Verdant Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

86

I was very excited to try this tea. Doubly so, because I was going to debut my new sesame duanni teapot from Yunnan Sourcing to make this tea! No other sheng would do to break it in. It’s a bit on the large side for solo drinking (5ish oz with leaves in) but given how fantastic this tea was, it was hardly an issue drinking all the deliciousness over two days.

So 6g to 5oz at 212F, each steep around two seconds. Later steeps closer to 4 seconds. Made it to steep 8 on the first day, steep 17 on the second. I feel like the leaves had more to give even then. I gave the leaves a brief 5sec rinse at boiling before starting all of this.

The dry leaf smelled sheng-y to me. I’m a bit ashamed to say that I don’t know what else to make of that scent. Maybe with some experience I’ll have more to say about that. Wet, I picked up some tobacco smell from the leaves, which again, I tend to think of as “sheng-y”. There’s a whisper of mulled spices. It’s amazing how much the leaves expanded after the the rinse. From a compressed little clump, to endless, big leaves inside my pot. I love it.

My first impression, drinking the first few steeps, is how amazingly thick the tea is. It just coats your tongue and your throat, and it’s the most gorgeous mouthfeel ever. I was getting a tingling sensation over the tip of my tongue. I’m not certain I got the taste of mole, but there was a definite spiciness that reminded me of white pepper. Near the end of the flavour arc, I’m positive I tasted sesame seed candy. So sweet, so delightful!

By the middle steeps, starting around 6 or 7, the tingling had faded out, as had the sesame taste. At this point, my vocabulary fails me. The closest I can get to articulating the experience, is a dark and deeply nuanced older sibling to a chinese green tea. Astringent, darkly tangy, and then fading into an intense and never-ending aftertaste of grapefruit that reminds me intensely of the Sun Dried Jingshan’s aftertaste.

Then finally, in the last few steeps, a thick buttery sweetness. Definitely cinnamon-esque, though a lot more delicate. Maybe closer to a glass of almond milk with some cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled across the top. So soothing, so energizing, so delicious. I’m so glad I have loads in my cupboard! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful (tea) friendship.

(PS – I suspect the rating will climb as my palate learns a bit more about puerh.)

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
Spoonvonstup

How exciting! What a great note- you’re tasting a lot of cool things (white pepper, sesame seed, tingly, a kinship with Jing Shan). Imagine how much more the tea will give when your new pot isn’t stealing half the flavor for itself! Lucky little pot. If you haven’t already, you should take a picture of the pot now so that you can see how much it’ll have grown in a few months.

smartkitty

Thanks! I’ve definitely taken some pictures already, and I’m excited to see the changes over time. Well, and taste! :)

Spoonvonstup

How fun! Best pet rocks ever.

Kittenna

Spoonvonstup – I smiled so much when I saw your comment! :D

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86

Wow, holy wow this tea is something else.
My mind is a little too blown to pick out little flavors and describe it in fancy terminology but I will say that I set up my tea-table and brewed this up as something to sip on while doing some housecleaning and ended up just sitting down and savoring it. It was so good it required my full attention.

The first three or four infusions, I will say, wow’d me the most. Later on the flavors became a bit more muted, until I went and reboiled the water for hotter, longer steepings. The flavors started popping again then, but it tasted like a completely different tea!

I have enough of this tea left for one or two more sessions— I’ll have to make sure to take better notes then.

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86

Oh, I adore getting Verdant’s blends in the tea of the month package. They are always so much fun to try.

This is the second one I’ve been quite frightened of, however. I haven’t had good experiences with the holy basil I’ve tried, and I’m not a huge supporter of minty teas. And this is quite minty and spicy. But, I think I’m coming around to the mint. I thoroughly enjoyed this! It was very minty, but had enough body that it wasn’t biting. It was sweet and earthy. I actually didn’t detect the licorice root, so it was pretty harmoniously blended with the other flavours. It was really remarkably refreshing, and the suggestion of mixing it with sparking water sounds mighty fine, maybe with some cucumber.

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93
drank Songyang White by Verdant Tea
32 tasting notes

I finally nailed this tea! But first, let me tell you about my nigh-tealess week.

