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I received this as a sample with my gaiwan that I purchased from Norbu. I almost missed this in the box. Very floral, it reminds me of Shade Grown Tie Guan Yin with a floral sweetness.

Thanks Norbu for the great sample.

This was one of the samples that David kindly gave to me to try. Wow. So far I have done 5 steeps and it gets more complex. I get grape jelly on the first steep and then clove. I might have to stock this in the new year.

Thanks for the sample :)

I bought this tea because I wanted to use it as a mixer for a few other teas. I was going to blend it with the Laoshan Black tea and a few of the pu’ers that I purchased. Before I did that I wanted to try it by itself. I did not make a big pot of it just did a nice sample size in my tasting cup.
The dry mixture was spicy smelling with a citrus undertone in the back. After brewing it, it reminded me of the times that I was sick as a kid. My aunt would chop up some ginger root and some orange peel and let it boil on the stove for a few hours. It would make the whole house smell amazing. She would add in some lemon juice and at touch of clover honey, and tell me to drink up as got ready to go out with her college friends. Being a kid with asthma this would make my chest and throat feel better in the long run . The fennel and saffron add a nice flavor to it as well. This reminds my of Samovar’s Orange Ginger Herbal Blend, with more kick.

Well I was on the fence about buying this. I have not had earl grey in a long time without the word crème following it. So I did not know if I should get the Golden Earl or the Lavender Earl Green. So here it is the Golden won. The bag smelled amazing. Orange and honey with light Bergamot scent in the back.
I am writing this note after drinking it twice. The first time was not the best experience. After brewing it and tasting it something was a little off. Sadly I can not explain what it was. The dry and wet leaf smelled great, just when I drank it it did not come together.
I decided to try it again this morning. Much better for sure. The orange and golden buds was right there in front. For the first cup I did not add anything, which I usually don’t. The second steep I wanted to add a little honey.The bergamot was there in the back. Not overpowering the tea.
I used more tea the second time I drank it…I guess that was the problem the first time.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received this with my tasting set that I purchased from Adagio. When I opened the package I was hit with a nice spicy chocolate aroma from the dry leaf. I decided to brew this in the tasting set, and was happy with the results….although I did spill a little.Tasted like cayenne pepper on a dark chocolate bar. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed this tea.

This was my sample from my 2nd order from verdant. I get a little surprised every time with a great sample…since I leave it up to them.The last sample was the Sun Dried Jing Shan Green tea, which I purchased more of with this order.
The scent of Jasmine was just right. When I opened the box it was the first thing that I smelled, which confused me because I did not think I ordered anything with Jasmine. It was at the bottom of the box…Yunnan White Jasmine. The smell was not artificial smelling at all. This is my second white jasmine tea. The first was the Steepster Select pearls…which I traded. I did not think it had a good balance of jasmine and white.
I decided to brew this in my new tasting set from Adagio. Since my gaiwan broke this was the next best thing for this tea. The jasmine was not over powering the white at all. A nice balance. The second steep came and went quickly. I was wondering where the apricot jam flavor was going to come through. It was not until my second to last sip that it hit. Very nice! The third steep the apricot jam flavor was even more prominent in the tea. I am now on my 4th steep and the apricot is still going strong with the jasmine.
While I am not typically a white tea girl….this was a nice indulgence.

Thanks for the sample. :)

Almost through my Verdant Alchemy blend adventure. I have been eyeing this on the site for a while now. Out of the 11 teas that I purchased last order I wanted to save this towards the last of my blends run. This is very very very good. Buttery and floral are the key words that jump out when you are drinking this. The orange highlights the buttery sweetness well. I am on my 4th steep and the orange is coming out a little more then before.

For an oolong girl this was a real treat.Great blend for sure!

Im not really getting smoke some from this. It reminds me of charcoal roasted Tung Ting. I was expecting something else I guess.It might also be me. My allergies are flaring up a bit so I can’t really smell. I will probably have to try this again when I feel a little better. I just could not wait to try it…

This is a great blend and a great intro to pu’er if you don’t want to dive head first into the world of pu’er. I am not a huge pu’er fan, but I have been trying to get more into them. It seems that verdant’s pu’ers are the only ones that I like. I have already purchased more of the Diyi Cornfields Shu that I got from Steepster Select, and I wanted to look at the other pu’ers that they had to offer. I told myself that while the descriptions of them were enticing I thought I should look more into the Alchemy Blended pu’ers to start off with.

It was hard to choose between this one and the Chrysanthemum Pu’er, but the word “spiced” tipped me over to this one. Me being a chai lover I had to try this one first.
The dry leaf smells amazing. No mustiness that has stopped me before, but pure spice. I put two nuggets and 2 teaspoons of the spices. Did a quick rinse and brewed it for 5 mins. The wet leaf was so sweet and spicy smelling that I almost forgot that it was pu’er. The first sip was smooth and clean. Clean dirt with ginger and orange. I could not make out much of the elderberry, but the galangal was in the background.

Very nice Verdant:)

I brewed this for some afternoon tea. Rich and complex with every sip. I can make out the Laoshan Black, and the Golden Buds perfectly. There is a hint of mustiness in the background from the Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er. Its nicely balanced and a vacation from other normal “Breakfast Blends” one may drink.

The Alchemy Blend Adventure continues…:)