Verdant Tea

First Review. Tea and stories. I tell stories, as anyone who has stopped to read my reviews can tell…and I ramble on many times. I come from a family where Faith was part of the daily pattern of life and I always liked that even as a child. My dad and brother went to Seminary, so I weave my personal stories in naturally…but not to preach. The stories are part of the rhythm of my life. Tea is also that to a different degree.
This morning I awoke after a LONG evening of services leading up to
Pascha ( Orthodox Easter) which will be late tonight.
So this morning…I see the Holy Basil blend. Fr. Evan says Greeks usually grow basil in a pot by the front door so that the aroma blesses a visitor to your home. Also, Holy Basil fresh leaves were used by the Priest to bless my house, which is done every year. The leaves were dipped in Holy Water and sprinkled around each room while he sang even on me (my grandkids came to join in and Fr. Even did magic tricks for them).

Tasting notes start here
What would Holy Basil Spa Blend taste like. I wanted a morning where a refreshing tea was in order. This is a good day for that. I steeped 4 minutes and took a sip. Ummmm. The mint and ginger did not overpower this blend at all and I am thrilled! I don’t appreciate having a blend where you only can taste the mint or ginger because the tea blender only cares about the major flavors and sees the supporting cast almost as fillers. Right away I am enjoying the mild pepperiness. There has been attention given to how the tea will coat the mouth and it is silky and rich. You would not expect this from mint and ginger, but the burdock root and fennel bring body that I like, giving depth and warmth not dependant on ginger’s heat. I grow basil in several varieties but this type I associate more like incense so it evokes those calm reflective responses. I love the taste and scent. I could smell the licorice root in the wet mash but it doesn’t stand out on it’s own which again I am happy for. The licorice is supporting the basil. This is juicy. The fennel makes me want to bake bread. I love the way this little addition stops you from going down the mint track and brings you back to the ginger and burdock in a circle of cool, warm, cool, warm. The pepper at the finish is nice and hot at the tip of the tongue. I added sweetening but not honey. I hate to mask the flavor of tea. Maybe next time. If I make a Mayer Lemon honey I might try that iced this Summer…sounds refreshing with a sprig of basil! I would keep buying this blend!

Great relaxation tea. No caffeine! Wonderful mixer potental! I can see this as a tea with Greek food or chicken or salad with feta and capers. Good with Greek yoghert and fresh figs and honey or berries.

MY ORDER FROM VERDANT TEA CAME AND I CAN’T EVEN CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT!

Included in the package were the four teas that David generously let me custom pick for a sampler pack, a generously sized sample of the Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe, and a nice handwritten note from David! Verdant is truly such a wonderful company and I can’t wait to order from them in the future!

I got my package last night on my way home from a Fair Trade event that I hosted at our school with the Environmental Club (it was pretty successful, a good number of people came!) and my mom handed me this package in the car! I freaked and ripped it open (in the car :P) with the cap to a soda bottle (one of the ones that are reminiscent of a beer bottle)! Obviously I couldn’t try them at 9 at night, so I had to wait until now to try them! I picked this one because a black tea always makes sense to me in the morning.

Dry, this one smells so good! It’s got kind of a peppery scent, with a sweet aroma somewhere in the mix! I followed the directions and used a tablespoon and a half of leaves for my cup. I used a bottle of filtered spring water for this because I’m a firm believer that high quality teas should be made with pure, untainted water. Steeped, the aroma is very similar, but a honey like scent has come out. The color is a really nice golden amber. This is a fine example of a beautiful cup of tea.

The first steep is yummy! A nice honey taste is present and there’s a slight spiciness in the background, crawling around. It’s a bit dry on the swallow, but a nice juiciness arises just before the finish. Alright, I’m breaking down and adding a little bit of honey to this for good measure! I didn’t add too much, but OH MY GOD! This is delicious! I agree with every other review-this tastes like you’re drinking honey candies! I’m not generally a fan of pure honey, but this is so nice! Sweet and then there’s still that spicy note in the background. This is delicious. Truly liquid gold.

Second Steep-Boiling water for 3 and a half minutes. OMNOMNOMNOMNOM! This one is so good! Even better than the first! The honey is more subdued and the other flavors come out more! There’s still as nice lingering sweetness, and the astringency has all but disappeared! This is very good! I can’t wait to try the other teas I got!!!!

Backlogging:

Oolong love that’s what I have …. yes I do love Oolong! Verdant tea has stolen my heart with Gardens of Anxi! Hey in my book Oolong does not need improvement and Verdant recognizes this but why not make something so wonderful even better if and when you can! Verdant tea has added some real gems to this Oolong blend with jasmine blossoms. Yes I know I’m not a floral tea lover but the more quality floral teas I have the more I find out how wrong I was! The saffron is so decadent in this blend giving a soft buttery appeal. They have used orange rind as well but left out the bitterness of the rind leaving behind only wonderful orange essential oils and just the right amount!