It’s only just cooled down enough outside that my apartment isn’t an oven inside. I can do things around the home without feeling like I’m dying! Seriously, the past few days, the temperature inside my apartment reached the 90s almost daily. No amount of fans helped. The windows only open a couple of inches, so that didn’t help either. The Boy and I spent most of our evenings nearly immobile, moving only to feed the furbabies something cool. Needless to say, we didn’t go into the (significantly hotter) kitchen much. That included forgoing tea making for the most part. I did make a couple of tea slushies, but it was nothing too fancy. In fact, I was pretty sloppy with the steeps, because I just wanted to get back to vegetating in front of the two fans.

Needless to say, this 60F weather is a dream come true in comparison. It’s still a bit stuffily warm in the kitchen, but I can tolerate it enough now that I can make myself tea more often. I feel human again.

Now, this is the tea that I sadly mishandled last time I tried. I crowded the leaves and oversteeped it Western style. Even then, I could tell how much I’d like it if I got it right. And now I’ve gotten it perfect.

I took Mr. Duckler’s advice to try this Jingshan style, though leaving the leaves in a basket so I could stop the steeping a bit more easily.

1 tablespoon to a 12oz glass (one of those Pom Tea glasses they discontinued a while back). 175 degree water. First steep – about 15-20 secs; second steep – 20 secs; third steep – 30-35 secs; fourth steep – I eyeballed it until it was the right colour, about 3 minutes, sipping every so often to check the taste.

The result is a beautifully thick, vegetal, delicate, and extremely compelling tea. I’m not sure I have enough tasting experience to do it justice. It’s some sort of buttered vegetable, maybe green beans, that melts into a vegetal sweetness that’s delicate without being boring. A whisper of a green apple tart at the very end – tangy and buttery and sweet.

Beautiful and soothing, hot. Wonderful and refreshing, cold (I made enough to stick some in the fridge overnight!).

I’ll keep playing with this tea, next time I’ll try it in a gaiwan!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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93
drank Songyang White by Verdant Tea
32 tasting notes

Hmm. The lingering aftertaste is pretty rad. Same buttery mouth-feel as an oolong, and I worship at the altar of the oolong. Needless to say, I’m REALLY going to like this when I get it right. Maybe a touch of floral? I’ll keep you posted.

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93
drank Songyang White by Verdant Tea
32 tasting notes

Bah! What is it with my steeping, lately?!

I followed the website instructions for western steeping, a tablespoon per cup at 175F for 1.5-2 minutes, but that’s a bit long I think. Came out a bit bitter. It’s not too bad, I can tell there’s a great amount of beauty under there, but still disappointing. Can’t wait for my new teaware to get here! I’ll gaiwan it up and fiddle until the tea suits my palate.

That said, did anyone else pick the slightest hint of chocolate in the dry leaf smell? It’s gone after brewing, the only scent I could get then was a very fragrant edamame. I’m having trouble describing the liquor, actually. It’s edamame but without grossing me out, so there’s definitely more at play. And from what I could tell under the bitter tang, it tasted like a smooth, delicately buttery vegetable.

I can tell I will like this. Just I need to find how to do it! Will rate this at a later date.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec
David Duckler

Hi, I am glad that you are seeing some of the intruguing notes behind the bitterness. My apologies. I had just edited steeping instructions on this tea and must have put in TB by force of habit. Most teas do benefit from more leaf. This one, I think just a teaspoon would do the trick.

The other thing to try if you are up for it is Jingshan style steeping. Use 175 degree water, and a clear (tempered) glass cup if you are feeling adventurous. Sprinkle the teaspoon of leaves on top of the water after letting it steam for 10-20 seconds. Swirl the leaves around a bit and start sipping after maybe 20 seconds of steeping. If you have a brew basket, you can use it, and apply the same principle of sprinkling the leaves, but have control and remove them after about 40 seconds to a minute. That woudl probably be ideal.

Sorry about the brewing instructions, and thanks for the persistance with this one. It is truly rewarding when you get it just right. I couldn’t believe that it was white tea when my friend Weiwei first sent it over after finding it in her travels. Simply too intriguing to resist offering, even if it is only on a seasonal basis.

