Hand Picked Summer Tieguanyin

This is my 400th Review on Steepster!!!

First I want to thank Verdant for this sample that came with my last order. I saved it for this 400th review. (You like the red?!)

This tea is from the Fugian County of Anxi.

From the moment I snipped open the foil packet of tea, I knew I was going to be taken along on a fragrant journey. The tea leaves had a strong floral aroma that reminded me of having pancakes with berries and powdered sugar in a garden filled with flowers.

I chose a tasting bowl and cup set so that I could do small infusions. (My goal was to do the whole 18 rounds of Steepings!)

All through the rounds the color of the liquor changed very little. It was a pale yellow-green and faded slightly towards steep 16.
The fragrance of the leaves were very floral with a slight vegital tone in the beginning which began to reverse as the steepings continued. There was always a good floral scent.

So, how did this tea taste?

I’ve been sitting for hours thinking about this tea and the 16 steepings that I poured (all of which I will gladly repeat again).

I want to write about the flavor but the experience was more than a straight up flavor review with a list of steepings.

As I began the first few tastings, (which were the most floral) I was distracted, as is the case most times, by the newness of the tea. I ask myself, “What is this flavor here, is it juicy, creamy or astringent?”
It takes a few rounds before my brain and my mouth catch up to each other and I begin to hear the tea speaking. At that point, I have to step out of the way. The mind chatter has to calm down.

When I became quiet inside, I was able to enjoy the tea more, and remembered a time sitting on the beach in Half Moon Bay just listening to the waves crash on the beach. I always stopped to buy flowers from the growers along Highway 1. That area is known for flowers running all over the hills next to the Pacific Ocean. Star and Asian Lilies, Tulips and Mums. I bought flowers from that area at the Farmers Market every Friday by my job in Foster City.

This tea reminded me of those fragrant oceanside flowers rolled out like a carpet in the warm sunshine but cooled by the mist from the sea.
The same area was a growers haven for green beans and Asian vegetables. So, there it was. The flowers and sweet vegetables swirled together harmoniously like the flavor of the tea.

One more thing I must mention.

There was the most delightful creaminess, which I thought at first was butter because it was so thick. Then I changed my mind and said it was thick fresh cream. (I smacked my lips!)
The feeling isn’t the one you have after eating an ice cream, but the one you have after the first bite of a cooked pudding when it coats your mouth.

The tasting notes on the Verdant website are much more detailed than mine. Worth reading. Mine are simpler today.

I’m feeling a wee bit nostalgic. Eight months have gone by and I’ve made so many friends on Steepster. If you are like me, the little personal messages and encouragements that go on in the comments and behind the reviews are what floats this boat. This is all about tea and more isn’t it!

THANK YOU

Amazing. And if that one word isn’t enough, I’ve outlined my entire tasting experience with this tea below. Seriously though – Amazing.

