Spring Harvest Laoshan Green

So I was just sitting here quietly, recuperating after a weekend with my parents and little to no choice when it comes to tea. Two kinds, Steepsterites. TWO KINDS! That’s like… nothing! At least it’s good stuff, because it’s AC Perch’s own bags with real leaf inside that I bought for my Mum for Christmas once (and now seem to be drinking for her, because she sticks to her cheap stuff and saves these for me. headdesk ) So anyway, I was sitting here, minding my own business when suddenly,

WHAM!!!

I was hit by an unusual, but strong craving for green tea. A craving that meant serious business!

Nothing for it but to comply, then. I remembered that Autumn_Hearth sent me a number of green teas that I never finished sampling, so I thought dipping into those would be an excellent thing to do under these circumstances. I chose this one because I made a pot to share with Husband and the amount of leaf was Just Right for this purpose.

Bear in mind now, though, that my nose appears to be wanting to close up again so my sense of smell and taste may be ever so slightly off. Also the fact that I just ate a Fisherman’s Friend… Yeah. Ultra-good circumstances to try something new in, yes?!

I don’t usually bother much with the description of the colour of the tea, because tea is tea-coloured and I wind up repeating myself a lot if I do. So for me, that’s a fairly irrelevant bit of information unless something really strikes me about it, like it’s unusually dark for the type, or if it reminds me of something or if it’s, I don’t know, blue or something. Okay, maybe not blue, but you get my point. Unusualness.

This one struck me as being exactly the same colour as a gooseberry when I first poured the water on. I have to admit that I’m disappointed that it didn’t retain this colour all the way through, but I wasn’t really expecting it either.

What little I’m capable of smelling is totally floral. I’m not one of those people who can really tell the scent of different flowers apart, so either stuff is floral or it isn’t. This particular one, however, reminds me of lavender just off the top of my head, so I’m going to call it a lavender note.

That’s all I can find in my present state, though. I’m sure there must be more to it, but my nasal mucus membranes are not currently interested in participating in the experience.

Based on this, I fully expected something with a strong floral flavour, and what I actually got was a surprise. It doesn’t taste floral at all. Not even slightly.

There’s something vegetal going on here, which strikes me as borderline spinach-y, and then there’s something behind it that seems kind of salty.

Salty? O.o How absurd. I know other people have consistently found salty notes before, but I’ve never in my life really been able to pick that particular one out. It has always struck me as a pretty bizarre note to have in green tea, but I’m definitely getting it here. And I say again, O.o

I sincerely doubt I’m getting the full picture here, my health situation being what it is (I really thought I was finished having a cold! Why is it coming back?), but what little aspects I am able to taste here are very pleasant and definitely hitting that green craving spot.

I think Husband is enjoying it as well. He finished his off before me and accepted seconds. This wouldn’t happen if he didn’t like it.

AMAZINGLY good. So incredibly good. OH my!

The dry leaf is incredibly aromatic, with strong “green” notes – green as in fresh grass clippings and dark, leafy green vegetables. Sweet and fresh and vibrantly green. The brewed tea maintains that strong green scent, although it is softer than that of the dry leaf.

The flavor is sweet. It has a thick (think velvety thick … and soft!) mouthfeel, with a delicious creamy note that melds beautifully with the sweetness. Easily one of the creamiest, sweetest “pure” (aka unflavored) green teas I’ve ever tasted. Smooth and rich and silky, with a mild vegetal tone. There is some astringency to this, but I find that most of it is softened by the creaminess, making the sip from start to finish remarkably smooth and well-rounded.

This may sound weird, but, this reminds me of fresh milk. Not fresh from the grocery store milk, but fresh from the farm milk … not a dairy farm, but, a small, family farm that allows its cows to graze on meadows of grass. Milk that hasn’t been processed or pasteurized or homogenized or any other such thing – just pure, fresh, unadulterated milk where you can still taste hints of the grass. I haven’t had milk like that in many more years than I care to admit to, but, the flavor of this tea brought those delicious memories of visiting my childhood friend’s farm back to me.

Shared with my parents this morning. Dad said it tasted like cat pee (I think he was half serious), but my mom enjoyed it. Tasty and vegetal for me, as always. 1min at 170F.

I’m not a huge green tea lover but this is definitely one of the nicer ones I have tried lately. I need to write my review since I just finished the sample! It has a wonderful fresh and nutty smell when you open the bag. The tea is super mellow and rich, has a walnut taste and a bit of butter in the finish. I would recommend it without hesitation.

