Imperial Breakfast

Another surprise from The Purrfect Cup! Thanks so much!

David!

You’re messin’ with me, right?

Laoshan Black, Yunnan Golden Buds, Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er, AND Big Red Robe??? I’m TOTALLY GAME!

Aroma-wise this has all sorts of things happening…but individually I can pick out a slight cocoa-powder type smell and I think it’s nifty!

First…I can taste the Pu-erh, then QUICKLY and BRIEFLY I can taste the Yunnan, then I can taste the Robe…the Robe seems to hang around a bit longer than the other two tastes.

As I continue to sip I can taste more natural cocoa notes. They are very nice!

I can also taste “rock” or “mineral” type oolong flavors a bit more as it starts to cool at room temp a bit.

Also after cooling at room temperature for a bit – the chocolately-cocoa-powder notes are more in the fore-front and the pu-erh seems to claim down quite a bit. It does become more malty, too! I REALLY appreciate this!

This is another morphing tea…many of you know I LOVE morphing teas. They make you think. They make you re-evaluate things.

This has a lot going on and appreciate everything this tea is and goes thru during the sip-process and that sip-process couldn’t be possible without the many people and processes behind the teas and tea blends. Thank you! Thank you for all you do! This is the sort of tea that makes you remember all of that…may we NEVER take any of that for granted!

Excellent!

I received this in a swap and I am 99% sure it came from The Purrfect Cup! I received two swaps in the mail that day and tore them open in a frenzied passion and may have mixed samples from the two envelopes!

When I opened the pouch, I had not looked it up yet, and seeing the golden tips immediately thought that this must be a typical breakfast blend with lots of Assam. But the smell of the package was sweet, almost dessert-like, so off I went to look up what steeping parameters were being used.
That is when I saw what the blend was. Hmmmm. Very unusual.

I love it when I can drink something with no additions and be happy with it. I feel better about taking in fewer calories (that is how I justify my almost nightly home-made chocolate shake – LOL!) and I have heard you absorb more antioxidants without milk added. I tried this plain, and behold! This was really great just as it is!

The aroma of the cup was cocoa-y, but the sip was full of dark oolong! I didn’t taste the puerh but their description says it is there to settle the stomach, and no doubt it adds some early-morning-get- you-going heft to the cup. There was no fish or horse farm aroma at all from the puerh, and I can really use early morning stomach settling instead of irritating it right off the bat!

This was good, and if you like breakfast blends and want something with heft (not too hefty) without resorting to builder’s tea and you aren’t married to the idea of Assam in your breakfast blend, this is an excellent choice. The oolong adds all the presence and body that is often lent by Assams in these blends and it lacks nothing. I drank the whole pot already. LOL! This is definitely worth buying, and makes breakfast pretty special.

Thank you, The Purrfect Cup!

It’s been a while since I went for a tea blend, but the recent tasting notes on this one stirred my curiosity enough to give it a go. I asked David for a sample of this when I saw him recently, and he was happy to send me home with enough for two drinking sessions. I just brewed it up in the past hour, needing to shake off my grog from the long caffeinated work day and night of dancing that preceded my very reluctant rise from the bed this morning.

I put two and a half teaspoons of this blend in my Ruci pot and proceeded with my typical gongfu brewing routine for Chinese blacks: immediate wash, then 5-second first steep, followed by +5 seconds for each infusion following. My initial reaction, the moment the liquor passed my lips on the first steep, exactly echoed the one-sip-wow! that ssajami mentioned recently. There is a beautiful sparkling bite at the front of the tongue as soon as I take each sip. I implicate the formidable alliance of Laoshan Black, Big Red Robe and Xingyang Imperial in yielding this rich sparkle through their combined command of that quality. This is true synergy! The Yunnan Golden Buds further enrich and sweeten the deal, making for a very luxurious texture and flavor profile.

If my description of the above synergy is framed in the language of organized crime, it’s because drinking this blend has made me a bit shifty-eyed, as though it were too good to be legal. I have tasted each of the teas in this blend separately, and they are all great and powerful teas, but I wasn’t expecting (really… could not imagine) the indomitable strength that would come of their conspiring together. I imagine this blend is like an exacting and perfectly organized plot to execute a jewel heist of historic proportions… and all of its culprits managed to capture their loot and escape without a hitch.