I brewed this as per the site’s instructions.

Steep one afforded me my first taste of Oolong bliss, succulent sweet tea with a divine floral aroma, just the right balance of buttery notes playing gently off the amazing Tieguanyin base. The after taste is something like a sweet summer romance. You really want to swish this tea around in the mouth much like a wine taster would do to get its full flavors to shine, and to get the best appreciation for this heavenly blend! An interesting and unexpected apple note comes out but one more of an apple peel than apple itself with just a tinge of a tangy bitter like flavor but not a face puckering bitter more of a “oh this tastes like nature” bitter sweet sensation.

As the tea cools down some the honey flavors come toward the forefront. Jasmine is still the primary flavor but is so kind to allow the other flavors to come through without having to bully their way out of the floral arrangement provided thanks to the creativity of Verdant!

I should also mention – the dry leaf is such a beautiful sight! This tea is amazing if you steep it in a clear glass teapot! The leaves are gorgeous and the jasmine is a sight to behold blooming in your teapot! Verdant says it is best if the leaves and blooms have plenty of space to unfurl but that Oolong is forgiving (haha don’t I know it) so even if you can’t allow it proper space you will still have a lovely cup of tea to enjoy!

Anxi is the tea capital of China for the famed Oolong tea and there is a beautiful garden called Anxi which I would so love to visit one day! I had to google to find out where the name of this delectable tea came from!
I find this to be a playful tea, light, and bright, yet the creamy mouthfeel beckons one to slow down, and sip slowly, smiling the whole time. This is not a palate cleansing tea even with its bright, light nature, it immerses you in a depth of flavor explosions temping you to rush into that next sip. I keep having to remind myself not to gulp it down, “you have plenty more” I tell myself. It takes me back to childhood gobbling up as many cookies as I could before I am found out sneaking into the cookie jar! I am the grown up! I can drink as much of this as I want to and its not even bad for me! It seems such a sin almost to have something so delightful, so beckoning. I think if Romeo and Juliette had a favorite tea it would have to be this one!

I love Oolong!!!!!!
This is a really really good blend of superb Oolong and Jasmine.
Beautiful to look at, wonderful aromas, DELICIOUS flavors!

Just got my big oolong order from Verdant (I’m excited to try their spring Tie Guan Yin!), I ordered an ounce of each of their oolong teas, but somehow, I forgot to add an ounce of this to my order. Thankfully, I got a nice sample pack of this tea with my order.

This tea gives you an incredible rocky mineral taste that fills your mouth in the first cup with hints of chocolate. I brewed this in a quick gong-fu style doing only 4 steepings. The rest of the cups were not as strong in the mineral sensation, but lightly smoky and with a really subtle hint of cinnamon.

I will re-brew this tea once I have time to do a longer gong-fu session and post a more detailed tasting note. Overall, I enjoyed this Da Hong Pao very much, especially the first cup.

Wow, the website actually failed when I tried to post this the first time. Anyway, the tea is more floral than usual, which is probably due to my short steep time. I also noticed an interesting transition, where the tea starts out feeling creamy, but it transitions to the same mineral smoothness of a Wuyi Oolong as the taste begins to fade away. Unhfortunately, I need to run off to class, but I promise that I’ll come back to this and write a few more details.

EDIT: Right, the missing details of the first infusion: I was pleasnatly surprised by the floral flavors dominating the chocolate, which is something that is rather unusual. It’s always fund to notice something new about an old tea, especially one as interesting as this.

Second infusion, 10 seconds, 205 degree water. There is a rather interesting development withthe mouthfeel. The creamy flavor/feeling has been greatly reduced, and I can certainly taste the chocolate a lot more. Teh chocolate also lingers for a whole minute with the mineralish aftertaste. The floral flavor is still present, it’s just a lot less prominent.

This is my last day before I go back to the university, so I decided to drink something specail. My dwindling stock of Laoshan Black has been neglected for weeks, and was just dying to get tasted again. I decided to use small steep times , since thev’e been working out really well recently, and only steeped this tea for 15 seconds. The chocolate flavor is more exquisite than usual, with a surprising ammount of sweetness helping to make it more appealing. I also agree with David that this tea has a creamy texture, which was never really that apparent in early steepins when I used “true” western-style brewing. There’s also a bit of malt in the flavor profile which was usually much more muted. Overall, this was amuch better than expected, and I can;t wait to see how it develops.

Second infusion, 200 degree water for 10 seconds. IF the first infusion was dark chocolate, then this was milk chocolate. The taste was a bit snoother and milder, and the malty flavor was a bit more prominent. There is also this very interesting aftertaste/moutfeel, which I’m having a hard time putting into words, but it tastes a bit metalic/mineral-ish, like brass. Very strange…but in a good way.

third infusion, same preparatino as the second. Interestingly enough., the taste has changed enough that I wouldn’t call it chocolate anymore. It’s a bit like bread, but a lot sweeter than bread. The barley dominates the flavor now, yest the aftertaste quickly fades to the strage feeling I commented on previously.

