Verdant Tea (Special)

Another one from tonight… i give up on this blend. I know it has blergamot in it, but to be honest, i can’t even taste it. It’s mostly just sticks to me…there is no vanilla, no orange just woodsy rooibos flavour. I’m passing this on to terri to see if she can get more out of it…just in case. Besides, she too must try all the teas! lol

Final Count: 131

this tea makes me sad.. it’s not blergamot-ey; it’s not orange-y…it’s just bark-ish? I dunno what the magic is but i can’t seem to make it happen. I’ll drink it, but it’s just kinda there… poop.

soooo funny story. I PURPOSELY SWAPPED FOR THIS ONE….and it has blergamot in it. dinosara graciously allowed me to have this one. I have to say….NO. I DID NOT STEEP THIS FOR 2 MINS… yes, i’m talking about you verdant and your two minutes “blends box teas all steeps for 2 mins…” although to be fair i did see at least ONE tea that had a different time.

Soooooo this one? totally not finding the orange in this….and i DID shake the bag up…i was hoping that the blergamot would give this s semblance or orange but be tied up with the vanilla and rooibos and it would be my ULTIMATE CREAMSICLE TEA. it’s not. it’s like a “spicy” sort of cinnamon? vanilla bean like woodsy rooibosy tea. i mean hey, it’s not half bad…but (and don’t tell anyone) i kinda keep wondering where the blerg is. Maybe after all these years of hating on it, it just up and left. got the heck out of dodge so it didn’t have to deal with my mean and hurtful words. that could happen right? stranger things have happened.

soooo on that note. tea good. not what i wanted or expected. will try to wrasstle with it later and see if i can’t wrangle a little more blerg outta this. shhhhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone.

Final Count: 141 (11 to go! 1 swap incoming)

Well, umm, I don’t know about these herbal blends from Verdant. Let me make this clear – I only know two of them – the ones that were in the February Amoda box. The other was Love & Joy blend and I didn’t care for it much. This one also didn’t do much for me. I mean, I know it’s not purely an herbal, since there is some green tea in it, but its flavor and aroma just screamed HERBAL, so that’s how I feel I should think of it (does that make any sense?).

So, anyway, there’s sure a lot going on if you look at the impressive list of ingredients but they all merge into this herbally herbaliness that makes me feel like I should be sick in bed. I know it’s not a very constructive criticism, but I just have a weird relationship with herbals. I don’t like when they taste like herbals. And this one absolutely did. I could not find anything unusual about it, no flavor note that deserved a better scrutiny… I guess the right word would be boring. This blend was boring to me.

Oh well, I know that Verdant has absolutely awesome teas and I will definitely reach for them. It’s just that I will be more cautious about ever getting their herbal blends.

Well Done Verdant :)
When I was reading the description and I saw all the ingredients that were in this tea tea I thought “meh too much stuff in there” and didn’t expect much from it.
When I tasted it realized i was wrong in thinking it had too much going on because the taste of all those things actually go really well together.
It is almost like a type of tea for wintertime but not quite bold enough for cold weather days, It is very subtle and sweet and actually pretty dern good for Springtime.
I can taste most of the things in this one, the cinnamon and the dandelion root, ginger, vanilla and even the Tea itself But it is difficult to tell single most of those flavor notes out because they are so very well balanced and really play together as one.
I figured it may be too complex to be enjoyed with all those ingredients But the flavors of this tea are only slightly complex with an overall unique taste.
Very Well Done.

Omg This is Awesome!!!!
Reminds me of Raisinets with some vanilla.
I love the Zhu Rong Tea, I was totally pleased with my TOTM box this time around New Zhu Rong and a Kick-Ass Zhu Rong blend :)

This one make me think of being at the movies with my Mom eating Raisinets, she really liked those, I think she would have enjoyed this tea too :)

dexter sent this one my way and i think it’s because she knows i’ll drink anything even if i don’t wanna! That’s how i feel about yabao…yanaoway is where i land with it. I don’t like the taste, don’t think it’s pretty but still i try…and try again. This one? tastes like every other yabao tea. blechy. BUT thanks for sharing dexter lol

Reviewed about a month ago. Raisins and chocolate with the goji berri and some creamy vanilla…just kicked back chilling with a pot of this wonderful tea.