This blend is super, and upon trying it I have new respect for David’s taste… which is something I thought I already had the highest respect possible for. What an excellent surprise this was! I will definitely be buying a supply of this blend, and exploring more of the Alchemy offerings.

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 made this as my morning tea today. One sip and my eyes opened wide in delighted surprise. My first thought? Wow! I was surprised by how utterly awesome it was. I was expecting a breakfast blend flavor, and was greeted by a rich, malty, complex flavor – way, way beyond the usual breakfast blend taste. It makes you sit up and take notice.

On second thought, this shouldn’t have surprised me – I have yet to taste a tea from Verdant that was not in a class of it’s own; the teas included in this blend are each excellent.

Problem is I gulped it down so fast, I am now at a loss now to describe it’s flavor. I will have to make another cup when I get home to savor more slowly.

I was a little fuzzy headed this morning after a night of tossing and turning, so instead of having my morning green tea I thought I would start the day with a kick. Breakfast Tea sounded like what I needed, but my tin of Scottish Blend was empty. Hmm, good opportunity to try the Verdant Tea Imperial Breakfast for the first time.

The aroma of the dry leaves, fresh from the bag, are truly intoxicating. Mostly Laoshan Northern Black, with a touch of the big leaves of Yunnan and a bare hint of oolong. After 4 minutes of steeping, the color of the tea is not very dark, but the aroma is amazing and I can’t wait any longer.

The first taste is the wonderful fruity cocoa flavor of the Northern Black and an aftertaste of the golden Yunnan. Smooooth! The pu’erh and oolong are playing a game of tag on the back of my tongue bringing a full body and woodsy roundness. My mind is searching for some kind of jolt that usually comes with Breakfast Blends, but instead there is just the slow, steady unfolding of warm flavors. Very nice! It is like awakening from a deep slumber from the sounds of the forest or pleasant music instead of the jarring sound of an alarm clock.

I did my meditation, prepared for the day, and now am enjoying another cup of this beautiful tea. The second steeping brings forth new adventures from the blend of teas. I think this is so much more than just for breakfast… I can drink this all day long. :)

This is the last of my generous sample from Bonnie. Thanks Dear!

Gratefully, I’ve already ordered more from verdanttea.com, & if you like it or want to try it, better order some right away, because it’s being replaced with the Fall blend, any day now!

Smooth, deep, rich, mineralizing, awesome plain or sweet.
A perfect tea for my bubble bath.
Enough said.

I brewed this for some afternoon tea. Rich and complex with every sip. I can make out the Laoshan Black, and the Golden Buds perfectly. There is a hint of mustiness in the background from the Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er. Its nicely balanced and a vacation from other normal “Breakfast Blends” one may drink.

The Alchemy Blend Adventure continues…:)

I wish I liked more tea.

I wish I could be like many of you here who seem to like pretty much any quality tea, no matter what type it is-but it is not to be. I’ve been expanding a bit more beyond the teas that I am used to and I have found that I have definite preferences-new things I like and new things I don’t. I enter the process open-minded, but there are just some things my senses don’t care for and Laoshan black is one of them. It’s kinda disheartening to hear people rave about a tea that I just don’t care for. I’d like to join the club exalting various great teas and have people think I know a lot about tea because I agree with them. But no words-no matter how cogent-can convince my senses that they enjoy something when they just don’t.

I KNEW this was not your typical breakfast tea when I ordered it. Still, it seemed worth a shot. However, by the time I got around to trying this tea, I have already discovered that I was less than enthralled with 2 of its components (Laoshan Black and Big Red Robe). So this puts a lot of pressure on Yunnan Golden Buds and Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er. Considering I’ve never had Pu’er before (and that there’s probably not much in it), it’s mostly up to the Golden Buds-those poor buds never stood a chance.

