Verdant Tea

Well, I struck out on this one. Surprising, since I’ve been very pleased with all the other Verdant teas I’ve tried. This was a 5 for 5 sample and it was burdened with a huge proportion of fannings. I suspect this was the problem, as no matter how I steeped it (in my gaiwan), it was just bitter, bitter and more bitter. I will not rate this one, since I think all those fannings were a fluke.

I feel very nostalgic saying “sip down!”.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This tea tastes like baby sheng. Proto-sheng.

The more leaf to water ratio, the more true it gets. I’ve packed my yixing quite tight today to use up the leaf and my cup is redolent with the kinds of camphor, pine and earth notes one would expect to find in an aged raw tea.

Delightful as it lacks the harsh edges which develop on those notes in a young sheng and at a much lower price point than a mature, venerable sheng.

Having just had a very excellent (Texas sourced) orange blossom honey mead over Christmas, I can actually get my head to Verdant’s note on this tea having orange blossom honey characteristics. It isn’t the sugar sweetness, obviously, but more that almost musky, floral tang that lighter, sweeter honey’s have.

Tulsi is “holy basil” and I think if you’re going to call this tea “vegetal” you probably can’t go any greener than that. It isn’t at all “vegetal” in the sense that a dragon well or Japanese green tea is. There’s no big bass notes of chard or kombu here. No, this tea is like a giggling child on a Summer’s picnic. Sandals forgotten, sun dress smudged and too often askew, but having far too much fun to care about such details. Light and bouncing.

I still get the “someday I’ll grow up and be an old sheng” thing, which really is a ton of fun. Tasting what tea will become someday feels like a super power or something.

Verdant says cedar, I’d have gone with sandalwood, myself.

Having had Laoshan black (the chocolate tea) yesterday I’m not getting their chocolate note here, but perhaps next time.

Opening the dry leaf, and getting a nose full, then while preparing my rinse and smelling again, my brain is shouting “wait… this isn’t sheng?” But, when you consider that the sheng Verdant sells also comes from Qianjiazhai, perhaps that’s not a complete shock.

However, as I slurp my way into the first steep, it becomes clear that there’s no age on this leaf. Light, floral and completely lacking any of the thick maltiness of the zhu rong I had this morning, this may be leaf fit to become sheng, but it is not sheng.

The hui gan here is at the front of the mouth only. Heavy coming to the gums from the palate but only running back if I swallow.

Later steepings bring out melon notes.

Highly recommend this tea as a “gate way” leaf for introducing people to sheng pu-erh.

Not quite as impressed though accurately described on here. Very, very green and soybean like. I wasn’t a huge fan, but still a good tea.

Recieved this 5g sample in my 5 for 5 from Verdant. Although I’ve been enjoying sheng for some now , I have just recently, after reading so many positive Steepster shou reviews, summoned up the nerve to try another “ripe” pu. (Around 15 years ago, I recieved a sample of ripe pu, and I mean RIPE! I thought for a second upon smelling the wet leaves, that I was down wind of a Billy goat. RIPE!) If this is an acquired taste, I don’t think I’ll get there.

This shou, however, is gentle, smooth, earthy and interesting. I brewed gong fu style and rinsed the leaves well (actually I soaked them in tepid water for a minute to loosen the chunk a bit, then rinsed as directed). Earthy and complex, I found notes of moss, peat, wet wood, damp earth, and a savory note (perhaps the olive oil referred to?) I lost count of my steepings, but I really appreciate the complexity of this shou through many steepings. The earthier notes gave way to chocolate, raisin, herb and spice, proceeding through a cooling mouth feel in the later steepings.

If this tea becomes available again, I would purchase it. I won’t rate shou until I gain more experience, but thank you Master Han for this gentle shou.

Thank you Skysamurai for sending this in her Secret Pumpkin package! =)

Hmm, it’s roasty. And sweet and buttery? For some reason in my head Tieguanyins tend to be green and floral. It’s still kind of green and floral, but also roasty. Which seems a contradiction in some way? Lol

Either way it’s very very yummy and I’m glad I had the chance to try it. It is definately worthwhile. And possibly on my list of things to buy if I ever get around to putting in a Verdant order. Hehe

hay and cedar. black licorice, black cardamom, shoe polish & honey aromas carry through to palate. Still quite tannic. nice mixture of young and old elements here. Very lively on the tongue (there’s probably a proper tea term for that??).
very pleasant

Part of Verdant’s sampler pack (I think) — a few progressive steeps. Very floral at the start, then buttery. I think I need shorter steep times and smaller pours.