Best of luck with your next brewing attempt. Have fun!

smartkitty

Thanks for the tips! I tried doing it Jingshan style, and it came out much better than my first attempt. Still not quite right, but I need to perfect my technique. I burned myself in the process, got distracted, and oversteeped it by about twenty seconds. Still a lot better than my first attempt, and I noted a whole lot more buttery deliciousness. Awesome tea!

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92

Sipdown! The sample I had was ancient and from LiberTeas waaaay back when, but it still had some life in it. Had a couple good cups, though.

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92

Sipdown! It’s about time – this is from my very first Verdant order, about a year ago. I think the tea has probably lost a bit of flavour, but I’ve had 3 very enjoyable infusions today (well ok, I oversteeped the second but ended up drinking it anyways!) Very green-vegetal (not chewy/green beany like the Laoshan Greens), but lots of creaminess and oolong flavour. Love it. I think I have another, newer bag of this as well, and I left one with my mom as well (though if she hasn’t been drinking it, I’m totally stealing it back in April!) Eventually, assuming it remains available, I will pick up more of this :) (Well, the freshest incarnation, of course!)

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 30 sec

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92

Fun experiment time, tonight. I’ve been dying for oolongs lately, and massively craving Verdant’s, but have had other teas I wanted to try, or not enough time, etc. etc… Anyhow, tonight I thought I’d finally compare the three tieguanyins I have received from Verdant – the 2011 Autumn, 2012 Spring (first harvest), and 2012 Spring (second harvest). I’m brewing them each up identically, using 1.5 tsp of leaf in 125mL water, with the leaves allowed to roam free in the cup before being strained out.

First infusion (208F/30s):
Light floral, buttery aroma. Green, floral taste. Very green aftertaste. Not too much oolong flavour, but it does leave a nice round, creamy taste in the mouth. I’m getting more oolong flavour from the spring harvests, but the differences are too subtle for me to pick up. Comparing it to the others, I think this is the least green and floral. It’s more subdued.

Second infusion (208F/30s):
Much like a lighter version of the first, in my opinion. More oolong flavour though, which was expected. Mmmmm. Caramel in the aftertaste, unlike the citrus of the spring harvests.

Overall: All three are delicious oolongs. My palate really isn’t developed enough to perceive differences though, at least the way I infused them (although I suspect that for my leaf:water ratio, a 30 second initial infusion was too long). Hoping I can go through another few infusions tomorrow, in which I will perhaps notice more differences!

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec
Indigobloom

I love caramel notes in green teas. So good!

SimpliciTEA

Great idea to brew up these teas that are from different harvests on the same day!

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92

So excited to try this! I’ll need to try different brewing methods, but went with 205 degree F water for each of the five infusions, which were durations of 45s, 1:30, 2:15, 3:00 and …longer (I forgot about it). ~2 tsp of tea in my 1 cup brewing apparatus.

The dry tea doesn’t have a great deal of scent, unlike the other three teas I received from Verdant. Mostly, it smells a bit floral and green (and tea-like), but I find with actual tea, the smell of the dry tea doesn’t necessarily reflect on the infused flavour at all.

First infusion:
There’s a light floral aroma, and the flavour is buttery, rich, and very thick-tasting; that is, the mouthfeel is that of a thicker liquid than steeped tea usually has. There’s a bit of a vegetal flavour, but just barely a hint. Mostly it’s just creamy and tasty.

Second infusion:
The floral aroma is a bit stronger, and the butteriness/creaminess has slightly subsided, but this is still a delicate, delicious, smooth cup of tea. As a consequence of the reduced creaminess, I’m tasting the boiled vegetal and tea flavours somewhat more, which makes the cup seem a little sharper, and more flavourful.

Third infusion:
There’s a deeper, darker flavour in this cup. We’ve moved away from vegetal, floral, and buttery, to almost a bit of a woody, rounder flavour. That makes it sound bad; it’s quite nice though. Definitely stronger-tasting at the end of the sip, and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. There’s still a floral quality, which is different from what I’ve experienced with other teas, where it dissipates almost entirely by the third infusion.