I have never enjoyed a chocolate tea as much as this!!!
It reminds me of chocolate covered raisins with added berries, and creamy vanilla.
But I steeped it about 4 minutes.
I love a good, deep, rich flavor and I cannot for the life of me,
see getting that from a 30 second steep.
It was far worth the extra steeping time for me…transporting me to Heaven.
THIS IS DIVINE ♡

I had this one yesterday evening. Whoa, is this one different.

I tasted almost a honey flavor, a floral flavor (probably the chamomile), and a berry something, it was also mildly spicy. Definitely different. I did a second infusion and it wasn’t as honey or chamomile, but it was still different and delicious. I like this. I don’t know that I would drink it often, but I’m glad I have enough for a few more mugs.

Great roasted tieguanyin. It is quite smooth and even a bit creamy in the first cup. Others have noted the smell of incense on the wet leaves, which I detected. I don’t think it carries over into the flavor. There is a slight cooling sensation in the aftertaste. Since this was called a traditional tieguanyin I think expected something a bit toastier. I for a roasted tieguanyin I prefer Rishi Tea’s version.

backlog

I really hated this one the first time around. The second time, I made the first steep at four minutes instead of two, which made it much more bearable to drink. The first taste is apple, followed quickly by sweet chamomile and honeysuckle. Then there’s the lingering flavor of goji berries on the back end. It’s really well blended, actually. The smell is strange and off-putting though. Like something you’d baste a turkey with. Maybe that’s the frankincense? I have absolutely no idea what frankincense smells like. But the weird savory note actually comes out in the flavor and gets stronger as the tea cools. It’s just not working for me. Happily, I am sending the rest of this off to someone who can enjoy it.

A nice creamy tea. It does remind me a bit of butterbeer. I highly recommend it!

I received my first ever swap in the mail today from Kaylee, consisting of more of this lovely little tea, some flowering teas from Taiwan and a tea charm bookmark! And the cutest card! Thank you so much!! :)

So receiving the swap totally made my day, and now that I have more of this tea, I made myself a cup of it this evening to relax after another busy day of work. It looks like it might rain here (hoping!) so this tea combined with the rain will make for a very relaxing evening. Soft, sweet, soothing. Quite tasty! See previous notes on this tea :)

So I caved and ordered the extra February box from Amoda once I saw it was limited edition Verdant blends..I could not resist, especially the eight treasures one :D also, Amoda looks like it would be a good little investment! If I decide I need another monthly tea club, that one is definitely on the list :)

So I am trying this tea first as I felt like I needed a non-caffeinated tea right now haha. The dry smell is very chocolatey actually, with sweetness from the chamomile. I steeped with boiling water for 2 minutes. The resulting aroma is strongly of chamomile, with a floral and berry scent lingering in there as well.

The flavor is a very unique chamomile blend! Yes, chamomile is a predominant flavor in here, but there are soft floral notes blending with the other herbs to create a very soothing, sweet blend. The florals are SO NICE in here actually. There is a mild cocoa note mid-sip as well. A soft, well integrated tea, I like this for a cloudy, dreary afternoon like today. Oh, and I am pretty sure I can taste the Goji berries in here too, or elderberry, there’s some type of fruity berry flavor melding nicely with the florals! The chamomile is also a very apple tasting chamomile, I like it :)

Overall, this is another well done tea blend, and I am extremely pleased I have the privilege of trying this limited blend with the lovely offer by Amoda! Soothing, calming, delicious. I would probably order more of this if it ever becomes available again, for now, I will savor the sample!

ETA – as the cup cools, it turns even more into mostly chamomile flavor. Hmm. I miss the variety of flavors that were present eariler..still a nice relaxing tea though at least!

