teabird

Xingyang Chrysanthemum Pu'er from Verdant Tea

teabird drank Xingyang Chrysanthemum Pu'er by Verdant Tea

I was dubious about this when I first smelled the dry leaf, but the taste is actually rather amazing. Verdant’s pu’er blends are really bringing me around. The smell is mostly spice (edit: no elderberries, just juniper, coriander, and holy basil); a bit strange on it’s own, but the flavor of the brewed pu’er really brings it together. That earthy sweetness unites everything. It tastes like coming in from the cold – sweet air from outside, with woodsmoke and spice and warmth inside. This will be lovely to have on hand as the weather gets colder.

I’ve steeped 4 times so far and expect several more.

3g leaf, 4oz water

2012-11-06 16:29:52 -0500

Boiling

1 min 0 sec

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gmathis 2012-11-06 20:01:27 -0500

Interesting! I tried a chrysanthemum tea once and it just tasted like stale, dead flowers.

teabird 2012-11-06 20:54:31 -0500

Fortunately, the chrysanthemum was not a prominent flavor in this one! At least not to me, and I usually notice it because it tastes like chamomile and I strongly dislike chamomile. I found this much more spicy/earthy than floral, so if the rest of the blend sounds intriguing I’d still recommend it.

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Some notes on ratings:

I’d have separate rating scales for tea types if that were possible (probably Black, Flavored Black, Darjeeling/Dark Oolong, White/Green/Light Oolong, and Herbal) because the flavors and quality markers are just too different. A flavored black rated 100 isn’t better than every oolong I’ve ever drunk, just delicious for a flavored black.

Ratings are a combination of my enjoyment and the perceived quality – I do often demote teas a few points for artificial flavorings, small quantity of steeps supported, or weakness of flavor (requiring extra leaf).

I pay less attention to the number than the order of my ratings; I don’t necessarily keep a stock of everything rated 80+, but if two breakfast blends are rated 82 and 84 I consistently enjoy the 84 more.

And in case it’s not obvious? I am not an expert. I don’t even know what I like until I taste it sometimes, but I’m ok with that :) I like learning to like new teas, as well as enjoying the comfort of familiar ones.