Spring Harvest Laoshan Green (2013)

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Butter, Kettle Corn, Milk, Oats, Peas, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Butternut Squash, Creamy, Grain, Toasted, Vanilla, Vegetal, Lima Beans, Roasted Barley
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Shelley_Lorraine
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 30 sec 4 g 9 oz / 272 ml

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43 Tasting Notes View all

From Verdant Tea

The body is perfectly smooth, silky and creamy, while the aftertaste lingers in the back of the throat with a sweetness that only an early spring tea could achieve. The dominant flavor is that of oat cereal and vanilla soy milk. The green qualities of the tea come through not as an assertive grassiness, but more as the sweetness of fine Belgian Endive, or hearts of Romaine. In later steepings, there is the taste of green beans baked crisp and caramelized, along with fresh, fragrant notes of sugarcane.

About Verdant Tea View company

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43 Tasting Notes

77
14991 tasting notes

Not feeling 100% today so I wanted something a little lighter this morning. I had a few steepings of this one and I was reminded of why sometimes it’s nice to have a really solid green tea in the house…provided you can drink it before it goes flat :)

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676 tasting notes

After drinking the new Laoshan Green Oolong yesterday and using the spent leaves in my lunch salad (delicious), I had a ‘taste’ for more Laoshan Green Tea and ‘happened’ to have the 2013 Spring Harvest Green. Waddaya know?!

My plan was to brew this tea, then use the leaves (again) in today’s lunch salad. (last night I sauteed leftover Laoshan Green Oolong leaves with fish and butter…so good!)

I saw the $12 cute little glass ‘beeker’ infusers on the Verdant website, I bought one…and I’ve been using it quite often.

Using a little over 1 tsp leaves, I filled the beeker 3/4 full (about 5oz) with 185 degree filtered water. Steep time was 6-8 seconds. (Didn’t cover during steeping per instructions from Verdant)

The flavor was like eating the flesh from the center of fresh, uncooked green beans when you’re sitting with a colander, snapping them in pieces. I always pop a few in my mouth because the flavor is so fresh!
As I sipped the tea, I pictured myself dangling my feet in a pool of water watching dragonflies race by, dust dancing on beams of light. There was a clean smell. Water running over granite rock into the pool, the scent mixed with my sips of fresh beans.

The second steep was thick and coated my mouth as though ate a plate of cooked vegetables (including slightly bitter zucchini). This slightly bitter taste is good!
Wine does this same with tanin in the right amount. It wakes up the taste buds, and suddenly…you’re aware of flavor that’s amazing!

There was a sweetness that I hadn’t tasted on the third steep.
The tea had become smoother, still rich and creamy, but a sweet, subtle,less savory bean taste. Glistening.

Now my head was caving in…felt good…

Spring Harvest Laoshan Green vibrates with awakening life.

Bonnie

I have to say one more thing… the comments from Verdant on soybeans are well…I didn’t grow up around soybeans or fresh soymilk exposure like they had in China so I have a hard time comparing tea to soy. Fresh other veggies…I can do.

canadianadia

I’m always looking for new ways to use my spent leaves. I love the idea of eating them in a salad. I’ll have to look into this some more to see what I have in my cupboard that might be suitable to eat. Thanks for sharing

Nxtdoor

I wonder if it would make good barbecue sauce. You know, cook them. With some sugar, or maple syrup, some coke (yes, coke) or beer, or whatever liquid other than tea, tomato paste or ketchup for the low grade version. Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, depending on what flavour profile you’re going for. I’d probably not do soy unless you want an Asian BBQ. But a smoky tea I bet would make good BBQ sauce.

Bonnie

I can’t imagine this as a BBQ sauce, but a savory complex butter sauce or Asian sauce…Yes. Tea’s are tricky because they’re delicate. A heavier BBQ flavor would be good using Lapsang Souchong since it’s already smoky.I use it powdered to steam vegetables.

JustJames

your reviews always make me hungry! i drink tea by the liter but i’m not much of and eater so i’m always caught offguard. i was visiting montreal years ago and ordered ‘un poulet papiotter’, which translates to: ‘a papered chicken’, lol. in effect the breast had been steamed in paper with fresh herbs and vegetables on top…. i have basil on my deck and green tea leaves… my mind is turning.

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89
1186 tasting notes

I haven’t written a tasting note in ages! It’s been so busy lately with work picnics, seeing old friends and new ones, etc.. But I will log this tea tonight because it’s just so yummy, i also drank a delicious verdant puerh today but I will log it later when I make note of flavors lol. Anyways, back to my beloved laoshan green.. This harvest seems more sweet and a bit lighter and nuttier than the previous one I had, I think it was a summer one. Regardless, the delicious taste is still here, although I’d say it’s more like snap peas this time around! Probably one of my favorite green teas, if not my favorite, is laoshan green. So happy I found verdant last year for this unique green!

