The last month or so has had me toggling between that 1992 Menghai (notes of flood damage and deep forest loam) and the 2011 Lao Tong Zhi Old Comrades (quite sweet, a second brick of which is waiting for me in a PO Box in CA, which I can hopefully recover before too much time goes by, I’m nearly done with the first brick).

Those of you who have been reading for some time know that I have developed a great love of Yunnan golden over the past few years, and the website talks of sandalwood which is one of my favorite scents, and so it is with great anticipation that I dive into this new shu offering from the great folks at Verdant.

The dry leaf smells sweet and spicy, caramel and sandalwood indeed. But get it wet and suddenly you’re in the forgotten back room of a boot repair shop. Old leather, dust, mold and old wooden tools. Despite this, the mustiness coming off of this cup is unexpected. More like a very peaty Scotch than old leather.

This is clearly a young tea. I hope Verdant has the discipline to hide away a few cakes to put back on sale in 5-10 years time. I know I sure don’t.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
Terri HarpLady

Nice!
The women in my family (that would be me, myself & I, plus both of my grown daughters) all firmly believe that all men should smell like Sandalwood. I’ve also had this discussion with other women I know, & I like to think that it is unanimous.

Jim Marks

I currently blend sandalwood oil and frankincense oil for myself. Sometimes a hint of patchouli.

Bonnie

A Chanter that smells like church.

Jim Marks

It helps me remember where my heart is supposed to be when I’m not in the kliros.

K S

The forgotten back room sounds amazing. What is sandalwood? I have heard of it but have no frame of reference for its scent.

Terri HarpLady

KS, it is the scent that Old Spice (original) is based on, I think.
Aromas are so wonderfully engrained in us, pulling us inward, bringing out emotions, awakening memories. I can’t smell roses without feeling nurtured & childlike. My grandmother, who was the most nurturing person I’ve ever known, smelled of roses (although I didn’t make the connection until my mid 30’s during a massage).

K S

Thanks Terri. A scent I remember from years ago. You are right. Smells can instantly transport us through time.

Jim Marks

Sandalwood is a category of trees the wood from which retains its fragrance for decades after being cut — unlike most wood.

Typically when people discuss it they mean rather the essential oil which is harvested from it, rather than the wood itself.

This oil is often rendered down into an incense which is common in Buddhism, Hinduism and in some Eastern Christian settings (although frankincense and myrrh are more common).

ashmanra

When we moved in our present home, I was delighted that there was a grapevine in the backyard. When we had lived here eight months that the grapes were ripe and scenting the backyard, I remembered that as a child I got caught in a bear trap under my great aunt’s scuppernong vines, which were near the chicken house. I had completely forgotten it, until I smelled those grapes! (Not injured, don’t worry.)

Jim Marks

Sandalwood certainly isn’t the scent of the contemporary “Old Spice” (blech).

Terri HarpLady

Lol, Jim, but I think it’s in the original, probably not as an essential oil, but as a fragrance facsimile. Anyway, as essential oils go, sandalwood is wonderful, right up there with jasmine & patchouli, & rose.

Bonnie

Verdant is the only tea company that I know of that has blended frankincense with Oolong tea. (I love the blend)

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Terri HarpLady

Nice!
The women in my family (that would be me, myself & I, plus both of my grown daughters) all firmly believe that all men should smell like Sandalwood. I’ve also had this discussion with other women I know, & I like to think that it is unanimous.

Jim Marks

I currently blend sandalwood oil and frankincense oil for myself. Sometimes a hint of patchouli.

Bonnie

A Chanter that smells like church.

Jim Marks

It helps me remember where my heart is supposed to be when I’m not in the kliros.

K S

The forgotten back room sounds amazing. What is sandalwood? I have heard of it but have no frame of reference for its scent.

Terri HarpLady

KS, it is the scent that Old Spice (original) is based on, I think.
Aromas are so wonderfully engrained in us, pulling us inward, bringing out emotions, awakening memories. I can’t smell roses without feeling nurtured & childlike. My grandmother, who was the most nurturing person I’ve ever known, smelled of roses (although I didn’t make the connection until my mid 30’s during a massage).

K S

Thanks Terri. A scent I remember from years ago. You are right. Smells can instantly transport us through time.

Jim Marks

Sandalwood is a category of trees the wood from which retains its fragrance for decades after being cut — unlike most wood.

Typically when people discuss it they mean rather the essential oil which is harvested from it, rather than the wood itself.

This oil is often rendered down into an incense which is common in Buddhism, Hinduism and in some Eastern Christian settings (although frankincense and myrrh are more common).

ashmanra

When we moved in our present home, I was delighted that there was a grapevine in the backyard. When we had lived here eight months that the grapes were ripe and scenting the backyard, I remembered that as a child I got caught in a bear trap under my great aunt’s scuppernong vines, which were near the chicken house. I had completely forgotten it, until I smelled those grapes! (Not injured, don’t worry.)

Jim Marks

Sandalwood certainly isn’t the scent of the contemporary “Old Spice” (blech).

Terri HarpLady

Lol, Jim, but I think it’s in the original, probably not as an essential oil, but as a fragrance facsimile. Anyway, as essential oils go, sandalwood is wonderful, right up there with jasmine & patchouli, & rose.

Bonnie

Verdant is the only tea company that I know of that has blended frankincense with Oolong tea. (I love the blend)

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You can hear the music I compose here:
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