Not exactly my cup. The taste is way too aggressive and though I kinda like it, it is a very bad idea to drink it while eating or as a complement to anything else… (like thinking, lol). The taste overpowers everything. It’s certainly an interesting experience but not the one you’d like to repeat too often. (i.e. brewing multiple times is definitely possible but by the time you finish first cup you are a week away from wanting to try it again)

Eeek! I’m on my last cup and I’m sad to see this one go as it was such a yummy sample!

I’m quite enjoying my cup of this so far! This was in the March monthly bundle which just arrived yesterday so this is the first one I’ve tried so far.

I have only a few more samples left from the wonderful bunch Sil sent me back in Decenber…it seems that I saved the best for last.

This has an amazing aroma…it really came as a burst as soon as I removed the lid of the gaiwan. And guess what? It tastes even better!

It’s floral but not in a bouquet kind of way, just a delicate linger…also fruity, fig like.

Some caramel as well and a subtle nuttiness that wraps and ties everything together.

It feels round in the mouth, thick and voluptuous. I think it’s one of the finest Wuyi I have had for sure.

I stopped reading just to make sure I would fully focus all my attention to it. It’s that good. I had 4 delious steeps and will now cold brew the leaves for tomorrow…

Thanks Sil, this was lovely :-)

Dog and tea story…(skip if not interested)

My dog Dexter is a snob. I always say he’s an “AristoDog”, basically he acts like he’s Royalty. He doesn’t like to get messy, spring time, he tries to avoid stepping in mud, and if he does (which inevitably is bound to happen), he licks himself till he’s got no more saliva.
And Dexter likes his comfort. Yes, he’s allowed on the couch. He has special cushions that he grabs and carefuly places at stategic spots so he can morph into a sophisticated potato couch. This is a typical illustration of his concept for comfort:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/13451905514/in/photostream/

There’s one thing missing though: his “doux-doux” (French prononced “doo-doo” in English). “Doux” means soft. In my family, we’ve been calling our favourite special throws/blankets a “doux-doux” ever since we were little children. I still love special blankets, have several all over the house and ready to be used when sitting in front of a fire, or just to lounge on the couch, a book in one hand, a cup of tea in the other. Dexter has his own doux-doux, the same one since he was just a puppy. He carries it with him pretty much everywhere. When I wash it, he looks for it everywhere.

Today was a lounge doux-doux day for the both of us… I grabbed mine, he grabbed his, and we had a cup of this wonderful tea. I say “we” cause while I was sipping, he kept trying to get into my cup, literally…totally unlike him!

But there’s something about this intoxicating aroma that tantalized his canine nostrils it seems…well I don’t blame him, this stuff is irresistible!

First review! Haha I haven’t paid a lot of attention to this cup so far, but I’ll do my best. This was part of the March blend of the month club. I’ve sampled all of the teas from this box and the club itself actually except this one!

The dry smell is not very appealing to me, but that is the sarsaparilla giving it the woody, strong scent. I do get a bit of a vanilla-ness in there too along with the floral oolong base. I steeped this for around a minute and a half with 195 degree water.

The steeped scent is a bit better, more oolong, but still that sarsaparilla note that I don’t really enjoy. A bit cinnamony as well. The flavor is much better than the smell luckily. The first tastes reminded me of Master Zhang’s genmaicha with the toasty flavor, I think that might be from the dandelion root as it’s a common ingredient between the teas. As it cools there is more oolong flavor and almost a marshmallowy flavor, definitely can taste the sarsaparilla as it is like that foamy rootbeer flavor but not as sweet lol. There’s still a woodiness in there too, and that’s the one thing killing it for me, I haven’t really liked it in any of the blends with sarsaparilla from the blend club.

Overall, not a bad tea, but not a favorite of mine due to the woody note. An interesting tea nonetheless, I do get the marshmallow vanilla-y notes it’s going for, just not a solid winner due to personal preference. Happy to have the opportunity to try this tea though!