Fourth infusion:
This cup is mellow and definitely on the woody side of things. I want to say that there’s the barest hint of astringency, but it’s not quite there, and not at all unpleasant. It’s just a taste that I think I usually associate with astringency. I think this infusion has less flavour, so it takes more effort to taste its complexity, but there’s a lovely and unmistakeable lingering aftertaste.

Fifth infusion:
Uh, when did this become sweet?! I wasn’t expecting this. All of a sudden there’s a general sweetness in the cup that I don’t remember before. Slightly honey-like. Mild, but definitely there. I wasn’t expecting much from this one, and only continued because the steeped leaves retained a tasty smell and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it another shot. The sweetness is almost fruity, but not quite there.

The leaves are still sitting in my infuser downstairs, so perhaps I’ll try an additional infusion later or tomorrow. I have to note that this tea has the biggest, most whole leaves I’ve ever come across! And wow, do they ever expand! Glad I used my little infuser-basket thingy so they could expand all they wanted – that 2 tsp has nearly expanded to fill the entire cup’s worth (plus airspace, of course).

So, I definitely am not catching all the flavours that I’ve heard this tea described as, but then again, my brewing method was probably atypical. I was sharing this with my roommate and thought that going with 15-second infusions might be overwhelming for her, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go completely Western-style, so went with IMO a happy medium. I’m not displeased with the results, but really want to try this gong-fu style, or at least, in a series of 15-second infusions. Luckily I have enough left for a couple more experiments before making my next Verdant order (which will probably be on April 1, so as to leave March’s budget alone).

Overall, definitely enjoyable, but I don’t have enough experience to say it’s miles beyond other tieguanyins or anything like that. I am impressed at the number of infusions I did get, and am pretty sure I’ll enjoy the next time I try this, so I’m looking forward to it, although it will have to wait until I’ve tried the other two oolongs and Yunnan White Jasmine!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec

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92

This just came in the mail yesterday, but I decided against trying it until after I tried the Yunnan Golden Buds. As an experiment, I decided to brew this tea Grandpa style, and I have to say the results were interesting. The first infusion was sweet and flowery, with an aroma that was reminiscent of fresh pines. There were also subtle spice flavors present, but they had not started to assert themselves yet. Past experience with Yabao tells me that they will get stronger over time, so I can’t wait to see how they develop. The only downside to this tea was that only half of the buds have sunken to the bottom of the cup, which is a bit annoying when trying to drink the tea.

I’m on infusion number five, and the only change to the flavor so far is that the spiciness – which peaked around infusion three – has started to fade. This is definitely my favorite white tea. I’m glad that I bought enough of this tea to last me quite a while, as it is very unique and is certainly much better than the standard fare for white tea.

K S

Grandpa style? That’s one I haven’t heard before.

Jim Marks

You wrap it in a cardigan and let it fall asleep in a recliner in front of the evening news.

I enjoyed this tea much more brewed Western style than gongfu. Just way too subtle as a gongfu tea.

K S

@Jim – Ahhh, its all so clear now. lol

Joshua Smith

@K S – like @Jim said, Grandpa style is basically the lazy way of making tea. I like it because it produces interesting results with many teas, especially Oolongs, but you need to be careful about which teas you use it with. Teas that develop astringency shouldn’t be used, because the long steeping times tend to result in unpleasant flavors. I like to experiment with my teas using this method, and weekends happen to be great for brewing this way (I’m in college, and I have no Friday classes :D).

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100

No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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86

So I thought wrote a review, but I guess I just thought that I did. I am drinking this now, and it is very floral. Its not a bad thing, but I think I just like my oolongs buttery :). Still very good.

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84

I Like this tea, but it has a glaring problem: It’s a picky tea. Water too hot? Tastes bad. Steeped too long? Tastes like crap. Gets too cold after brewing? Tastes bad. The sample from Verdant had enough for three sessions, and two of those were bad. This led me to drop my rating down a bit.

The first infusion was fine, but the second turned out horrifyingly bad. I threw that out, and got the same result when I tried again. So I gave up.

Preparation
150 °F / 65 °C 1 min, 0 sec
Jim Marks

High quality white tea demands that you be present from start to finish. Prepare correctly and precisely, and then drink promptly.

Have you found other white teas to be less so?

