Verdant Tea

This pu’er is superb! To start, I am not even one to drink pu’er tea. However, I enjoyed this tea as it gave me a overwhelming sense of full rich flavor with out being at all musty. I first smelled the tea and picked up notes of fresh pressed newspaper with a lingering sweet floral sent as well. The initial taste was extremely smooth and especially floral. As the steeping went on the flavor became much more complex-transforming the flowery taste into the taste of rich sweet grass. The tea surprising never became bitter but instead more and more layered with each steeping. A perfect balance between smooth, sweet, and complex. Sipping this tea brought me back to the moist summery nights of playing after dark. Verdant tea, you have done it again!

This will always be one of my favorite kinds of tea.

We used a brick of yabao at our wedding, just because it was one of our most treasured flavours we wanted to share with everyone.

I was so pleased and excited to find more yabao. Even though this one is loose and considerably younger, it still has all of the great things I was looking for: sweet and spicy (almost sparkling), with nutmeg and cinnamon, marshmallows, and a feeling or a flavor that reminds me of fresh white linen in sunshine.

I’m interested to see how this one will grow over time (since it’s loose, it will probably age faster), especially since this one is a little more woodsy and less mushroom-y than others I’ve tried.

If you don’t think you like pu’ers, definitely give this a try! It is a perfect “gateway drug” and it’s practically idiot proof. I accidentally left some leaves steeping in a cup for a few hours one afternoon at work, and it still tasted amazing- not a trace of astringency. I have no idea how you could make this tea bitter or unappealing.

Definitely agreeing with Nate, above. This is such a perfect, well-balanced sheng. Not only that, but it’s incredibly interesting, too! So many decent, acceptable, lovely shengs are simply pleasant and entirely unoffensive. This one goes leaps and bounds beyond to be the kind of tea you want to bring out for special occasions and drink for at least two hours. Definitely a tea to drink with a good friend who loves discussing flavors and memories. It would definitely be great in a pot or a mug, but it would be such a shame to limit yourself to just one of the taste on its long and complex flavor arc.

Terribly delicious and satisfying.

And so young! The only way I could imagine this better is if it were older. But how am I supposed to hold off drinking it until then?! It’s so good now! This is definitely something I want to save up for so that I can have at least three tongs (stacks of seven) hidden away. For now, I’ll make due with the ounce or so I have.

Thank goodness Verdant Tea let’s me buy by the ounce. It brings exquisite pu’ers within reach of those of us who aren’t millionaires.

This is an excellent and perfectly balanced brick of shou that far outdoes any of its contemporary shou’s of the same age. The color is translucent and brilliant orange. Taste of burnt sugar, burnt caramel, dark fruits, and chocolate are prevalent in the early steepings. As you move along notes of sweet candy and cooling camphor begin to set in though there is a warming feeling that comes along in the chest…a very ideal brick!

Here is my favorite shou pu’er of the Verdant Tea line. This brick has an assertive mustiness that is not overwhelming, but perfectly balanced with the cleanliness of the color and mouthfeel of this tea. Clean and cooling, the description says it well; the camphor builds up throughout the steepings and gives way to a sweet plum or fig flavor. Well done Verdant!

Incredibly clean and crisp. These fine buds are packed in to this brick of tea. 500 grams looks like it should be a normal 357 gram brick…the density of the buds is intense! The flavor and aroma is very complex. I have tried this tea on 4 separate occasions thus far and it has brought forth a different taste with each try. Such a testament to the quality of this tea! Very perfect and well balanced Shou pu’er. Goes beyond simple flavors and has an intense and perfect mouthfeel. Highly recommended for all lovers of shou pu’er.

This sheng came in a few weeks ago and I already have named it my “Perfect Pu’er”. It is everything a Sheng pu’er should be; sweet, cooling, complex, not drying. If someone that knew Sheng came over and asked me to prepare one tea for them to show them the best of my collection, I would pull out this tea without reservation.

The compression of the brick is unlike anything I have ever seen. Since it is hand pressed in the old fashion it is a perfectly loose and ready for an ideal aging process. As far as flavor, this immediately has an aroma and initial flavor of sweet tobacco, and clove. The tea is completely salivating, with hints of sweet fruits while still possessing floral notes of lilac. Incredibly complex. Steep 25+ times, any less would do this tea an injustice.

