For those who don’t know me, I have a very deep cynical streak (the title of my first CD was ‘Cynical Serenity’). I also have trust issues, especially when it comes to ‘guru’ types. So, having said that, when I hear people referred to as ‘Master’ this, or whatever, I’m always a little suspicious. Also, when companies give all these amazing descriptions & make things sound so unbelievably good, I secretly roll my eyes with doubt. Even Verdant. Sometimes it just seems a little over the top.
Having said that, where Verdant is concerned, I am almost always impressed, & today is no exception. I don’t know why I should still be skeptical, except that it is just my nature, I guess.
So…I’ve been enjoying this Shu all afternoon, steeped in a Gaiwan, steep after steep. Everything about this tea speaks of quality & craftmanship. From the awesome banana-leaf wrapper, (or whatever it’s made of, your damn right I’ll be buying a brick!), & the dark beauty of the leaf itself, to the bright clean flavor that is fruity, creamy, & slightly tart, this is a lovely Shu! I’m not done with it yet, & next time I’ll use the Xingyang workshop parameters.
Master Han is the Jedi Master of Tea. Thank you David & Lily, for all that you do for us crazy tea drinkers! I love you guys!
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Ha ha. I’m a total secret eye roller. Sometimes not so secret. This tea has one of my most favorite tea descriptions ever, especially this part “The musty and aged quality of this tea is so refined that it moves away from earthy and more towards the satisfying smell of old libraries.” Someday when I finally develop a taste for puerh, maybe that will sound appetizing. Not so much yet :-). But I am sipping on special dark right now. Finally found one I don’t want to just dump down the drain. Ha ha.
ah, subtlety is lost on me… i don’t do it in secret, i’ve been known to say ‘prove it’. not rudely, just candidly.
this puerh i would love to try….. august, august, august.
My favorite “old library” shu is xingyang golden leaf ’98. I love that tea, & it just happens to be one of the reserve teas this month too!
Oh lucky! (for both this and the Xiangyang). I need to hold off for financial reasons. I hear you on the skeptical. My mom is often mentioning workshops to me by “one of the great spiritual teachers/leaders of our time” or something similar. And though I may be inclined to what they are giving a workshop about: ancestors, journey work etc, my mom’s phrasing turns me off.
Autumn, I figured out a long time ago that the answers always come from within. Nobody in the world can intercede for me, or do anything to help me connect to the Universe (God, or whatever). If I sit down & ask for guidance, I will receive it. There are a lot of things that nobody can know…the Pope, the Dalai Lama, etc. I’m not saying they may not have some answers, but those same answers are available to me (or you) when we take the time to be quiet & alone, maybe journal a little, & breathe! Nobody can guide my spiritual experience except me!
You said exactly something that has been on my mind about Verdant. They go so far out there with their over the top selling hype, I find it a real turn off. It makes me want to boycott them because it seems so manipulative. That being said, their teas are generally wonderful. But I can’t help feeling cynical when I try their teas which almost takes some of the joy out of the experience. I hope they read these comments, though I might send them a note as well.
mine arrived along with a sheng and a hand picked laoshan in my tea of the month shipment…
on a separate note and playing the part of devil’s advocate: culturally there are chinese tea masters, and in the north america there are tea mastery courses… verdant (in my opinion) creates brilliant products. who does it hurt really if they refer to their tea engineer as master han? why assume it’s a manipulation and not a sign of respect.
i can’t say either way which would be true, and in my experience the middle road is often the most accurate. i suppose i like to err on the side the cup of tea half full.
All in all, in spite of my skepticism, I’ve loved almost every tea I got from them, LOL. I guess that really says it all, right?
terri, you are a lovely person.
Why thank you, James!
Just noticed this thread, bit of a late response here, but I’ll throw in my two cents…
I’m also a bit skeptical of anything/anyone with the title of “master”, but it recently occurred to me that it’s a traditional form of respect in the Chinese culture to call an experienced elder “lao shi”, which basically means “teacher” and I suppose could also be translated to “master”. Considering that Verdant’s relationship with their tea sourcers is one of friendship and respect, I can understand why they would refer to them as “Master so and so”.
