Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong

Full review will post on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 1st of March but here are my snippits:

The first word that comes to mind while I sniff the dry leaf is sweet honey sugar succulent dripping with lust omgoodness! Okay that was more than one word, but seriously, I do love oolong, but some oolong are far superior to others and this is like the king of dessert-y oolong!

The caramel is perfection, the elderberry brightens the cup and makes it just a tiny bit “zippy” the honey note gives the tea its depth of character adding to the caramel aspect its like something sinful. There is even a spicy note within this tea. Then there is a wondrous floral note that just gracefully lingers all over the tongue, roof of mouth, back of mouth, its dancing around everywhere with sugar berries, caramelized honey, earthy elderberry, and the nuttiness of almond that also adds a slightly, but never bitter astringency, yet this tea remains so smooth all at the same time.

Confession: I haven’t actually tasted this yet, but I opened the bag and took a whiff (I couldn’t resist), & it smells AWESOME!
Hazelnuts & plums & caramelized brown sugar…
I need to go sleep, so I can wake up & drink some of this…
Tomorrow, Hurry up & come!

My first Verdant Tea! Uh oh!

I selected this oolong as my first, hey, Oolong Owl, yeah?

I did a gongfu brewing and went completely tea drunk crazy. I need to do this again! LOL

Very good oolong – I was impressed how rich and flavorful this tea was in very short steeps! Lots of great nutty, caramel and floral notes. At infusion #8, I was getting mineral notes and bell pepper vegetal which was interesting. I had a really good tea trip adventure!

The cold steep was okay, but I prefer this tea hot!

Full, long and crazy review on my blog, the Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/shui-jin-gui-wuyi-oolong-from-verdant-teas-tea-review/
Owls wearing tea strainers? Oh boy

So I received this yesterday! I’m so, so excited as this is my first Verdant Tea experience. I was really impressed by how quickly everything was assembled and shipped. The dry leaf smells of sesame and stone. The appearance is dark black/brown, and wiry. I’ll be doing multiple steeps over the day so stay tuned!
First steep: 10 seconds (after short rinse). This tasted a lot like bread to me with honey. There is some sweetness and some stone/rock flavor (my favorite). There is some very subtle nut notes tossed in there as well. Overall I’m pretty impressed with it at such a short steep time.
Second steep: 12 seconds. This one is a little darker than the first steep. The smell of this steep is even more nutty than the first infusion. The leaves have unfurled more and remind me of deep olive leather. Wow! The flavor is so different this time. There are caramel-like notes, nut, and much less rock flavor. It is roasty and almost creamy. Very satisfying.
Third steep: ~15 seconds. I kind of lost track of the time! I had a bit of a brain gap. This steep is much more mellow, sweet, and rocky. There is a very slight hint of spice in this; it is extremely subtle.
Fourth steep: ~20 seconds. I’m relaxing with this and some guzheng music (one of my favorites). It is bread like this time, roasted and grain-like. All of the flavors seem a bit more muted this time. Also flavors of almond skins and summer stones.
Fifth steep: ~25 seconds. This will probably be my final steep of this set of leaves. There are sweet honey and rock notes with a calming creaminess.
overall: I have really enjoyed this tea today. I have to say that Wuyi teas are generally my favorites. They are very complex and subtle. I think that I got just a bit tea drunk sipping this. I feel euphoric, happy, and relaxed. This is better than I’ve felt all week. Tea is a medicine in its own right.

I enjoyed this as much as I enjoy any oolong. Probably more, but I just don’t seem to go crazy for any of them. I just ordered the Laoshan roasted Oolong as Bonnie made it sound pretty tasty, maybe that will be the winner!

Happy Mother’s Day!!

So I haven’t been on here in a bit oops, I was down at the boyfriend’s family’s this weekend and also had to drive him to the airport for a 2 week field job :( going to miss him a lot! So yes I have been drinking a bit of tea and trying to read reviews on here but it’s been a busy weekend haha.

I finally decided to try this tea! I have had a sample kicking around for quite some time, and just got a big bag of this in the TOTM last month, so I need to start drinking it! I also haven’t had a gongfu session in ages because I’ve been busy with starting work, so it is much needed. The dry smell is roasty and sweet and reminiscent of the other shui xian wuyi that Verdant had before this one, but this one is a bit more sweet. I put in about half of the little sample baggie and steeped with boiling water for about 10 seconds. The resulting liquor is a light golden brown, with a tangy scent to it mixed with roastiness, it is quite different!

As for taste, mmm I get those creamy flavors that I found in the other shui xian wuyi oolong, but this one is smoother and sweeter, not as roasted to me and I kind of prefer that actually. The sweetness is very milky and I definitely get caramel. At the end of the taste there is this super caramel creamy note that I am savoring, it’s maybe more of a creamed honey flavor, yum!!