The leaves smell incredible. They are so fresh smelling, with some creamy overtones and some sweet hay notes.
For the first steeping I did around 4 seconds (after the initial rinse). The flavors are very smooth. OMG this is lingering on my tongue. This has serious body that comes out in the finish. There is a light jasmine flavor that gives way to a carmel aftertaste. It is the caramel flavor that lingers buttery afterwards. There is a hint of some kind of vegetal sweetness at the back of my throat. And this is the first steeping? Woohoo!
Finally! A really nice tea :) This is so exactly what I have been looking for.
For the second steeping I did another 3-4 seconds.
Wow! The liquor smells absolutely incredible. It is just sweet, buttery, toasty… it literally smells like buttered toast in my cup. But there is that fresh greenish scent on top of that that keeps it from being cloying or overbearing. I’ve been chasing down a tea that is like an oolong I had years ago. This tea is the kind of tea I’ve been looking for. This infusion is even thicker and toastier than the first.
Flavorwise, this is even more buttery with some seriously vegetal notes coming out. They blend together like fiddleheads in butter. Seriously good pairing. There is a slight salt note too under here, I think related to the buttery flavor.
Third infusion: scent – even greener and more buttery. flavor – a little more flowery. the butter flavor toned down and the overall taste got smoother and subtler. This infusion is more like the first than the second. There is an interesting spicy flavor here, an almost earthy pepperiness.
Fourth infusion: I brewed this one for 7 seconds. Scent – more creamy, less buttery. Flavor – more floral, nice creamy aftertaste (literally – I’m tasting cream here!)
Fifth infusion: I increased steeping to around 13 seconds. Scent – a drier toasty scent, slight caramel notes. Flavor – a little fruity, like frozen peaches. Slightly warm woodiness.
Sixth infusion: 20 seconds. Scent – buttery and woody. Flavor – Caramel, woodiness, and cedar notes. Darker, woodier, like a wet forest, toasty and creamy. Salty/sweet aftertaste.
Seventh infusion: 25 seconds. Scent – very lightly floral and sweet. Flavor – It’s funny, I’m really just getting straight up cream this time. No real other notes. Just a nutty creamy taste.
Eighth infusion: 35 seconds (I went by color here). Scent – Yay, the smooth buttery scent is back. Green and buttery, with that brussels sprout with butter kind of note. Taste – the fruit flavors are starting to come out – it’s kind of like popping an entire rambutan in my mouth. There is the sweetness of the fruit flavor mixed with some astringency of the outer shell/rind. Interesting…
Ninth infusion: 52 seconds. Scent – Buttery, vegetal, slightly woodsy. Flavor – I’m getting much woodier flavors at this point. There is a hint of sweetness that comes out at the end – almost salty and sweet at the same time. This is a completely different tea than the first five or so steepings but it is good in its own right. I like the finish of nuts and cream.
Tenth infusion: 1:05 Scent – Buttery and floral this time, like candied violets. Sugary almost. Flavor – Floral, nearly minty, and of course, buttery. The floral taste is really purple and zingy. Violets, I think.
Eleventh infusion: 1:25 Scent – Buttery with walnuts. Taste – Walnuts again. There’s some astringency feeling here that contributes to that. Walnut infused unsalted butter on toast. That’s this steeping. Oddly specific? Yes. Totally accurate? Yes.
Twelfth infusion: 1:50 Scent – Buttery creamy walnuts. Slight slight hint of blossoms.
I’m thinking of the Ezra Pound poem, In a Station of the Metro – “The apparition of these faces in the crowd / Petals on a wet, black bough.”
That would be the scent profile – wet blossoms on dark rain infused wood of a walnut tree with a hint at the creamy nutty flavor of the walnuts themselves. Flavor – Nutty. Walnuts. Bark. It tastes just like it smells. Perfect. Modernist tea. I am totally in “The Burial of the Dead” mode now, picturing the rain pouring down (lit geek note: I am one of the few who will argue that the rain actually comes in The Wasteland. Therefore, for me, my rain association is valid). Back to tea.
Thirteenth infusion: 2:15 Scent – very faint. Again, rather nutty/buttery. Taste – this last steeping just has a nice subtly warmth to it – a nuttiness. This one is less astringent than the last, so it’s still reminding me of rain and trees, but now it’s a much more “garden” like experience. Not so much bark flavor/feel as a smooth sweet taste.

Wow. Really, that’s all I have to say. This tea was incredible. It was the most amazing way to relax after a frankly awful day. My broken finger still isn’t anywhere near healed and I got my pupils fantastically dilated (the doctor said he had never seen anyone’s pupils go like mine did) and got nauseous taking my pain medication on an empty stomach. Woohoo! Awesome day! Anyway, taking the time to sit an experience this tea was just wonderful. I learned that tea can still be fantastic and I’m just extremely picky about the tea I like. It was really disheartening drinking teas that were fine, I couldn’t complain about them, but they weren’t the tea I was looking for. I’m so happy to have found this tea and excited about the other teas that just arrived from Verdant Tea, waiting in the cupboard.

I was craving a nice oolong and I’m pretty sure Verdant has nice oolongs. So thank you to Azzrian for sending this one! I really appreciate it! Just the color of this tea alone reminds me of summer — a lovely green, like the grass buried under all that snow. The smell of the leaves is promising very sweet and vegetal! I steeped for 25 seconds but after a taste, I didn’t think it had enough flavor, so I went for ten more. The taste matches the fragrance! Very sweet, creamy and vegetal… not floral or peachy… yet. I haven’t really mastered how to “rinse” leaves yet, so the leaves might have left the tea with a tiny bit of tanginess because of that. If this isn’t a creamy milk oolong, I bet the milk oolong that Verdant could find would be crazy good.

Second steep // 35 seconds // This cup is less creamy and more fruity and floral. The vegetal flavor is gone. I’ll never stop being amazed at how the flavor of oolongs can change.

Third steep// 45 seconds at boiling // I think this one may have overdone the time/ temp so I would suggest not steeping this long! The flavor was there, I just feel like I ruined it. Many Verdant teas really don’t need that long.

I like this one, but I think I liked the other Verdant oolong that I’ve tried better — Mi Lan Xiang Phoenix Mountain Dancong, unless I just entirely ruined this one. I think the first steep was the best because it was the creamiest!

First of all, the scent of this tea both dry and liquid is absolutely stunning. Beautiful florals and a strong orchid scent.

I have one of these steeper type things where the tea leaves have a lot of room to brew, and I can watch the tea as it steeps. This may just be a superstition, but it seems like every high quality tea I make in it floats to the top. All of the leaves floated to the top during the first steep. On the second steeping, the steeper was literally full of unfurled leaves. Beautiful.