Joshua Smith

Yeah, I have no trouble brewing Bai Mu Dan or Bai Hao Yin Zhen. This tea seems to be a whole new level of picky compared to those. If I get more with my next order from Verdant, I’ll be more prepared and I’ll probably not make the same mistakes again.

Jim Marks

Interesting. I find that bai mu dan comes out very flat if not steeped very carefully. It doesn’t taste “bad”, it just doesn’t taste like anything at all.

Joshua Smith

I know what you mean, that’s happened to me a few times. It actually makes me a bit curious about how exactly this Songyang white was produced. I have a feeling that the combination of the processing method and the cultivar used is a bit exotic, and that this “finickiness” – for lack of a better word – is just a side effect of this.

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84

I was extra careful while brewing this tea today. The result of the first infusion is a very light tea that is similar to a more traditional white because the vegetable flavors are very faint. They are still present, which sets this tea apart from other whites, I was just a little too careful while brewing and they are weaker than normal.

The second infusion was bad. The water was too warm, so the result is drinkable, but it’s getting awfully close to the point of no return. Note to self – Do not try to brew this while busy with other work…

More to come later.

Preparation
140 °F / 60 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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84

Thanks to Verdant Tea for including this as a free sample with my most recent order!

After looking at several reviews, as well as the warning on the package, I decided to treat this tea like my Fukamushi Sencha: Low temperature water, short steep. The first infusion used water that was just beginning to give off steam, and I only let is brew for a minute. The resulting tea reminds me of perfectly-steamed vegetables – the description ways brussel sprouts, but I’m not sold – with a bit of butter. It’s a rather nice change of pace after five cups of black tea, as well as a nice change of pace for a white tea.

Surprisingly enough, the second infusion was exactly like the first. The only other tea I’ve ever had that had a second infusion like this was some Yabao, funny how both are technically white teas…

Anyway, the only downside on the second infusion was that I neglected it, and it got a little cold, which resulted in a bitter aftertaste developing. Not that the tea was bad, but I can certainly see how other reviewers were complaining about the tea being temperamental.

The bottom line is that this tea is not for an amateur brewer, but the results are worth the effort. The unique taste is very refreshing when brewed properly, and is definitely worth the pain that you have to go through to brew the tea corredctly.

Preparation
1 min, 0 sec

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91

Over that past week and a half, this has become my standard morning tea. It’s been an interesting experience drinking it at work, mostly because the preparation is a bit different and the water is cleaner (We have machines that do crazyubermega filtering, and the result is hard to argue with.). I use a about 6-8 grams of tea, and put it in the bottom of an 8 oz. ceramic mug I got a while back, but just dug up in a cupboard. I let the leaves sit in there all day, and when I start to get low, I add more hot water. The result is a milder tea, where the linen taste is less prominent than when I brew it at home with my tea ball. It is also a bit sweeter, which kinda makes me wonder what is wrong with my tap water…

Anyway, I get a good 4-5 cups of tea this way, it tastes pretty good, and it lasts me for most of the work day. What more can I ask of it?

Jim Marks

Houston’s tap water is heinous. We have a huge under sink filtration system to deal with arsenic and other fairly serious problems. Sadly, I don’t think the filtration system gets the trace radioactive particles out of it ’0_o !

Joshua Smith

Oh dear, that could be a problem. When living with my parents during the summer, the water we get comes out of the Potomac River, and is, in fact, the last town that can get it’s water from the river due to federal regulations. I always find that a kind of scary thought. Luckily, the refrigerator in the kitchen has a very good filtration system. As to radioactive particles…now that I think about it, you are probably fine. Radioactive stuff is almost always large on the atomic scale, and your system probably catches it along with the other chemicals just by virtue of it being bigger than the chemicals that the filter targets.

Bonnie

I have really great water but even with wonderful water I buy spring water for fine tea tasting. Delicate tea’s, etc.

Jim Marks

The only reason I don’t buy water is that I drink so much tea that I think it would become unreasonable to keep it around in sufficient quantity.

But I may soon, God willing, end up working back in an office instead of from home, at which point keeping spring water at home for tea in the evening and on the weekends might not be a bad idea.