Like a lot of green teas this one is a finicky creature and is easy to ruin if you steep it with water that is too hot or steeping time that is too long. This makes it difficult for me to enjoy at work where I don’t have the benefit of being able to stand around with my timer and thermometer! I was a skeptic but am amazed at how much better my greens are when I keep the water temp. lower & the steeping time short.

I have enjoyed these Laoshan green teas very much, thanks to Verdant for making them available…

Thank you LiberTEAS for this great sample!

I must say this is one great green tea!

There is much more found in this tea than grassy notes only; there is a nice thickness to this one, as well. It seemed full and creamy even on my third steeping of these leaves. The fluid is smooth, slightly sweet and has great substance.

No wonder why this one is such a favorite among many of the reviews! I’m hoping to stock up on this tea in the near future.

Upon opening the bag I see a dark green tea. I get whiffs of a creamy, vegetal tea with a hint of smokiness. Brewed this up gaiwan style at 175F. The wet leaves smell sweet, vegetal and creamy.

Taste reflects the smell. There is first a sweetness that hits your tongue and a wonderful green vegetal taste with a creaminess coating your tongue. At the end of the sip is a slight saltiness with a hint of smokiness.

In later steepings I started to get hints of something else and couldn’t quite put my finger on it (or would that be my tongue?). Searching though other tasting notes I found what I was looking for…walnuts. I believe I found that in Amy Oh’s tasting note.

This tea by no means blew my mind like most Verdant teas do, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a good tea. I just find Verdants green teas to be a little less mind-blowing than their other teas.

I’ve had students since 3:00, which is when I started steeping this lovely green tea in my Gaiwan. I followed the instructions (3 sec for the first 3 steepings, 6 for the rest):
First off, the dry smell is like green beans (which for wierdos like me means it’s appealing…lol)

The first steeping of this was luscious! It was like creamed baby spinach, with butter melted on top. It really had the mouth feel of melted butter. I don’t mean that in an oily way, but it made the taste buds that would have tasted butter sing.

I combined the next 2 steepings in my small glass teapot (that looks like a miniature koolaid pitcher from the old commercials) & they were like spring peas & butter on a bed of oatmeal. Not as buttery of a mouth feel as the first one, but it’s still there. The color is a beautiful bright yellow green.

With steepings 4 & 5, it’s more of a green bean flavor, a hint of bitterness at the very back of my tongue, & a creaminess.

Steepings 6 & 7: Bitterness fading, a little astringent, but still has a bright green flavor!

This tea has a brightness to it, like a smile on a sunny day! At the end of steeping, I added a few drops each of toasted sesame oil & fish sauce to the leaves, & it was a tasty, mildly bitter but flavorful appetizer before dinner!

So there are two absolutes in my tea-drinking habits:
1. I will only like a green tea if it is heavily flavored, and even then, it’s iffy.
2. I take my teas with sugar.

And yet, here I am with a straight green with absolutely nothing added to it, and I’m loving it. Loving it! I’ve been absolutely aching to try this tea since I first started chatting with the owner of Verdant Tea, David, about tea folklore and he shared the story of this tea with me.

I even broke out the YiXing teapot we got as a wedding gift and then never used. This is lovely. Incredibly, wonderfully lovely. It tastes green and crisp and delicious. And yes, we both taste snap peas!

I’ve enjoyed the other teas from Verdant so far very much, but I’m gonna refrain from rating this one as I feel like I HAVE to be brewing it wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I like this tea and I think it’s quite a good one, but I’ve been trying hard to see why everyone seems to be blown away by it and why I paid so much for it, but I can’t. To me it tastes very similar to the dragonwell that I have in my cupboard. I’m really not trying to be critical, I just want to figure out if it’s my fault before I waste the rest brewing it incorrectly. Any suggestions?

I’m always amazed at green teas that are so sharply, deeply, assertively vegetal as wet leaf but which produce thick, soft cups.

This is one of those teas.

Suger snap peas. Fresh from a garden, not the store. Maybe just a bit over-ripe, a bit of the sugar has gone bitter, but that’s what makes them nutritious, right?

The color of this liqueur is fantastic in my pale green gaiwan with the emerald koi around the edges.

This is the 2012 Spring Harvest.