Overall, another excellent tea, I think Verdant oolongs are some of my favorite oolongs. I can’t wait to continue to steep this tea tonight, it is so flavorful already, I’m excited to see how it changes! Another excellent offering from Verdant!

ETA – the following steeps were also really good, very rich though, and they actually made me quite thirsty haha. Making a lighter tea to balance out this roasty, delicious tea! :)

Unf. This is so good.

In the first steep (10 sec), there are definite caramel notes and I love the wet rock mineralness (it tastes better than it sounds!) There are also some very subtle rich nut notes — like roasted chestnuts!

The second and third (12, 15 sec) steeps get creamier, the caramel notes are more pronounced.

The fourth (20 sec) is really grain-like. And reminds me of sun-dappled wet stones. I really don’t know how else to explain it, but imagine the warmth and body of a smooth stone still in the sun, but the cool smell of that same stone if it were wet.

The fifth (25 sec) steep is where I stopped on this set of leaves, but I might go further on the next. The sweet honey notes are the most pervasive and there’s a gentle almost orchid floral note. It still has a slight creaminess.

I maybe sorta don’t want to make dinner and lose the taste of this in my mouth. sigh.

This weekend I tried my first Verdant tea and my first ever gongfu session. Exciting stuff guys!

The 1st steep yielded a mineral, rock-like smooth flavor. The 2nd steep was more creamy and floral with a hint of spice. 3rd steep was back to the mineral flavor but with a slight sweetness. 4th – 6th steeps were mellower versions of the 3rd one.

In reality I do a lot of my tea drinking at work so I decided to try this western style this morning (apparently a faux pas according to Verdant’s website! But I’m not great at following instructions anyway). It was still incredibly smooth, with a more apparent sweetness and roasty flavour. At the end of the sip I’m getting an oat-y flavor that reminds me of cereal, in a good way.

Both brewing styles were a success. It’s amazing how many different flavors come out of the same little leaves! I’ll definitely try to make more time for gongfu as it’s such a relaxing way to really savor and enjoy a tea.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the caramel or crème brulee flavours that sucked me into buying this in the first place, but it was still very tasty. I kind of guesstimated the western parameters, so if anyone has any tips for this one, I’d love to hear them!

This lovely tea comes from Shelley_Lorraine! Thanks again, Shelley!

Because of time restrictions, I couldn’t do my first tasting of this one the way I really wanted to: gongfu. So I put a few teaspoons in my pot and brewed it up western style. I will update this once I’m able to brew this gongfu, but for now here are my findings:

Smell: This one smells really nice. I’m getting a roast-y oolong smell, as well as really nice mineral notes. The mineral notes are both “earthy” and sweet. I’m also picking up a fruity note – I’m thinking cherry. There is a cream-like (not exactly cream, but that’s all I can call it) aspect, too. Finally, there is a nice underlying cinnamon note.

Taste: This one is very mineral-y, or “rocky” as I say. There is a nice sweetness accompanying this aspect. Toward the middle of the sip is a surprise caramel taste – not overly sweet, but definitely caramel in flavor. The roast-y flavor is present throughout the sip, but really pops in at the end, along with a citrus element. There is a subtle spicy/sweet note also- most like cinnamon. Finally is the slight fruity sweetness; while I said cherry was in the smell, in the taste I can’t exactly pinpoint it in the taste.

I’m really digging this oolong! I can’t wait to see how it holds up brewed gongfu style. Glad I tried this one! Reminds me of a really good hike – all the rocks, streams, trees and fresh air. AWESOME.

I’ve noticed that with all the oolongs I have tried Verdant has the most fragrant ones. I just brewed a cup of this and I’m waiting for it to cool and the smell is lovely. Nutty and a little sweet. I’m the worst at describing flavours. I’m only on the first steep and I love it.

Back on the Island! I wanted to stop in at a DT today but I think I’ll leave that for tomorrow. Most of my teas are packed away at the back of the closet so I’ll need to fish those out. I feel so disoriented here! The last of this was tucked away in the lazy susan so that made things easier, at least.

Blah blah blah. Reading the description, either my taste buds have completely lost focus or… I don’t know, but this doesn’t come off as honey-ish or even floral. I get burnt toast. Verrrrry toasty. Maybe a little bit of brown sugar but mostly dry toast.

I’m also experiencing a mineral note in subsequent steeps. I’m going to call it quits at steep number three.

The generous JustJames sent me a sample package of Verdant…THANK YOU!!!

I was a little intimidated by the Verdant tea…I didn’t want to mess it up, so I had delayed a little bit before opening any of the packets. I thought to myself ‘stay on top of the water temp and steep time’. Forgot to stay on top of steep times, but I didn’t have any issues with the taste of this tea.

My first steeping, I got a strong floral note on my first few sips, and as the tea cooled, I found it to be deliciously nutty.

My second steeping I found the rocky/mineral taste.

Third steeping was so deliciously creamy and sweet. This was my favourite steeping of the three.

