The dry sheng leaves were dark brown with some khaki stems and slivers of white visible. The dry leaf didn’t smell like much — just your typical “sheng” smell: a little bit of smoke, tartness, and fruit. I used the whole sample in my gaiwan and did 6.5 steeps (during the 7th steep there wasn’t enough water left in my teapot to fill the gaiwan all the way) ranging in length from 6 to 12 seconds.
Throughout every steep, the liquor was extremely light and clear, ranging from a beautiful peachy colour in the first steep to a nice pale amber in the final steep. Verdant’s website said that this tea had strong notes of plantain and lychee, but I didn’t really get that here. Instead, I got some generic apple and grass notes, with a flavour of hay coming into play around the 4th steep.
Despite the relative mildness of the flavour, the tea did have a really good, thick, mouthfeel. Not quite syrupy or creamy, but there was definitely substance to it. There was absolutely no bitterness, but the later steeps did have some astringency to them, resulting in a cottony, gauzy feeling in my mouth. They also tasted some what mineral and smoky.
Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/10/verdant-teas-5-for-5-sample-pack/