This tea was so shockingly good, it had me at the first steeping! It was as if I were drinking a hot cup of the holiday season!

It tasted very much like the scent of warm ceder wood, freshly cut.

I was hooked! This is the kind of tea that never gets old, steeps all day-constantly producing the amazing flavor that you love. The texture of it is is unbelievably silky.
I would highly recommend this yabao to even the most uneasy tea drinkers as the flavor takes over and lets the taster relax and meld together with the tea.

This tea is almost impossible to find, the only sensible place to purchase it would be at Verdant Tea- a great tea for a fantastic price.

The 2004 Single Mountain Yiwu is up there in the top 5 best Sheng Pu’ers I’ve tried. The initial tea color is a beautiful golden that only the best of Sheng’s of this age possess. The aroma of the tea after first contact with boiling water is the refined scent of a damp forest which immediately brings back memories of camping in northern Wisconsin. The initial flavor is that of spiced nutmeg and a prevalent and cooling camphor which lingers and builds throughout steepings. Notes of sweet grapes begin to build on the sides of the tongue in later steepings as well as a warm apple sweetness which is present in the chest and complements the cooling camphor mouthfeel.

Some of the best Sheng available anywhere. Period.

When this shipment came in and I broke into the first tong, it was like christmas. The aroma brings me back to Northern California and the redwood forests. This tea is very clean, but also gaining the musty qualities of something older. It was pressed in commemoration of the tea trade between China and the old Tubo empire (now Tibet). It is stamped with the seals of every township along the tea-horse trail. I may have to set aside a tong for myself to age. Thank you Yongming workshop!

I was extremely excited to find this one! This enormous 1kg ball of tea comes from a farmer who has grown tired of the big factories dominating the Banzhang tea market. Her family used to sell their hand picked wild leaves to Dayi, and said that Dayi would do 1000% or more mark up and cut the farmers out of the profits. This family has been struggling since branching off on their own because their tea does not have the certification that big factories like Dayi can afford. I hope to introduce this tea to America and help start a movement on Banzhang mountain to return to quality and small farming.

One really shouldn’t go in to Sheng pu’er until they have come to a point of understanding Shou pu’er. At that point one can begin to start trying Sheng to venture in to the realm of understanding what they will evolve in to. Considering this, understand that 95% of the Sheng pu’er that makes it to America is unbearably foul and does an injustice to Sheng. If this has been your experience with Sheng, I hope you take time to try this wonderful tea.

Assertive. This tea knows what it is. It is not at all bitter, but rather possesses heavy notes of hazelnut and a new rain. Incredibly complex. The sheer quality and size of the leaf matter is overwhelmingly beautiful. The tea is nearing ten years in age yet the leaves are in perfect condition because of the delicate and hand pressed manner in which they were produced.

I would say to go for this tea only if you are ready for the highest quality in Sheng and are looking for something unique, assertive, and perfect for aging.

Another incredibly rare tea offering from Verdant Tea. There are only 2 families that produce this varietal of tea. I have seen it in a few other American tea houses, but take heed: this particular Yabao is far and away the best. Such a versatile tea; notes of cinnamon and nutmeg spice with a sweet and warm mouthfeel. I currently have a brick of Yabao as well as the loose leaf in my possession (from Verdant Tea), both of which are incredible.

Yabao is particularly nice because of its ability to steep indefinitely. This tea is a perfect candidate for throwing to the bottom of a travel mug and leaving there all day. I have also steeped this Yabao for 2+ hours and had no problem with it lasting throughout.

One more note: I have a 15 year Yabao in my possession and it is particularly mind blowing. This tea is GREAT for aging long term and will only continue to build in complexity. My honest opinion for any tea lover would be to buy a half pound of this…some for now and some to age long term. The price is right!

Better than I last remembered. This one could become a favorite for people looking for a familiar and assertive flavor. Yet it is still so light in hue and delicate on the palate. Glad I tried it again.

Intense corn aroma dominates before the tea even hits the palate. Corn flavor is less intense than the aroma would suggest though notes of sweet corn on the cob are prevalent through all steepings. The sheer quality of this tuo cha is remarkable; a cooling pine exists throughout and by steeping 5 or 6 a minty cool feeling begins to numb the mouth. The complexity of this tea makes it hard to believe that they are only three years old. I made the mistake of only buying an ounce. Must go back for more!