more. What happened next was surprizing! The tea came back to life! Great color, wonderful flavor, sweetness and elegant floral bouquet! This time the tea is not as sweet as at first, a little nutty and less salty. The juice is there with cream and butter. I fell into my memory fantasy (you know what I mean if you have read my reviews before)…and had a tea/food moment. Grandma is in the kitchen making vanilla custard pie and the flavor of a steaming bowl of mashed potatoes with melting butter sits on a big oak table next to a window on a warm Spring evening. A gentle breeze has picked up the scent of lilacs growing in the yard and it is wafting in past lace curtains, mixing with the scent of the potatoes, butter and vanilla. That’s this tea. (I must be hungry)

I was thinking about how or when I would drink this tea. Most Oolongs I prefer by themselves. Naked! If you must, noodles and lemon with olive oil and salt would be ok I suppose, with some chicken, or a light spinach salad. But, no garlic or heavy herbs or strong cheese. This is just too delicate. Grilled mozzerella on toast…nice.

Having my own cup of this one tonight!
Ack how is it quarter after 8, I have to do something productive.

Well I have to say, a waft of cinnamon hit me in the face after pouring water over the leaves. I couldn’t ask for a better thing to hit me in the face :D

Sipdown :(

… because I’m going to pick up my Verdant package and I need more room on my special Verdant wall. Also – they taste so much better when they’re fresh, so I need to just suck it up and drink the teas while they are fresh and delicious! So there. :)

Yummy today! I’m starting my job tomorrow, the shift is only 8:30-1 and you have to wear a white shirt. I am going to spill SOMUCH freaking tea on my white shirts! This is not cool.

But what is cool? This tea. Aw, now that I think of it, I never did get to try it iced! But hot it’s so good, so I’m not complaining ;)

Rich and smooth, yet textured and grainy. Savoury and sweet – I could stare into the cup and be taken away for hours.

Today’s cup of Laoshan is unique! (and delicious as always)

Today I’m getting a slight raisin taste (probably closer to currant) and cinnamon! It’s like a delicious dark custard dessert, perfectly spiced and I can’t stop sipping! Tastes and feels like it is sprinkled with sweet cocoa just a touch of cinnamon. Nothing like too much cinnamon to ruin a dessert (for me anyways!), and this one is juuuust a hint.

I steeped in boiling water for 4 minutes – so if I ever want to recreate this amazing dessert-like experience, I now have it logged for ever

I’ve been drinking more straight blacks lately, and the more I drink the more I find similar notes in them (chocolate, malty, fried potato, savoury tomato, etc!).

However, as I return to this tea this morning I am picking out notes unique to it! That is exciting to me, because it was one of the first straight black teas I tried, and I thought I could pick out the notes. Now I actually can! The dry smell was so super dark chocolaty that I actually got excited. This is a feat for me at 6:30 in the morning as I zombie shamble around getting ready for work.

Today was not a day to stand on ceremony- I just needed tea to get me through! 2 tsp in the travel mug with boiling water. Meant to steep it for 3 minutes, ended up steeping for 7! Tastes sweet and slightly malty without any additions, while giving me the push I needed to not yawn all morning (although I just yawned when I typed ‘yawn’ – happens all the time. Are you yawning now? ;) )

Today I’m getting waves of flavour starting with brisk and savoury and ending on a sweet honey note.

Happiness is a hot tea. Isn’t that how the song goes? ;)

Autumn Harvest:

mm oh I am in heaven.
There is a lot I want to say about this tea, the 2012 Spring Tieguanyin and Verdant tea as a whole, but I’m too overwhelmed to put it into words at the moment.

Suffice it to say, this is the second tea that has brought me to the emotional brink. It’s hard to “type” about – it has made me speechless, breathless.

More notes to come – but I just want to say, this one reminds me SO much of homemade roasted pumpkin seeds – which is one of my most favorite things in the world.

I’ll be back!

Backlogging:
Krystalyen shared this with me and I made a previous tasting note but this is a more official review:

I was not expecting to like it very much due to it having several flavor components that I inherently dislike. I have to say my eyes have been opened to trying things I may not normally care for! What you may not like in one blend can be completely different when in the hands of blend masters such as Verdant Tea!

Upon first sniff of the steeped tea I get hit with three essential aromas, chamomile, not one of my favorites, mint, which I am in-fact partial to, and chocolate which, well, I love.
I could do without the chamomile. To me chamomile is something I use in herbal healing, a medicine, not something I enjoy as a flavoring but can tolerate as a medicinal herb. Now I am very familiar with Verdant’s teas and I have to say I am excited about the blend of two excellent teas – Big Red Robe, and Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black. I am sure that the base of this tea is going to be splendid at least! The aroma is sweet, but I am not picking up any fennel or cinnamon in the aroma.

First sip: cocoa and mint, a relaxed mint, and a good strong but not overwhelming cocoa flavor. The tea is crisp and sparkling almost as if carbonated! Nice! Like a chocolate champagne tea! This I can live with! I also picked up the cinnamon resting gently in the background! The tea leaves a clean crisp after taste on the palate from the mints but is not taking over any of the flavors at all. This is a bright light juicy tea and again I am surprised by a tea that seemingly has heavy flavor components yet is not heavy at all.

As the tea cools some the chocolate notes come out so well and as I left the cup to my mouth the chocolate essence takes over mmmmm just like sipping hot cocoa by a campfire! But wait, there is that lifting mint again, and wait, that sparkle that awakens the senses, and wait, a slight cinnamon, spicy, boost. As good as this tea stands all on its own I am tempted to stick some marshmallows in there or at least a splash of milk and a dash of sugar! Perhaps on the re-steep in the name of exploration! I really am not one to put additives into such perfection but this is a tea that is so deeply layered in surprises and mystery that it would be almost a shame NOT to try a few things with it!

Again, cooling down a bit more there is that ingredient I do not like in tea, chamomile! you know what? Its really not bad! Somehow Verdant knows just how to make a fool like me appreciate what I already know to be a healthy additive! Also just as the chamomile comes out to the forefront a little, it has an assist from marigold! As if they come skipping forward holding hands merrily through the light sparkle!

What a great experience in a cup! This will go on my shopping list! Verdant never disappoints! I also want to thank my Steepster buddy for sharing this with me!