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91

Just a quick little note: I’m starting my internship tomorrow, so my reviews will be more limited until late August.

Anyway, This tea is delightful, espeically now that I understad why Verdant tea has Linen as one of the flavors. David Duckler had a post about tasting that discussed the other sensations, like touch and smell, and how they impact flavor. If you haven’t read it, you should check it out:

http://verdanttea.com/rebelling-against-the-tyranny-of-flavor/

I finally understand that the linen flavor is really the interesting sensation that you get on your tongue while drinking this tea, not a flavor in the traditional sense. Anyway, time to get back to unpack stuff from college…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

I’m glad you read that article too! All the best with the internship!

Joshua Smith

Thanks! I’m actually working at the same company as last year, and I’m friend with a few of my co-workers, so everything should go pretty smoothly. Also, since the HR rep that I need to see doesn’t get in until 9, I get to sleep in an hour!

Bonnie

Great!

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91

First of all, the music for today is the album Beethoven: The Late String Quartets by The Emerson String Quartet. Anyway, I was generous with the amount of leaves I used, and I let it steep a bit longer than usual, but the result of the first steep was still great. The tea is blacker than my ex’s heart, but very warming when you actually take a sip. The flavor is intensely malty, with some nice cinnamon undertones, which results in a pleasant tingling sensation that lingers on the tongue for about two minutes. It’s a very intense experience, and was perfect for waking me up (I’m barely sentient until I have my caffeine). Anyway, this tea pairs well with my music and my activities (reading a bunch of books and articles to study for finals), so I’m really glad that I picked it for today.

The second infusion is still malty, but the cinnamon as gotten more prominent, the taste has sweetened a great deal, and the overall experience is smoother. The aftertaste has a smooth, almost-mineral quality to it. It’s like the tea is starting to become creamy, but it isn’t quite there yet. This is probably due to how strong I brewed the tea, but I’m certain that the next cup will have the creamy goodness that I remember. In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy the current flavor as much as possible.

The third infusion is malty, creamy, and a touch spicy due to the cinnamon flavor. There’s no linen (not that I’ve ever tasted the illusive linen flavor of this tea before), and the citrus flavors hasn’t made an appearance yet. Regardless, it is a well-balanced cup of tea, where the flavors harmonize quite well. On a side note, I switched my music over to J. S. Bach’s Das Musikalische Opfer, a delightfully complex piece of music to complement the tea’s development. My recording is even better because it is a Historically Informed recording, played on period instruments with a tuning system that Bach preferred. The end result is an astounding. Anyway, the tea is getting more complex, and it’s various flavors mesh together well to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec
Bonnie

There is no tea blacker than an ex’s heart. But I love that phrase! I give you an A+!

Joshua Smith

Bonnie – Thanks! I chuckled a bit when I wrote it, as it is a bit absurd, but then I asked myself what one of my professors would say. He’s an editor for the Washington Post, teaching a course about narrative journalism, so I though he would have said to use it for the emotional impact. Then I realized I was over-thinking the problem, and left it there.

Incidentally, A+ is the grade this professor gave me on a recent paper, so I’m glad you agree with him! XD

Bonnie

The only A+ I ever received was in advanced comp at San Jose State Univ. which knocked me over! It was on the day my ex-(darker than tea..) went into the Vet’s Rehab for alcohol and I had 2 kids to support all of a sudden! I needed that A+! Treasure your A+ and congradulations! (an aside the ex- has cancer and just came to say goodbye to his children 43 and 39 and asked me to forgive him which I had done long ago. Black as tea hearts do change!)

Joshua Smith

The paper I wrote was about the book Hiroshima by John Hersey, a very influential and thought-provoking novella from 1946. It’s interesting because it is told from the point of view of people who were living in the city, and follows them through the immediate aftermath of the explosion. If you ever run out of material to read, you should check this out. Also, this is one of maybe five A+’s I’ve gotten in two years of college (the rest were for programming assignment, so they hardly count). I’m honestly thinking of having it framed…

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement, and hopefully your ex- gets better. I’ve seen a good third of my family get cancer, and I really don’t wish it on anyone, regardless of their past.