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3294 tasting notes

One of the best things about Verdant’s TOMC Classic is that we get to sample the newest teas. I’m really grateful that they started making a note of telling us what they are sending, because I had the habit of ordering teas as they become available, only to end up getting more of the tea I just ordered. Sometimes that can be a good thing, but in the case of green teas, a little goes a long way (for me, at least). I have to be careful drinking green teas, as I tend to get a stomach ache if I drink too much. These very short steepings help, but I rarely make it to the 6th round. Not all greens have this effect on me, but they tend to, & of course, I can never drink them on an empty stomach ever.

This is a lovely spring green that brews into a pale cup, very mild in flavor, but somehow bright & lively on the tongue. I totally get the oats & soymilk essence, and the ‘green-ness’ of the flavor is like peas or some other spring veggie, always so familiar & yet hard for me to place.

TheTeaFairy

Can’t wait to get my shipment of this! As I remember from last spring, it’s a very mellow green with no bitterness at all. I know what you mean about that familiar vegetal taste hard to name specifically sometimes. « greenness » is totally appropriate :-)

Dag Wedin

The reserveclub will be four springteas aswell :)

Terri HarpLady

I saw that, Dag. I think I will have my quota of spring greens covered…for quite awhile! :)

Terri HarpLady

My only concern: It looks like one of them is Mrs. Li’s Dragonwell. I’m assuming this is Ms. Li’s even-more-spectacular Dragonwell?

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1719 tasting notes

This is my first Verdant tea ever. I feel there is so much pressure associated with it – like a movie everyone is crazy about – that it makes me uncomfortable. It can’t possibly live up to the hype.

I used my press and 175 F water being careful not to pour the water directly over the crinkly leaf. I wish I had added the leaf after the water for more of a dance. The wet leaf has a very strong aroma of artichoke/stew beef. The liquor is very clear and yellow.

The first cup is really creamy and tastes like Cheerios. There is a bite late in the sip that reminds me of Dragonwell. The aftertaste is really sweet and lingers. As nice as this already tastes, I was intrigued even more by the cup as it cooled. It takes on notes of creamed corn.

Cups two and three lose the creamy oats and replace it with a more green (not grassy) cup with a light but good metallic bitterness. That doesn’t sound tasty but it is. The aftertaste remains very sweet.

A very good tea indeed!

Bonnie

See, you survived. I’m their black tea fan but have some of everything.

Terri HarpLady

Yay!!! I’m so glad you liked it! Can’t wait to hear your reviews of the other teas!

caile

That’s how I felt as well!

K S

Terri I did the Devotea earl grey yesterday if you missed it. Pressure is off now, I’m ready to dig in!

SFTGFOP

Like your description of Cheerios. :)

Terri HarpLady

I’m way behind on my reading of reviews here! But I’ll be sure & check that review out!

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85
523 tasting notes

I do love me a cup of vegetal tea. ♡

I went to the grocery store and got my dogs from the groomer. I came home to see some dude with a clipboard at the door. I expected it to be some door-to-door spammer of sorts (as they often are) and hoped he’d just go away. But no, it was the utilities man. He needed to do something with my water meter and also go under the crawl-space. Well, in an effort to keep our escape-artist dogs contained in the back yard, my husband bolted a board across the back gate which meant that letting the utility guy come and go was a matter of constant attention through a little finished room in the garage. Gee, and all I wanted to do was get something to eat and make some tea (and go to the bathroom) when I got home. At least he’s gone now. And I have my tea. I’m still hungry though. . .

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300 tasting notes

My son Rowan and I enjoyed this steeped up in my new gaiwan set that arrived today: http://verdanttea.com/teas/crystalline-glaze-gaiwan-tea-set/

Beautiful set, beautiful tea. At first I thought my water was too hot, but now that I see the soy milk description, it really is spot on. It doesn’t taste quite as vegetal as some of the previous harvests, it was softer all around but it still has the signature bean quality and a lovely sweet aftertaste that surprised me when it first hit my tongue.

Very grateful Verdant included this generous sample as I await another order of just tea which I think is on hold for, well this tea… it still says pre-order on the website. Patience, I have plenty of tea to tide me over.

TheTeaFairy

it’s gorgeous!

Autumn Hearth

And recently got an email that its the Bai Mu Dan that is holding things up

Tamm

What a beautiful set!

Fjellrev

Gorgeous set. You have great taste!

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99
1113 tasting notes

I’m drinking this delicious one today. I am almost out of it but looking forward to opening the summer harvest very soon :)

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90
359 tasting notes

How lucky am I to still have a bit of this left?

Sweet snap pea, buttery spinach, creamy corn deliciousness! I get a faint vanilla bean note also. This green tea is one of a kind!