Tiny, gently curled dark green leaves. The first steep smells lightly green, and sweet. Sugar snap peas is not a bad way of describing it – it’s a fresh garden green, but not the rich heaviness you get in summer. I’m not getting creaminess or milk, exactly, but it does seem to fill my mouth in the rich way of fresh milk. The second steep has a richer flavor and color, and makes my mouth water.

Finishing the first two steeps while eating some leftover homemade pasta alfredo seems almost blasphemous… but they go really well together :D The heavy cream sauce is making all of the light green tea flavors more distinct in comparison.

2.5g leaf (about 1 heaping tsp) in my 3.5oz glass teapot, gongfu style

This lasted well through six infusions, adding a couple seconds for each, and started getting weak around the seventh. I think I’ll steep one more time – longer, a minute or two – then see if the leaves are indeed a tasty snack!

ETA: the last steep was still quite mild, but the leaves were tender and sweet, not the least bit bitter (as I expected). I’m not normally a leaf chewer, but if you are I’d expect these to be a tasty treat!

I was encouraged that I could brew this in glass with simple pouring and a strainer, so it was my consolation tea after my gaiwan cracked this morning. Mmm smooth, velvety consolation. It was probably my imagination running away with itself, but when I opened this bag for the first time I smelled cool crisp spring air. Such a deep, green, beany smell. It is a rich green without being overwhelming, it could be said to be both light and full.

I had thought that I had ruined the second steep it was a bit astringent, but it survived into the third unharmed, all sweet, creamy and with a hint of nuttiness just starting to develop. Just need to brew with care. My toddler has gulped down the last two cooled cups and says its very good. Husband says its green but not his cup of tea. Oh well, more for us. Later infusions reveal a minty quality.

I’m not capable of describing much else today either but I do want to say that I have been retrying a lot of the green teas in my possession and while I have a few nice ones I was beginning to feel that greens in general were a bit boring. This tea reminds me how lovely they can be. I will continue to enjoy this tonight and looking forward to comparing it to my complimentary sample of the Autumn Harvest and their Dragonwell style counterparts. Thanks to David and He Family for offering such an exceptional tea.

Toasty, Nutty, and Sweet are my first thoughts about this tea…but here is a more in-depth look…

I love the way these leaves look! They are like green-grey thin curly-Q’s. They smell like a semi-grassy green and a vegetable-esque green type of combo!

The taste is very nice. A hint of grass but more roasted or toasted nutty-goodness (maybe more almond or cashew to be more specific on the nuttiness) and I love the sweetness! There are hints of lettuce-type juiciness to this too! On the end of the sip it’s a tad buttery!

This green tea isn’t to be taken for granted! It quite complex and I LOVE that!

The after taste lingers of peas and sweet onion but also a creamier green tea! WOW! I like this! This is a FAB Green Tea!

I’ve finished off the pouch of this tea & now I’m a bit sad as I don’t have any more. I’ve spent a boatload on other teas and held off on a Verdant Tea order. I know I’ll have others to drink, but Verdant teas are so special.

I almost didn’t want to make this last cup since the leaves at the bottom of the pouch were a tiny bit crushed and very small. In my experience, the last cup made from tiny leaves is usually very astringent and not nearly as enjoyable as the first. This particular cup isn’t the best cup I’ve had and it’s actually on the verge of being too bitter, but I still taste those flavors that I love. It’s grassy and a little bit creamy. I liked the Summer Harvest more (it was more creamy.. and those notes of soy milk… mmm..) and have yet to try the Autumn Harvest.

This has been a solid and very nice green tea to have in the cupboard. I’ll be looking forward to buying more in the future!

Trying green tea again today… the leaves smelled great.
And hurray, I like it! Oooh complex and interesting.
A nice fresh green flavor upfront that fades into a tin aftertaste that makes the green taste like something mixed with petrichor.
It is slightly creamy, I’m thinking of creamed green beans? There is a great back of throat feel that lingers in a buttery creamy way. This tea is really like having a great bowl of vegetables on a rainy day.
I feel like the more tasting notes I make the more permission I give myself to be incredibly associative. It’s helpful to me to look back at, probably not too helpful to everyone else though!
Listening to Stranger in Moscow which is one of my favorite “rainy day” songs – perfect compliment.

O devoured tea …
nary drop, nor bud, nor twig
yet escapes my heart

I am drinking this in a tall glass and just like everything else from Verdant it has won me over. The aroma and flavor are nothing short of superb….