I also have some slight issues with Verdant’s fancy descriptions, but after listening to some of the conversations David has with the tea farmers, I’m certain of Verdant’s genuineness. Up until then, I had a slight concern in the back of my mind that some of Verdant’s claims of friendships with tea farmers and sourcers were exaggerated, but his fluency in Mandarin is impressive— I almost couldn’t tell he had an accent (my family is from China so I hear Mandarin and a few other regional dialects being spoken fairly frequently).
Cool, Ag! Thanks for chiming in!
The truth is, I love almost every tea I get from Verdant, & I do feel that they are very genuine in all they share. I also really enjoy the info they share, & the personal way that they deal with the growers, & those of us who purchase the tea.
Ha ha. I’m a total secret eye roller. Sometimes not so secret. This tea has one of my most favorite tea descriptions ever, especially this part “The musty and aged quality of this tea is so refined that it moves away from earthy and more towards the satisfying smell of old libraries.” Someday when I finally develop a taste for puerh, maybe that will sound appetizing. Not so much yet :-). But I am sipping on special dark right now. Finally found one I don’t want to just dump down the drain. Ha ha.
ah, subtlety is lost on me… i don’t do it in secret, i’ve been known to say ‘prove it’. not rudely, just candidly.
this puerh i would love to try….. august, august, august.
My favorite “old library” shu is xingyang golden leaf ’98. I love that tea, & it just happens to be one of the reserve teas this month too!
Oh lucky! (for both this and the Xiangyang). I need to hold off for financial reasons. I hear you on the skeptical. My mom is often mentioning workshops to me by “one of the great spiritual teachers/leaders of our time” or something similar. And though I may be inclined to what they are giving a workshop about: ancestors, journey work etc, my mom’s phrasing turns me off.
Autumn, I figured out a long time ago that the answers always come from within. Nobody in the world can intercede for me, or do anything to help me connect to the Universe (God, or whatever). If I sit down & ask for guidance, I will receive it. There are a lot of things that nobody can know…the Pope, the Dalai Lama, etc. I’m not saying they may not have some answers, but those same answers are available to me (or you) when we take the time to be quiet & alone, maybe journal a little, & breathe! Nobody can guide my spiritual experience except me!
You said exactly something that has been on my mind about Verdant. They go so far out there with their over the top selling hype, I find it a real turn off. It makes me want to boycott them because it seems so manipulative. That being said, their teas are generally wonderful. But I can’t help feeling cynical when I try their teas which almost takes some of the joy out of the experience. I hope they read these comments, though I might send them a note as well.
mine arrived along with a sheng and a hand picked laoshan in my tea of the month shipment…
on a separate note and playing the part of devil’s advocate: culturally there are chinese tea masters, and in the north america there are tea mastery courses… verdant (in my opinion) creates brilliant products. who does it hurt really if they refer to their tea engineer as master han? why assume it’s a manipulation and not a sign of respect.
i can’t say either way which would be true, and in my experience the middle road is often the most accurate. i suppose i like to err on the side the cup of tea half full.
All in all, in spite of my skepticism, I’ve loved almost every tea I got from them, LOL. I guess that really says it all, right?
terri, you are a lovely person.
Why thank you, James!
Just noticed this thread, bit of a late response here, but I’ll throw in my two cents…
I’m also a bit skeptical of anything/anyone with the title of “master”, but it recently occurred to me that it’s a traditional form of respect in the Chinese culture to call an experienced elder “lao shi”, which basically means “teacher” and I suppose could also be translated to “master”. Considering that Verdant’s relationship with their tea sourcers is one of friendship and respect, I can understand why they would refer to them as “Master so and so”.
I also have some slight issues with Verdant’s fancy descriptions, but after listening to some of the conversations David has with the tea farmers, I’m certain of Verdant’s genuineness. Up until then, I had a slight concern in the back of my mind that some of Verdant’s claims of friendships with tea farmers and sourcers were exaggerated, but his fluency in Mandarin is impressive— I almost couldn’t tell he had an accent (my family is from China so I hear Mandarin and a few other regional dialects being spoken fairly frequently).
Cool, Ag! Thanks for chiming in!
The truth is, I love almost every tea I get from Verdant, & I do feel that they are very genuine in all they share. I also really enjoy the info they share, & the personal way that they deal with the growers, & those of us who purchase the tea.