The first steep was a pale yellow and I could smell and taste the traditional TGY notes of flowers and cream. However, there was also an underlying green and fruity flavour to it that reminded me of pear. Now, I’ve never had a pear-flavoured oolong, but I can totally see the appeal.

The second steep was a bit deeper in colour, more of a buttercup yellow. It was a bit sharper and tarter, but overall it was still quite mild. My sister, who was visiting us that day, had a sip and told me that it made her think of mangoes — interesting!

The third steep was the mildest and palest, and was quite delicate. I let it cool, but even cold it was quite refreshing. After the third steep, the leaves still hadn’t completely unfurled but they were a gorgeous forest/emerald green.

Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/10/verdant-teas-5-for-5-sample-pack/

The first steep was a deep brown and very well balanced between the flavours of the roast, earth, and wood. Very smooth. No astringency. The second steep was a bit milder, with a funky tangy taste to it, but it eventually settled down into more roastiness, this time with a fruitier undertone. The final steep of 40 seconds was the lightest in both colour and flavour, with a deep amber tint and creamy/floral notes coming to the fore. Overall, this was a remarkably smooth Wuyi oolong.

Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/10/verdant-teas-5-for-5-sample-pack/

The first steep was amazing, resulting in a pale brown brew with a thick smell of malt and cocoa powder. Cocoa city! I can sense some of the butter/grain notes of the green tea, but the flavour deepened here and became much more savoury.

The second steep was similarly malty, with an underlying bitter bite that reminded me of cocoa nibs. However, it was very smooth, with no astringency.

The third steep was very mild, and the wet leaf by now had an underlying note of raisin, which made me think of raisin bread. The tea was by now quite pale for a black tea, but still soft, savoury and delicious. I can see why people on Steepster like Laoshan black so much by now!

Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/10/verdant-teas-5-for-5-sample-pack/

The dry sheng leaves were dark brown with some khaki stems and slivers of white visible. The dry leaf didn’t smell like much — just your typical “sheng” smell: a little bit of smoke, tartness, and fruit. I used the whole sample in my gaiwan and did 6.5 steeps (during the 7th steep there wasn’t enough water left in my teapot to fill the gaiwan all the way) ranging in length from 6 to 12 seconds.

Throughout every steep, the liquor was extremely light and clear, ranging from a beautiful peachy colour in the first steep to a nice pale amber in the final steep. Verdant’s website said that this tea had strong notes of plantain and lychee, but I didn’t really get that here. Instead, I got some generic apple and grass notes, with a flavour of hay coming into play around the 4th steep.

Despite the relative mildness of the flavour, the tea did have a really good, thick, mouthfeel. Not quite syrupy or creamy, but there was definitely substance to it. There was absolutely no bitterness, but the later steeps did have some astringency to them, resulting in a cottony, gauzy feeling in my mouth. They also tasted some what mineral and smoky.

Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/10/verdant-teas-5-for-5-sample-pack/

Ordered a sample with one of my last orders. Had a gongfu session with a ceramic gaiwan. No rinse. Steeping times: 3, 5, 8, 12, 15, 25, 35, 45, 60, 90, 120.

This tea, no matter what, is quite aromatic. The dry leaf smells of brownies with a hint of sweet potato, the leaf after the first infusion somewhat of citrus, the wet leaf of barbecued red meat (which later became purely sweet potatoes), and the liquor of rich hot cocoa.

The liquor is golden, clear (not considering the fuzzies), and full-bodied. Beautiful to look at in my cup, which is the exact same one in the picture on the website. The first several infusions were creamy and tasted very chocolate-like. After that, the flavor switched gears. I could only discern one strong note of sweet potatoes, which remained until the end of the session. Also, the texture smoothed out. The last couple infusions were a bit malty. After swallowing every single cup, the aftertaste lingered for nearly fifteen minutes. I drank this throughout the day. Energizing in the morning, but a good comfort on a cold and sunny October day.