The best thing about this tea is how striking all those golden buds look mixed in with the Laoshan Black leaves-very nice. Sadly, the black overwhelms those buds and I can’t really taste them. I taste the chocolate notes in the black, but it’s not remotely sweet. I eat 72% dark chocolate (not sweet enough for most) and I taste enough sweetness. The chocolate notes in the black are bland. Thick, heavy and bland. At least they are NOT bitter, like unsweetened chocolate. Not sure whether I can taste the pu-er. I catch a glimpse of mineral now and then from the oolong. Even if I enjoyed this more, I can’t imagine wanting this as my first cup in the morning. For that, I guess I prefer your typical Assam/Yunnans straight or in blends. But, even as an afternoon tea, this just doesn’t work for me.

I never added this to any of my Verdant orders as, well, I have enough breakfast teas. So I thought. But it showed up in one of my tea of the month packages (I’ve fallen so far behind!) and I finally tried it this morning. We had it along with a pretty decadent breakfast of some bacon and avocado followed by some homemade raspberry-lemon muffins and, why not, coconut cream chocolate fudge.

Well, Imperial Breakfast was amazing with all of these rich flavours. It really accomplishes what the write-up describes; it’s bold and rich but not bitter or too astringent. It’s perfect. Roasty, malty, cocoa-y, and smooth. I could really pick out the Big Red Robe and the Laoshan Black, which was awesome as they’re two of my favourites. The Yunnan also contributes to the sweetness and great body, I think, but it’s balanced with the others so well that I don’t notice the Yunnan spiciness so much. Once I make it through some of my Laoshan Black, I think I’ll need to grab some of this.

Interesting. When brewed does not even smell like tea – more like liqeur/confectionary stuff.

The taste is interesting as well – for the first 3 steepigns it is so perfectly merged that I cannot even say it’s a blend – it is that self-sufficient . Astringency is almost non-existent in this too – where other teas cover your taste buds on the tongue’s sides like a thick layer of snow this one rolls like a snowball through the middle only affecting the sides a miniscule amount.

Starting from 4th, maybe 5th steeping yunnan black seems to come to the front, then … I still have to see :) Won’t rate it just yet, but I think I like it.

P.S. Steepster really needs to allow steeping time slider to start from 1-3s :)

I put off writing a review of this blend until every leaf was sadly gone. My wife and I have nearly swapped tastes as I am leaning more toward tea after years of coffee and she is doing the opposite. (I guess working 12hr nursing shifts in the emergency department overnights can quite reasonably do that to a person!) This is absolutely one of those brews that went from a full bag to completely gone in less than a week even with us both trying to pull 4 and 5 steeps out of it throughout the days we enjoyed it together!!

small plug for a company I have no affiliation with other than loving their product – Ambrosia Honey Company’s raw honey from Longmont, CO blends AMAZINGLY well with this tea for breakfast, especially when it’s already on your biscuit with a smidge of butter..

I started out on my tea experience as an exclusively black tea drinker, so I am admittedly partial to the noir. This one warms my heart as it brings in a bawdy and rounded zing that really delivered on setting things in motion on days when I had a full plate or buzzing my head soft to enjoy the WSJ on my day off. It’s like it knew what I needed it to be. That’s weird, and creepy, and crazy, and true. Try it if you are looking for another diversion for black breakfast, but be warned – you may end up with pounds of it in your cupboard!

This is a very rich and deep blend with many dimensions to it. I was impressed.

Today I visited Met and after that went to La Maison du Chocolat to get some ice cream. Turns out they have a cafe in the back selling among other things some tea. It was $8 per cup. Wow … That’s some price even for Manhattan.

I’m going to be honest, the main reason I went with Imperial Breakfast is because I saw that even though this blend has many different ingredients which all have different prices, the blend costs the same as it’s lowest priced ingredient (I think). I like to feel like I found a discount, as tiny as it is.

I’d say this is a solid blend. There is a mild chocolate taste and smell to it. That’s all I can really say about specific taste. With Verdant tea, I’m always tempted to keep steeping the tea past its limit. I think I can safely say with this particular tea, if you use 3 grams of leaves and a 1/2 litre of water for each steep, by steep 8 you are going to have some gross tasting tea. It’s good stuff, but don’t be greedy like me.