Don’t really know how it compares to the other harvests, I’ve been buying spring harvest for two years in a row. The first year, I thought next year, I’m gonna wait for the summer harvest. But then I get an email from Verdant announcing spring 2013 has arrived and I just can’t wait for the summer harvest cause I crave this tea right now!

Let’s see what happens with 2014 harvest :-)

Donna A

Really enjoying the last of this today. Still very good.

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50
336 tasting notes

OK. I have been holding off on doing a legitimate review of this tea because I was convinced I was doing something wrong. Every time I try to make it, I feel like I oversteep it. I take one sip, and then can’t even finish the cup. So this evening after work, I decided to make this one my inaugural gaiwan tea.

I’m still on a learning curve with the gaiwan, but I’ll get there. I think I have the gist of it though?

I’m going to rain on the Steepster parade with a brutally honest account of my personal experience. I don’t know what the issue is with me and this tea. I don’t know if I got a weird batch, or if I’m still making it wrong – or if this particular flavor profile just doesn’t sit with me. Dry leaf smells like fake chocolate flavoring on top of a green base, and the two aromas do NOT jive together for me. It’s the same fake chocolate flavoring I tasted in the Laoshan black, but unlike black tea, it does not go well with green. When I make it – even with a gaiwan, with water that is even cooler than what Verdant’s website calls for – it always tastes like I overdid it. The thing is, I’ve done it so many times now, and the taste so resembles the smell, that I’m doubting it’s my error, I think it’s the tea. The wet leaf aroma and flavor are completely unappealing to me. There’s a light vegetal taste, which is fine until it’s overpowered by a burnt, sickly sweetness that legitimately makes my stomach turn.

Suggestions?!?!? My gaiwan steeping was ~1 tsp of tea at 170 degrees for 10 seconds (although I may accidentally have gone a little over, which may partly account for the burnt quality.) Am I doing it wrong or do I just have an aversion to this particular flavor profile?

Fjellrev

It just may be your taste buds. Nothing wrong with that. :)

Dexter

I agree, you don’t have to love a tea just because it’s popular. Everyone has their own tastes/preferences.

Lily Duckler

My other suggestion would be to try brewing in glass and not to cover your tea as it’s steeping. Covering increases the brewing temperature even over short brewings and can make greens more temperamental. Brewing in glass is also a good option as the material is so good a dissipating heat.

I generally brew green tea with my nose. Just like green vegetables are done cooking when they look most beautiful, green tea usually tastes the best when it smells best. With this tea, for example, I usually pour my water against the side of the glass (so as not to shock the leaves), swirl for around five seconds, and smell. If it smells good, then it’s done brewing: I pour out into a new glass through a strainer.

Have you seen David’s brewing videos about Laoshan Green? I’ll leave the links here for reference. Though the videos are using different harvests, the same methodology still applies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jO0wH7vTpQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlDwPs4_Dm8

All of that said, the flavor profile of Laoshan Green tea is very distinct. In Chinese, we refer to it as “dou xiang wei”.. (soy) bean fragrance/aroma flavor. It is a decidedly sweet vegetal flavor that leans more towards sweet-savory (soy bean, green bean) rather than more leafy // chlorophyl (grasses, fresh leaves). In that way, your comparison to chocolate makes sense- cocoa is after all made from a particularly sweet bean. However, just like some people do not enjoy chocolate (cocoa bean) while others do not like cream or milk or the flavor of vinegar or the flavors of red meat, it’s possible that this flavor is just not something you enjoy. Given all of this, I want to thank you you taking so much time with the He Family’s tea! Because I love what Mr. and Mrs. He are able to get out of their land and their leaves, so I always really appreciate seeing people take the time to try and taste their tea.

If you’re ever in the Midwest, I hope you’ll be able to come and visit us in Minneapolis. I’d love to make this tea (and others) for you and drink it with you!

TeaKlutz

Folks, look at the above comment; if this isn’t the height of professionalism, I don’t know what is. Lily took the time and patience to respond to an abnormally negative and blunt review of one of her company’s signature teas with steeping suggestions, links, and an explanation of how the flavor profile is created, without getting defensive. She then went on to thank me for trying her company and even went so far as to invite me to their store! It’s commendable to go the extra mile for an appreciative customer, but to do it for one who complains about the product is truly a cut above.

Lily, thank you for your thorough feedback – I hadn’t considered how covering the tea would affect the steeping temperature! I’ve still got some of this tea left, so I’m going to revisit it with your advice. I also want to let you know that although the Laoshan green wasn’t my cup, I enjoyed your Laoshan black tea, and I fully plan on restocking that as well as trying some of your other selections.

Lily Duckler

Thank you, TeaKlutz! I hope you have better luck next go-around, but if not? The autumn harvests are coming up soon, and every season brings a different quality to each tea.

Happy sipping!

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