As summer really sets in in Minnesota, I do as my tea friends do and drink hot green tea to cool down. This is usually my first choice. I add the leaves to a glass tumbler, and pour in under-boiling water. When the leaves sink, the tea is ready to drink. This one has never gone bitter for me. The first time He Qinqing, the farmer that provides this tea, served it to me in a glass and I watched it sit for 5 minutes, I was worried about it oversteeping. What are you supposed to do? Tell the tea farmer how to steep tea?

Of course, she was right. I find this to be the best way to drink Laoshan teas, followed by pouring back and forth between glass pitchers, which is pretty cool as well since the leaves start dancing around.

This is a green tea for people who don’t get excited about green tea. It steeps uprich and creamy, with way more body than you might expect, but never edges towards dry or astringent. If anybody else has tried different steeping methods, I love to hear how people brew it up. My suggestion for July: Cold-Steep in the refrigerator with leaves and cold water for 8-10 hours for a full bodied iced tea.

I am not a big green tea lover. At all. I actually have a bit of a dislike for it, but I tried this First Picking Spring Laoshan Green once again a few days ago. I had been drinking it in the spring and early summer but had ignored it for a while simply because my preferences of drinking pu’er and oolong was setting in once again.

So I pulled this out and made it in a porcelain gaiwan. From memory, I thought that I could get away with steeping this one a little hotter than usual…I tried 200 degrees and had absolutely no problem with about a dozen steepings. This tea could have easily lasted for quite a bit longer than that, but for me a dozen steepings is enough with green tea. One of the most incredible qualities of this tea lies in its cooling, almost fresh spearmint like mouthfeel which builds up as time goes on. I think that in simply trying and comparing this one to other great Chinese green teas, it is obvious that it is coming from a much different climate. It is not as hearty or grassy as many greens, and is going to have much more of a delicate personality. This is not a weak tea however, it simply insists upon being sweet and candylike rather than just “grassy”. In that respect, it is one of the best green teas I have ever tried! It has so much to say, and is worthy of being a part of a regular rotation of teas, even for those of us who tend to steer clear of greens in the first place.

I tried three 8 oz steepings with 1 teaspoon of these leaves, 2 min at about 175F each time.

The dry leaves smell like dry hay and, unexpectedly, chocolate.

1st
The leaves partially unfurled. The liquor has a powerful nutty aroma that I can smell with my face feet away from the cup as I pour it. Putting my nose down in the cup gives the nutty aroma plus a weaker aroma of something like something with sauteed onions. The appearance is a very light yellow green liquor, crystal clear.

The taste is light and smooth, with a slightly creamy feel and a body that is surprising for something so faint in color that only steeped 2 minutes.

This has a strong nutty flavor and a pleasant amount of light bitterness. There is little sweet and less than gum-tingling astringency. Swishing around my mouth turns the nutty flavor to something more like coconut. There is a sweet and bitter aftertaste, with a faint bitter coming in first and then a stronger sweet remaining.

This cup of tea went fast.

2nd
There are several nice sized dots of tea oil floating on the surface of this cup. The liquor is greener and darker in color. There is significantly less nutty aroma. The creaminess is gone, leaving the nutty flavor and some bitterness. Astringency is more present.

There is a slight vegetal, green flavor moving in reminding me of, edamame?! The nutty flavor gets some mint character.

The aftertaste makes me think “Wow.” It is an almost tangible sweet with some floral notes.

The nuttiness is stronger and harsher. I make my rating based on this more complex and interesting cup.

My stomach feels full and sloshy, and I’m not sure where this tea is going (will it get meaner?), but I forge ahead. . .

3rd
The color is lighter and much more brown than green. There is an aroma of steamed edamame over the cup, but the aroma is light overall.

This taste gets an “ooohh” from me; it tastes like the water used to steam a batch of edamame but with a sweet kick, and not sugar sweet, but tea sweet. The edamame is the only real flavor note. Bitterness is gone, and a bit of creaminess has come back.

The “ka-pow” aftertaste is gone, replaced by just a respectable sweet aftertaste.

My fears were unfounded. The 2nd steep gave up all the leaves’ fierceness. This cup is mellow and friendly. The volume of the flavor is on the order of something like the first steep of Tazo China Green Tips.

I appreciate that this adventure in a cup has been made available in an affordable sampler. I think I could be happy enjoying just the first and second steeps here.