To be honest, I expected better from Verdant. I have drunk many Tieguanyin teas and this one was rather disappointing.
The first steep produced light, floral tasting and smelling brew, reminding of jasmine tea. Nice, but lacking complexity. The leaves opened very fast and the second steep gave rather flat tasting tea. I did not care for the third.
However, I will try to brew this tea again in a zhuni pot. Perhaps my impression will change for better. Right now, I do not feel that this tea deserves 5 stars. It does not mean of course that the tea is bad; it is a good tea, just a bit too mediocre for my taste.
People who liked this
Comments
How were you brewing this tea? (for example- how much leaf did you use, etc?) I, too, have spent a long time trying TGY, and this one really has been stellar in my experience. For example, I think you could definitely get more than three steepings out of this tea.. I usually get at least thirteen or so Gong Fu style. Were you making this in a big pot, or in a gaiwan? What did you think of the aftertaste on this one? Or the texture? I’ve read a lot of your reviews, and haven’t seen a high review of any green oolongs, actually- except the frozen summit. Do you prefer Taiwanese and darker oolongs in general?
Whoops! I was just thinking over breakfast- duh, this is an autumn picking tieguanyin. I can definitely see someone being thrown off by this if you’re used to spring pickings, which are so floral and almost confectioners-sugar sweet. If you were looking for intense florals, these would be greatly changed from what you were expecting, to instead be more of the grassy, nutty, buttery autumn profile. And it looks like autumn might not be your cup of tea! If so, I hope you give the spring picking a chance when that time comes around.
Happy drinking
Hi, I am used to the traditional Tieguanyin. This is a modern version. Jasmin is nice but in good Tieguanyin IMHO is not so welcome, particularly if it lacks the classic complex notes. Tieguayin is a very old tea. I am looking now to find better vendors of this tea.
Yes, TGY is an old kind of tea. And yes, the modern methods of making TGY are green, not roasted. However, I must disagree with your implication here that only classic, roasted styles of TGY are legitimate and desirable. If you’re looking to find the flavor profile of a roasted, classic TGY in a green TGY, you obviously won’t find them. It is really a different kind of tea. I do not think Verdant has ever misrepresented this TGY as a classic, roasted TGY, so your comment that you are “looking now to find better vendors of this tea” doesn’t really apply. If you are looking for a different example of a modern, green TGY, that is a different story. (I would wish you luck in that search; I don’t think you’ll find it available outside of China!)
Personally, I’m not sure how constructive it is to compare the two kinds of tea. That would be like comparing a shu pu’er to a sheng pu’er. Yes, shu was originally created to mimic old sheng, but the two styles have now completely diverged! You can like shu, and you can like sheng, and you can appreciate them each for their own different merits.The same I feel is true for green TGY and classic TGY, which both offer their particular flavor profiles and ideal types.
For example: Why would I drink an Earl Gray flavored black tea, and then complain that I do not taste mango? That would not be constructive, because Earl Gray is not the kind of tea that tastes like a mango. OR I would not drink Frozen Summit Tung Ting taiwanese oolong, and then be surprised and unhappy when it does not taste like classic, roasted TGY. I was drinking Tung Ting, not classic TGY, and those two teas taste different.
That being said, it is clear that you prefer classic Tieguanyin! That’s great, and that’s your own preference. However, I hope that someday you will give modern, green TGY a chance, because you will find they have a whole new world of delicious flavors to offer.
Hi, I am trying to get to know this TGY better. Certainly Verdant did not misrepresent the tea, it is rather me wrongly expecting something different. In fact Verdant is my favorite seller. I am a perfumist and I not only like to taste the tea, but smell it too. I find teas very much like perfumes ( the best perfumes you can almost taste). So, a good tea to me is a tea which must be able to activate more than one sensory perception. The smell must be paired with taste. With this TGY I got a bit confused. I also think that it is a matter of the right pot. Previously I used Zhuni, which is thin walled. The thicker purple zisha may do better.
What about Ting Tung? There are so many varieties! I just got 1980 Ting Tung from Red Blossom Company. I have mixed feeling. I hoped to find some mystery smell and taste in it, but so far I have not been too successful.
How were you brewing this tea? (for example- how much leaf did you use, etc?) I, too, have spent a long time trying TGY, and this one really has been stellar in my experience. For example, I think you could definitely get more than three steepings out of this tea.. I usually get at least thirteen or so Gong Fu style. Were you making this in a big pot, or in a gaiwan? What did you think of the aftertaste on this one? Or the texture? I’ve read a lot of your reviews, and haven’t seen a high review of any green oolongs, actually- except the frozen summit. Do you prefer Taiwanese and darker oolongs in general?
Whoops! I was just thinking over breakfast- duh, this is an autumn picking tieguanyin. I can definitely see someone being thrown off by this if you’re used to spring pickings, which are so floral and almost confectioners-sugar sweet. If you were looking for intense florals, these would be greatly changed from what you were expecting, to instead be more of the grassy, nutty, buttery autumn profile. And it looks like autumn might not be your cup of tea! If so, I hope you give the spring picking a chance when that time comes around.
Happy drinking
Hi, I am used to the traditional Tieguanyin. This is a modern version. Jasmin is nice but in good Tieguanyin IMHO is not so welcome, particularly if it lacks the classic complex notes. Tieguayin is a very old tea. I am looking now to find better vendors of this tea.
Yes, TGY is an old kind of tea. And yes, the modern methods of making TGY are green, not roasted. However, I must disagree with your implication here that only classic, roasted styles of TGY are legitimate and desirable. If you’re looking to find the flavor profile of a roasted, classic TGY in a green TGY, you obviously won’t find them. It is really a different kind of tea. I do not think Verdant has ever misrepresented this TGY as a classic, roasted TGY, so your comment that you are “looking now to find better vendors of this tea” doesn’t really apply. If you are looking for a different example of a modern, green TGY, that is a different story. (I would wish you luck in that search; I don’t think you’ll find it available outside of China!)
Personally, I’m not sure how constructive it is to compare the two kinds of tea. That would be like comparing a shu pu’er to a sheng pu’er. Yes, shu was originally created to mimic old sheng, but the two styles have now completely diverged! You can like shu, and you can like sheng, and you can appreciate them each for their own different merits.The same I feel is true for green TGY and classic TGY, which both offer their particular flavor profiles and ideal types.
For example: Why would I drink an Earl Gray flavored black tea, and then complain that I do not taste mango? That would not be constructive, because Earl Gray is not the kind of tea that tastes like a mango. OR I would not drink Frozen Summit Tung Ting taiwanese oolong, and then be surprised and unhappy when it does not taste like classic, roasted TGY. I was drinking Tung Ting, not classic TGY, and those two teas taste different.
That being said, it is clear that you prefer classic Tieguanyin! That’s great, and that’s your own preference. However, I hope that someday you will give modern, green TGY a chance, because you will find they have a whole new world of delicious flavors to offer.
Hi, I am trying to get to know this TGY better. Certainly Verdant did not misrepresent the tea, it is rather me wrongly expecting something different. In fact Verdant is my favorite seller. I am a perfumist and I not only like to taste the tea, but smell it too. I find teas very much like perfumes ( the best perfumes you can almost taste). So, a good tea to me is a tea which must be able to activate more than one sensory perception. The smell must be paired with taste. With this TGY I got a bit confused. I also think that it is a matter of the right pot. Previously I used Zhuni, which is thin walled. The thicker purple zisha may do better.
What about Ting Tung? There are so many varieties! I just got 1980 Ting Tung from Red Blossom Company. I have mixed feeling. I hoped to find some mystery smell and taste in it, but so far I have not been too successful.