I’m not a sweet-potato-in-my-Chinese-black-tea person (as in it’s not my thing to buy), but this was delicious. The leaf – at least this particular harvest – is good quality.

this one doesn’t seem to be as flavourful as the laoshan green harvest, but it’s still an interesting green. I really like the pine needle look of the tea leaves. Makes for something unique.

I figured i should make a point of having at least one of my green/oolong teas on weekends since during the week, i rarely drink them. I pulled this one out as i always try to drink verdant’s green teas as close to getting them as possible. This tea has some seriously neat twisty leaves. Admittedly, i had hoped the “pine” in the tea name was because they somehow added pine needles to the tea but that was silly of course. :)

Brewed this is a beany, sweet, green tea. I should do a comparison next week maybe of the several greens i received in the tea of the month club…this one is refreshing. I am a fan of this one so far. Will have to see if additional steeps change it up any.

Admittedly I’m not a fan of black and puerh teas but I’ve been trying to branch out and broaden my taste horizons. I received a sample of this with my last Verdant order and the flavor profile was intriguing – lychee, grape, pumpkin, and sandalwood are some of the notes described by Verdant. Sigh – if only this were true. Frankly, I would use less flattering descriptors for this tea. This tea apparently comes from an old forest and that’s exactly what it tasted like: soil and wet wood. The musty smell and earthiness was a little too much for me. It’s pretty much what most puerhs taste like to me anyhow.

Lesson learned, tasting notes are palette specific and highly subjective (including this one). Now for a nice cup of green tea to cleanse my palette.

For some reason, I thought this and the Qianjiazhai 2015 brick were the same tea, so I had my tastebuds all set for all those flavors…especially the fruity ones!

Turns out, this isn’t it after all. I’m kind of disappointed, but thus is life, right?
There is a mild sweetness, like meadow grasses, and underlying bitterness like a peppery olive oil, a little savory roasted plantain chip, and an herbaceous sage-like flavor.

I’m about 15 steeps in or so, and it has that refreshing high energy that I love so much from Sheng, good tea buzz happening, and the brew is getting a little sweeter. There is a little evergreen taste, maybe pine (not camphor), pumpkin seed, catnip, even a hint of lime, and that “sparkling fresh water from a lovely spring” kind of feeling.

Nothing wrong with it, I’m enjoying it now that I’m into it. It is both energizing to the body, and soothing to the tastes, kind of like the old herbal teas I used to drink back in the day.
This is, of course, a very young Sheng, and Master Han has never let me down, so I’m sure it will be interesting to sample from time to time and see if anything changes.

And I’ll probably have to order a cake of the other one…

It’s a wonderful thing to be able to support a family that is devoted to something I love.

This is quite a bit more nutty then I expected and yet not nutty in the way I imagined. The grassy flavors come at you just as expected with slight surprises of earthiness.

Whatever happened to Master Han? I recall that originally he was The Man with the Dongsa Cooperative, providing teas from the Mt Ailao area Qianjiazhai forests, but now it’s Master Zhou. It’s like they are using the same comments about how he takes care to “let the leaves speak” etc, only they’ve changed the name. Master Han isn’t even on the Verdant site anymore. I’m just curious…

Oh well…I drank this tea all afternoon. It was tart, herbaceous, fruity, savory, and very very tasty. Near the end the flavor reminded me of Burdock root, which I’ve been digging up in my garden lately to add to soups & stews. It was great to finally open up the cake and sample it, and unlike some new Shengs that I’ve tried over the years that were very grassy, very RAW, etc, this tea is very drinkable & delicious, so I guess I shouldn’t care who picked it. I’m going to be enjoying it for a long time.

I need to start this post with a big sorry to my secret pumpkin as I only managed to get their package into the post this afternoon – however its guaranteed to arrive before halloween so hopefully they forgive me…. I was packing up a big sample of this for my pumpkin as it was on their wish list when I realized I hadn’t enjoyed it myself for a couple of months AND then i realized I’d never reviewed it… must solve those serious problems!! First sips of this were full of cocoa, malt, wood and nuts which made me realize how much I’ve been drinking flavored teas recently and how much I have been neglecting my straight blacks. I seem to be going through phases right now… I find a tea, drink it to death, at the detriment to all the other amazing teas in my cupboard and then suddenly I’m over it and I’m on to the next binge drinking option. On the bright side at least its one way to manage some quickish sip downs!! Laoshan Black is something I always try to keep in my cupboard and I’m very quickly remembering why!!