6768 Tasting Notes
The aroma is AWESOME!!!! Magnificent, even! I’m assuming there is more than one kind of apple in there from what I can see the colors of the ‘skins’ are different…not sure…but great! I LOVE that aspect! The first infusion was very apple and a nice juicy and semi-tart apple, indeed! The 2nd infusion was less apple upfront but you could still taste it in the aftertaste and it lingers nicely. The Oolong pops thru more in the 2nd infusion.
This is one of the better flavored APPLE teas I have tried. Nice flavor.
Something else I noticed about the apple part is a hint of lemon…almost like when you cut up an apple and squeeze apple juice over top to keep the apple fresher-longer…
And there was sugary-creamy notes I picked out too which I will say is the toffee part the description is talking about…
Nicely done! Very aromatic and flavorful!!!
2nd infusion…
about a minute or so
darker in color and in flavor yet still mellower than I thought it would be but I am ok with that – it’s a nice yet different tasting pu-erh. The aroma is more like a pu-erh but still not something I can’t handle…I am grateful for that, indeed!
Multiple Infusion test on this one today…
1st infusion
25-30 secs
Smells a little more like Pu-erh than the other Pu-erh I loved so much from Verdant…but, just a little musky…not too much, really. It is sweet as well. There are woodsy hints, too. The first infusion wasn’t overly flavorful but the flavor I did get was nice and mellow yet semi-malty-sweet. The color of the post infusion was surprisingly near clear with a slight brown-yellow slash as well…stay tuned for more infusions…
Preparation
Yes- I remember the first time I drank this tea. The man who represents the tiny Xingyang workshop was so excited because I was telling him about coming off trying a bunch of murky shu pu’ers. He brewed this up with a sparkle in his eyes and held it up to the light. He described it as crystalline and explained that the opacity of a pu’er can be a quality indicator. If the pu’er is too opaque and dark,he explained that it was probably fermented too quickly and actually composted. This one is almost 15 years old, and still it is clear. That is good handling. I think you pinpointed the “mellow” flavor that Xingyang is striving for. They do very slow and long fermentation not in huge piles that are sprayed with water but spread out and allowed to absorb the natural humidity of southern Yunnan. The careful process prevents the pungent bit of the average shu. I have been on the phone with my friend at Xingyang, Wang Shilin, and he is sending me some more great stuff from their workshop to try.
3rd infusion
a little more than 30 secs
starting to smell a little more like a walk thru the woods! Sweet-woodsy and floral with a hint of ‘earth’. subtle but a change-up from first two infusions.
Not as sweet but still pretty juicy. Back to being creamy and smoother than the 2nd infusion tho. Interesting!
More sweet-floral notes are happening…but not overly-so!
I like this! Nice!
I honestly can’t believe this is a Pu-erh! Lovely! I’m only on my first infusion and I will say right away I am a fan…
1st infusion is light and sweet! Cooling…mouthwatering…creamy, even! Nice hint of floral in the aftertaste.
Multiple infusion notes coming soon!
Preparation
FREE Shopping and samples with orders over $10 :) – not sure about overseas tho…where are you located again!?
Just found this…
Verdant Tea ships domestic and international, and gives you multiple shipping options in checkout.
-We are pleased to offer FREE priority mail shipping to anywhere in the United States on orders over $10. Priority mail takes 2-3 days on average.
-For important orders when you need a guaranteed delivery date and a tracking number, we offer UPS Ground shipping. This is $15, flat rate and arrives within 4 business days.
-For international orders we offer $7.50 flat rate 1st class mail shipping. This takes up to 3 weeks, but usually no more than two weeks.
-Free 1st class USPS international shipping is provided for orders over $50.
-For more urgent orders, we offer $15 priority mail shipping, which usually takes about 1 week.
All orders will be shipped within one business day, and you will be notified by email of the shipment. If you need your package faster than our delivery options, please contact us, and we will arrange express mail, or FEDEX for you.
I’m not sure how that works, honestly :) I’ll get an email addy for ya! Tell them The SororiTEA Sisters ‘sent ya’!!!
[email protected] – He’s super cool!!!! He’s also on steepster, too!
Hi! I am glad you are enjoying one of my favorite pu’ers. The creaminess is ridiculous considering that it is first a pu’er, and second, only 5 years old. I am saving up for a personal cache of this one to age.
About Shipping: I just looked up Canada, and the Post Office and it is actually cheaper to ship to Canada than other destinations. I could do free shipping to Canada, but it would be 1st class mail. Priority comes in at 11.95. If you would like to place an order, you can select domestic free shipping at checkout, or if we have to do a workaround, I will send you an invoice. In the meantime, I will try and figure out how to trick the paypal shipping calculator to allow exceptions (like Canada.) Thanks for the good question! My email is [email protected]
I just emailed you David, please ignore it… since you answered my question here so perfectly :)
thanks for the info! let me know if you figure out the workaround.
Done and Done. I love getting questions, because I probably hadn’t thought about the issue before. I just created a shipping option in checkout for Canada only. It is free over $10, just like domestic. That should work.
Thanks!
AMAZING!
Lovely!
The others reviews are all high and I agree! This is stellar!
As soon as the liquor hits the tongue it IS quite candy-like…nice and sweet! Then it’s smooth, creamy, buttery, and sweet. There is a lovely smooth-floral after taste – much like honeysuckle! I’m going to do multiple infusions on this one!
WOW!
After reading the many glowing reviews I had to have it. I was impressed when I sent a message requesting a sample of the Big Red Robe and they actually replied. Two messages to Harneys went unanswered. So, to show my appreciation I ordered 2 oz of the Sundried Jing Shan which you also raved about….
Oh yes – that was a goodie, too! Verdant is a great Customer Service type company! The owner views steepster quite a bit! Neat guy! LOVE his stories and descriptions! He is surely one of the top tea educators in my book! Super nice!!!! VERY Knowledgeable!
Charles: I am horrified to hear the Harney and Sons didn’t reply! that has never happened to me. They have been in the process of starting up a whole new website for a while and have been fixing the bugs so that may have been part of the problem. I was a sort of beta tester for the new site and I did find a thing or two still not working just yesterday.