Bonnie

Great read! I had A ‘s too that meant less. My A+ was for a paper on my work at the Children’s Shelter School in San Mateo County. A one room class K thru 12th with. 1 teacher and myself. Awesome experience! I was allowed to create art, music, field trips, cooking etc on my own and had a ball! I think this is why my daughter is a foster parent today. Frame your A+!

Joshua Smith

That sounds kinda fun, but I don’t have the right personality for it. I’m just not a very patient person, so I get frustrated with children. That, and I have a really hard time explaining things to them. I tried to teach my younger brother some basic calculus once, but things that I take for granted were like magic for him…

Anyway, the stuff that you talked about seems like it was a really great experience. A lot of the stuff that you mentioned is difficult for teachers in Norther Virginia because you need to deal with stingy bureaucracies. My mother (a second grade teacher) needs to do hours of paperwork to get a field trip scheduled. It’s obvious that you were either working during a more ideal time (the 60’s or 70’s?), or your school district was a bit more liberal than mine.

Geoffrey

You have good taste in music, Joshua. Beethoven’s Late String Quartets are among my favorite pieces of music. First you got David’s, now you’ve got mine. I particularly like the recordings the Vermeer Quartet made of this. To date, they give the most moving treatment of the Heiliger Dankgesang (op. 132) I have heard. The third movement, and centerpiece of the whole quartet, is what I use to measure all performances and recordings of these works.

I’ve at times said that if I were facing the prospect of going deaf, and given the choice to listen to one last piece of music, I would choose this. Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart (A Convalescent’s Holy Song of Thanksgiving to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode)… A fitting title for an amazing work of art. It’s final climactic passages especially, when done right, and listened to with the appropriate quality of attention… it’s like hearing the very heart of existence break open and throb.

Joshua Smith

Hm, the Vermeer Quartet recording sounds interesting. I need to do a bit more research, but it’s likely that it will end up on my wishlist. I bought my recording because it was by the same group that did my wonderful recordings of Shostakovich’s string quartets, and in retrospect, it’s one of my least researched purchases…

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, and if you have any more please feel free to pm me or drop a comment after one of my notes here. I’m always looking for more music, especially classical music.

Daniel Scott

Oh hey, just realized this is a really recent review.

That being the case, do you mind if I ask where you got the specific recording you mention in the last paragraph? I mean, how would I find it?

Joshua Smith

I actually got it on iTunes. The name of the album is “Bach, J.S.: The Art of Fugue BWV 1080”, and the artist is Musica Antiqua Köln. That should be enough to find it on iTunes. If you want to look for other recordings, I would suggest looking at this site:
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=527&name_role1=1&genre=227&bcorder=19&comp_id=103

This is a list of recommended recordings, of which the one I mention is part of.

Daniel Scott

Awesome, thank you! It being on iTunes is very convenient.

Joshua Smith

If you really start to get into classical music, then your going to get very disappointed with iTunes. They just don’t have the selection that can even begin to compare to Arkivmusic.

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91

Just a quick cup before class this morning. I don’t have time to write anything now, but I’ll probably update this note after lunch, when I have a few hours of peace.

EDIT -

I got a good five infusions out of these leaves, which is why it’s my go-to black tea. You just can’t go wrong with it. I particularly like how sweet it got near the end, as I had been generous with the amount of leaves I used, and had brewed it extra strong, and I was probably due for something sweeter by that point…

Anyway, run-on sentences aside, I’m gonna be a bit infrequent with logging my teas until the 16th, when my finals are done. Such is the life of a university student. Best of luck to the rest of you!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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91

Backlogging this from yesterday. See previous notes for more info.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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91

Once again, I find that my procrastination has left me with one day to do all of my work. Therefore, see my previous notes for more about this tea.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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91

I’ve got a big test on posthumanism on Monday and I needed something potent to keep me focused. My day will be filled with Philosophy, extra-strong black tea, and KPop. Sadly, this means that I don’t have time to go into the details for this tea, so check out my previous notes.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec
TeaBrat

good luck!

Joshua Smith

Thanks, good luck with your taxes!

Jim Marks

Don’t forget to cite Ghost in the Shell.

Jim Marks

Or Schizmatrix.

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