I feel like I’ve been avoiding this tea subconciously. As if it’s too much of a big deal or something… I went ahead and order 2oz of it, but I don’t want to mess it up or anything. I mean, those two ounces cost me a pretty penny. But I’m going to go for it now, and I’m going to steep it western style (following the instructions on Verdant’s site) because it’s somehow less stressful to me at this point.
The dry leaf is beautiful and smells like very fragrant sweet potato chips. I took a big whif and was like, woah! sweet potatoes! Someone came into my office moments after I poured the water on these leaves and asked if I could unlock a door for them, which put me in a panic because I only had a minute to play with. I had a moment of indecision: do I tell them to wait one minute until the steep is done, but the door is just around the corner and that would sound odd anyway. So I walked briskly and I arrived back at my office with 5 seconds to go! Whew.
The steeped tea has some of that sweet potato-y aroma, and maybe the slightest hint of vanilla and spices. First sip, after it’s cooled a bit: woah. woah. Sweet, like brown sugar on a baked sweet potato. Sooooo smooth. Just a luxurious, silky, creamy feel to it. With a little tingle in the aftertaste. In the first part of the sip its straight up sweet potato, one that’s been baked to perfection and still has those fresh notes. Then the brown sugar and spices come sliding in… I mean, not spices so much as the faint hint of allspice perhaps. The after taste is light, and more of a sensation than a taste, a light tingling that is really intriguing. Really an amazing Dian Hong, and if you are a fan of that varietal you owe it to yourself to get a bit of this tea. Can’t wait to gong fu this one and see its performance there!
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I see your hesitation. At $30/2 oz. I’d be afraid of messing it up too! I just might have to make a purchase too though…your tasting note has sold me, and I love Dian Hong!
The price tag of this scared me away…
So worth it! I’ve gone to a movie and spent money in 2 hours that is less satisfying and gone faster! $30 for this…it really is special! Some new tea’s are coming out…a White and a Pu-er.
I have a serious need to slash my tea budget unfortunately. Need to stay away from the fancy pants stuff until I drink more of what i already have. :-/
This sounds so awesome. But it really does put things into perspective when you start comparing the price to how much people would spend when going out to a movie and/or restaurant. Sounds like it would be money well spent here.
Yeah, I haven’t been buying new tea lately (or much of anything, actually!), so I didn’t feel so bad about dropping the money on the tea. There are certain teas that are just worth it.
Yep!
Hey, no judgments here… :)
I see your hesitation. At $30/2 oz. I’d be afraid of messing it up too! I just might have to make a purchase too though…your tasting note has sold me, and I love Dian Hong!
The price tag of this scared me away…
So worth it! I’ve gone to a movie and spent money in 2 hours that is less satisfying and gone faster! $30 for this…it really is special! Some new tea’s are coming out…a White and a Pu-er.
I have a serious need to slash my tea budget unfortunately. Need to stay away from the fancy pants stuff until I drink more of what i already have. :-/
This sounds so awesome. But it really does put things into perspective when you start comparing the price to how much people would spend when going out to a movie and/or restaurant. Sounds like it would be money well spent here.
Yeah, I haven’t been buying new tea lately (or much of anything, actually!), so I didn’t feel so bad about dropping the money on the tea. There are certain teas that are just worth it.
Yep!
Hey, no judgments here… :)