The first thing that hits me is how sweet this oolong is. Not in an unnatural/cloying kind of way, but the level of sweetness I would expect in a very good tieguanyin. The liquid is lightly creamy as well. It tastes orchid-like, and for some reason I thought of dandelions a few sips in, possibly due to the hint of vegetal flavor, a faint reminder of grass.

Absolutely fantastic. Thank you, Verdant Tea.

Tiguanyinathon Pt. II

I actually wrote this earlier today, but the weather outside was too gorgeous to pass up! A cold front came through the other day and it really feels great. I Spent a few hours skating and few just sitting on a bench reading a book. :)

Early steeps: The early steepings have a tropical notes of pineapple and coconut, and a floral wisteria flavor that is very light for a Tiguanyin. Blindfolded I would have a hard time guessing if this is a tiguanyin, a Taiwanese oolong, or some combination of the two. It has a velvety smoothness that I’ve only ever tasted in sliver needle.

Later steeps: The changes in this oolong were less defined than some. A clean grassiness, and hints of honey and paprika appeared. The silver needle mouthfeel was replaced by a more milk-like creaminess. While I LOVED the early steeps on this tea, the later ones were good, but not particularly special.

So my note got deleted….. I dont really remember what I said but this is good…. Wish I drank it sooner, like after I got it. I guess thats it, I might post tomorrow when I’m awake.

Appearance: knobby oolong, small curl, faint bicolor
Aroma when Dry: creamy, notes of cucumber,
After water is first poured: light creaminess
At end of first steep: toasty almond
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: meadow brown-green
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste: grassy, burnt almond notes,
At first:
As it cools ? Toasty notes get slighty creamy, hints of apricot surface, tea gets astringent

Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, almond paste without the grit

Second steep (1min 30 seconds)
Tea liquor:
Aroma: grassy sweet (eastern)
Taste: grassy, melon
As it cools: melon notes, less grass, almond starts to fade, gets astringent

I have a Gaiwan!!

Last Friday morning I was obsessing over photos of Gaiwans on various sites, & I entered “Gaiwan StL” into the search engine, just for the heck of it. St. Louis is a pretty progressive city, so maybe?

That led me to http://www.fragrantcup.com/, a local importer of teas & teaware that I had never heard of. I had to go out & run various errands anyway, so I called him (Eric) up & asked if I could stop by to pick up a gaiwan from his shop. Turns out, he works out of his house, just doing mail order (although he can be hired to serve tea for events). We had a great conversation, & he ended up inviting me to stop by. When I got there, he served me tea, showing me how to use the gaiwan. We had several steepings of an aged & pressed Red Robe, followed by a puerh, & we visited for about an hour. I bought a 4oz gaiwan & an oz of a tea that just came in, 2012 Oriental Beauty (that’s the one with the bug bites, which I wanted to try), & he sent me home with several samples (which will be reviewed at some future time). A very nice guy, & a fun impromptu afternoon!

My first student came at 10:00 this morning, & I know she loves tea, so while she was warming up, I brewed the Hand Picked Summer Tieguanyin from Verdant, to share with her. I quickly realized that it would take 3 steepings to fill our cups, so I did those back to back, pouring into a larger teacup (now I need a larger gaiwan & a pitcher) so that all the flavors would blend. Then I poured into 2 4oz cups to serve. She loved it, I love it! It’s so beautifully fragrant & flavorful, & although the earlier steepings (10 seconds each + or -, which now I think might be too long) were somewhat astringent, I continued steeping & drinking after she left. I have no idea what steeping I’m on now, but it is still a pale green & that creaminess that others have alluded to is starting to come through. I have enough left in my sample to try again another day, so next time I drink it I will pay more attention to each individual steeping & try to document the difference.

I will offer this advice, regarding the gaiwan: Don’t fill it too full!

A review of Hand Picked Summer Tieguanyin by Verdant Tea

Date: 11/09/2012
Company: Verdant Tea
Tea Name: Hand Picked Summer Tieguanyin
Tea Type/Varietal: Oolong
Region: China
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ loose leaf
Plucking Season: Summer
Liquor Color: a very pale yellow
Leaf Characteristics:

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 1 minutes, increased to 2, 3 minutes

Note: I take 1 teaspoon of the leaves and put this in my mug and pour the hot water over it and let sit for a few seconds so as to rinse it, after which time I empty the cup of the water and pour some more of the boiled water into my mug yet again; this time leaving it to steep for a minute.

Tea is a lovely light yellow and smells very milky too me. I had to keep inhaling it just to be certain it smelled of milk, kind of creamy buttery even. I remove the tea leaves and take a few sip of the tea; at first it is buttery in taste, slight salty flavor, then one is met with a smooth cream-like finishing when swallowing the tea.

I liked that I used my large tea mug as the leaves did fully burst/plump with multiple steeping.

