As this tea (a 2013) is an aged tea, truly, I should have passed it by in my cupboard, but as I’ve only had one other tea from Verdant (their celebrated Laoshan Black), I decided to give it a whirl this morning. The dry leaves are still lovely twisty seal brown with tips of gold. There are some Yunnan’s, especially those that come from older trees, that I find to have flavor profiles that are more “manly” that typical Yunnan teas. Along with the apricot and chocolate notes, there is a wood note….sometimes an old wood note. This Wild Picked Yunnan tea has that wood note, but it is one that is more refined. It is not the bottom of a boat that a former sailor takes out each weekend to fish the local lake….it is closer to an old wine cask of oak that was never used for it’s purpose. The wood note is clear but not smoky or earthy. It is purely “of the tree”. I kinda like the organicness of that.
Being that this tea is old, it’s a very nice, well-balanced Yunnan Black. I’d like to try one of their more recent pickings to see how the wood note has morphed….if it has at all….. but in general, this is a nice Yunnan Black.
(I acquired this tea in a swap and for the life of me I cannot remember who sent it as an extra added bonus….so whoever you are, THANK YOU for your generosity.)
Flavors: Apricot, Chocolate, Oak
This is a wonderful tea that makes you sit up straight and pay attention! Love your tasting note. :)