I can probably get another steeping out of the leaves, which I will attempt a little later.

This is really delicious tea.

1.5 tablspoons for 375 ml

Slight clove and cherry flavour contamination from being close to other teas in transit (my own fault). I am detecting the mineral flavours that comes off as a sort of sweetness. Savoury tones. Warm nutty flavours. Caramel tone. Slight fruity sweetness. Slight vegetal tone in the mix.

Second infusion at 5 minutes. Hojicha-like straw aroma/taste. At the end of my cup I could taste the grape-fruity flavour that I’ve found to associate with oolongs.

Rating: 96

Clearly, I killed this one. I got the sample size of this tea, and thank goodness there’s enough for another try, because I killed it. I know the steeping instructions were all about shorter steep times, gongfu style, but I thought since I’d steeped other oolongs western style, that it would be okay. I was wrong. I’m new to oolongs, as you can see. Well, so I steeped it for 3 minutes, and it smelled and tasted like I oversteeped AND burned it. Oops. So I did another steep of the same leaves for 1 1/2 minutes, and it was better, but I think I ruined the leaves in the first round. I added honey in the second round, so I’m not really sure if it just tasted better because of the sweetener or the shorter steep time. Overall, it tasted like an oversteeped toasted green tea. Lesson learned: will do short steeps!

This is seriously delicious. Brewed gongfu style the first three steeps were very savory and even smokey with signature wuyi mineral sweetness. Spice, nuts and even chocolate notes slowly emerged and now the tea is dessert like. As others have noted honey roasted nuts, orchid and yes banana notes. It’s another winner from Verdant, glad I ordered the 2oz. Going to spend the rest of the evening with it and maybe try the aged oolong or dong ding tomorrow. Husband is home early today which I am especially grateful for since he spent last night laying nauseous in the hallway. He’s better today, they just ran out of mail trucks.

Dang. This is some good tea. Joined the tea of the month club for a free month, and of course cancelled when my order came in. IMA BOUT DAT COLLEGE LYFE.
Anyways, I’ll definitely be ordering from Verdant again soon. Actually, I did a few days ago. Their website is killer. So much detail on each tea, and they have high Steepster ratings.
I found that this is very hard to describe. That being the case, I’ve came to one word that I think does the job: smooth. That’s just it, this is a really smooth tea. I don’t know what else to say.

Really solid oolong. Can’t wait for my other order to come in!

This tea tastes of roasted nuts and wrapped in banana leaves! It permeates the bag upon opening, the lovely dark brown twisted and writhed strands of leaves, and the most nurturing amber elixir that results in the finest tea. I have to say this tops off my day completely! Its a definitely a smooth tea with some astringency and has a complex flavor that unravels itself being quite nutty and roasted with a hint of sweetness. Then it transitions into a slight berry flavor mid palate and finishes off with fruity rind akin to a cantaloupe sorta like eating through one and tasting the cellulose and the hard outer husks that gives a unique almost gritty finish. Its really a lovely Oolong, soft and mellow and to those fans of all things roasted this is a tea not to pass by! Cheers!

Azzrian’s tasting notes made this sound so good that I had to brew this tonight!

I did no rinse for this, and the first steeping (5 seconds) was my favorite. I did smell the banana strongest in this steeping and maybe some other kind of fruit smell, but I can’t say what.

In the second steeping (7 seconds), more roasted nutty aromas and flavors are came out, also caramel.

My third steeping was a 3 minute steep. It was pretty awful. The tannins became way too strong. All I could taste was strong caramel and the bitter tannins. This cup also made my throat very dry.

I need to use more patience and moderation in my brewing. If I’m going to brew western style, I need to learn to use less leaf, and when I brew gongfu style, I need to learn to have the patience to do 10 or more steepings. There are just too many teas to enjoy and not enough time!

The Verdant $5 sampler is really varied and I’m glad I ordered it. The dryleaf of this smells sweetly vegetal. This tea tastes very much like a super-sweet, super-creamy green tea to me. Thankfully, there is no seaweed flavor like I find in a lot of greens.
The first flavor is very buttery, so I can see why come people compare it to caramel, but it’s too vegetal for me to call it that. It sort of tastes like lima beans sauteed in butter! It then turns into a darker flavor (roasted lima beans?), which has a little bit of spice to it almost like cinnamon. What’s great is that there is absolutely no bitter aftertaste and no dry-mouth. I love that about this tea.

1 tsp for 250mL water @ 90C, Western style, drunk bare.

1st infusion, steeped 3 minutes.
Orchid, honey and even milk notes, something like a quangzhou, with a brilliant sparkle. Some wuyi bite.

2nd infusion, steeped 4 minutes. Very similar, only a bit creamier.

3rd infusion, steeped 5 minutes. These leaves are incredible. Loads of flavour left. Lots of sweet Wuyi notes, milk and sugar and even caramel,and an intoxicating orchid scent.

An astonishing oolong.