2nd Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

Note: For this next infusion, I pour the water over the tea leaves and cover my mug with saucer and left to steep for a few minutes. The color is same and yes, that milky-ness is still there and this time it is like almond and sweet bean as an after taste…tea is sweet and smooth there is no denying of this and there is something of a summer breeze that one feels; this morning the air was clear and crisp inviting one to go out for an early morning walk but I chose not to. This is perhaps why I selected it for a mid-day treat.

This is one of the better oolong I have had all because of the milky and almond-bean like quality that I am finding. Overall, tea is very light and a textural challenge making for more exploration.

I’ve been avoiding Oolongs lately. Not because I don’t want to drink them though!! Oolongs are my favorite. However, I have found that too much oolong upsets my tummy. Especially Tieguanyin or other floral Oolongs. It’s so VERY, VERY sad.
I’m taking the plunge today and steeping this out. I’m using my little yixing teapot that I use for floral green Oolongs. I’m really not sure about this little pot. I bought it ultra cheap. I can tell its cheaply made as the lid doesn’t fit well, but mostly I wanted a yixing to experience the seasoning aspect and the subsequent flavor differences. I just hope it’s not ‘fake’ yixing, which I didn’t realize existed until I bought a cheap pot. >_< Oh well.
This tea is wonderful. Floral, obviously, and green and creamy and full. I’m currently on the third steep. The leaves smell super complex at this point, almost savory. The taste has morphed a little- not quite as floral with some of that extra “savory” thrown in. Buttery. It absolutely coats my mouth; the aftertaste is pleasant.
Because of the tummy issue and a needy toddler, I doubt I will make it through 18 steepings, but I know I will do several!

It’s been a brutal summer for my tea drinking habits. I simply don’t drink as much when it’s 95-100+ degrees out here, so I have to wait till night when there’s a slight chilly breeze going on to actually enjoy tea the way I like it. Anyways, when this tea was announced I immediately placed on order (me being a huge fan of TGY) and waited eagerly for my order. I did not try it until tonight simply because of the previous stated reasons. So here it is.

>Dry Leaf Apperance/Aroma
Small tightly curled deep jade green leaves with a very nice gentle aroma. not as aromatic as others.

>Brewing Method
Gong-fu style closely following verdant’s instructions, using a yixing pot dedicated to TGY.

>Liquid Appearance
Bright golden green.

>Taste/Aroma
My first cup had a somewhat muted floral aroma, with a unique fresh “sparkling” mouth feel and a slight gentle sweetness. Not as floral in taste as other TGY’s, but grassier/greener in a good way. The second cup became slightly more aromatic, taste remained mostly the same but crisper. The 3rd and 4th were also very similar. Texture became thicker and smoother with very defined crisp sweetness and clean mouth feel. My favorite steeps were the 5th and 6th, where the tea became thick, velvety smooth, and slightly juicy. The 7th and final steep I made was light in flavor, this TGY was all about mouth feel anyways, with texture remaining mostly the same.

Throughout my session, I never really felt a strong after taste, more of a lingering note. Verdant describes this similar to almond, but to me, that small note left me with an almost mineral sensation, similar to that of a wuyi. Very light and mostly noticeable in late steepings, but still there.

>Wet Leaf Appearance
Mix of broken and unbroken leaves, some stems, varying sizes of leaves.

>Overall
While not as good as its spring/autumn counterparts, this tea was quite interesting. What amazes me the most is how each picking season can create a vastly different experience in taste. Taste wise, this tea was mostly very light and concentrated more on mouth feel, which had a very unique texture compared to other TGY’s. I found it a bit lacking in the aftertaste and couldn’t really taste/feel most of the hints verdant describes about this tea.

Thank you Kasumi no Chajin for swapping this sample with me.

I only had about 2g of this tea of this tea to taste with, so I decided to brew it for a minute each time in a gaiwan with about 2oz of water. I really wanted to get a sense of the full flavor profile of this tea. I found it had an odd sweetness that I didn’t think complemented the floral notes, and the mid/back-palate flavor reminded me of overcooked green vegetables. Although this hasn’t been my favorite tea I’ve tried, it was a really interesting experience- my first summer harvest Tieguanyin.

Mmm. When I read Verdant’s brewing instructions, I was somewhat incredulous. 2 seconds? Most oolongs I drink need 15-30 seconds, at least. Much to my surprise and delight, the minute the leaves touched water, they exploded with an amazing fragrance. Maybe something like a gardenia garden during a warm rain? And an incredible smooth flavor, sweet, floral, is this even tea? On my fifth steep now, the aroma is still there, with a hint of coconut. The flavor, while not stronger, has more punch, as if to say, “yes, I am actually tea.” Normally, I’ll happily wear my tea leaves out, enjoying them too much to really make notes. But this tea deserves a good study. Thanks Steepster, for introducing me to Verdant. My poor wallet…