This tea is great for editing a term paper and listening to Mozart’s Requiem mass (if only I had a better recording…). Anyway, I don’t have time for a full review of the tea, but I can say that the first infusion is a bit sweeter than last time, which results in a fruity flavor is making itself known. The flavor profile claims it’s currant, but I’ve never had currant before, so I don’t have anything to compare to. Regardless, this is delightful to drink, especially when frantically working on a paper.

The second cup was marked by an increase in the sweetness, the development of a floral flavor (Hibiscus? I’m not sure, because, once again, I haven’t had all that much exposure to this flower), and the completion of my paper! I’ve started to read a book You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto, which I need to read by Wednesday for my final in Posthumanist philosophy. I also had a delightful little discussion on classical music recommendations (see the comments, and if you like classical music, check these albums out.).

Anyway, music and philosophical ramblings aside, The tea continues to develop along the same lines as last time, providing a delightful experience. I’m actually kind of sad that my living situation doesn’t really allow for a gongfu tea set, as I would really like to experience this tea’s development in smaller increments. When brewed the western way, the flavor profile changes greatly between your steeps, and I’m sure that smaller steps would provide a more rewarding experience. For example, the first infusion was a delightful mix of dark chocolate, with undertones of fruit, yet the second infusion was much less chocolatey due to the strengthening of the fruit and the emergence of flowery flavors. The flowery taste came out of nowhere, but if I had been brewing gongfu style, it is likely that this flavor would have emerged more gradually.

The third infusion hasn’t really gotten malty, but the cinnamon is definitely present. It isn’t very strong yet, but it strong enough to be distinct. This steep is really complex, which means that I’m in the latter half of this session (which is kinda sad, but that’s how western-style breweing works. I really need to put some effort into getting a gonfu set…), and I can certainly expect the tea to gain complexity over the next two infusions. If I end up getting more than five, I’ll be surprised.

This is the forth and final infusion, mostly because if I wait longer, I’m going to have too much caffeine in my system to go to sleep at 1. Anyway, the cinnamon has developed nicely, but the chocolate is now gone. It is also interesting to note that the fruit flavors have changed. Again, the flavor profile claims it’s the appearance of raisin flavors, but I haven’t had raisins by themselves in years, and I certainly don’t remember what they taste like. Hmm, actually, that might make a good snack right about now…

Anyway, it’s still delicious, and I’m glad that I’m ending my day with this tea.

I drank this earlier to start off my weekend, but then stuff came up (as tends to happen in college), and I didn’t have time to sit down and write about my experience. If you want that, take a look at my other tasting note.

What is it with everyone today? Three people drinking Laoshan Northern black on the same day is too many to be a coincidence o.O

Regardless, I’ve been wanting to get some of this tea for months, and it just came in the mail yesterday, and I will not be deterred! The first infusion is simply sinful. It tastes like potent dark chocolate, something that I have a bit of a weakness for, competing with sweeter flavors to create something greater than the sum of its parts. It also has a kind of roasted quality to it, which reminds me a bit of more Big Red Robe, which is another bonus as that is one of my favorite teas. The tea finishes with a sweet aftertaste to round off this delightful tea. And now I’m torn between finishing this cup quickly to try out the next infusion, or taking my time and savoring the tea…

The second infusion is maltier and sweeter than the first, and the chocolate is not quite as strong. The chocolate is about 50% of the flavors of the foretaste, competing with floral and fruit flavors. As already stated, a maltier taste has developed, which is a pleasant surprise, as I though that it would take longer. So far, no sign of the spices that are said to develop, but I don’t really expect them to show up until the 4th infusion.

The third infusion has begun to develop the cinnamon flavor that Verdant talks about in their description of this tea. It’s still pretty weak, but it blends nicely with the other major flavors, and adds a great deal to the complexity of the tea. As a side-effect of this, the tea has also gotten quite a bit sweeter, but it remains quite pleasant. Once again, I’m anxious to see what developments the next infusion brings.

Forth and Fifth infusions are generally characterized by an increase in the strength of the cinnamon flavor. Nothing else changed, and it’s starting to bet a bit bland, so five was the limit.

The bottom line is that this is a very good tea, with interesting flavors that are uncommon at best. The best part is there isn’t anything that you could call bad about it, and that’s why it tied for the highest rating of teas I’ve tried.

I have to add, this tea is absolutely beautiful to look at. Cocoa nibs, chamomile flowers, marigold petals..I’m glad I brewed in a clear container!

I brewed it like a green, fearful of what the first cup would taste like. It smelled minty on the high note, a little spicy, with a light cocoa base. I tentatively took a first sip..to my surprise, it was smooth with no minty harshness. This is definitely a minty tea, but the marigold and cocoa really help to round out the flavours. I think I like this better cold, because I can really taste the sparkling on my tongue and the sweetness. I’ll probably save the rest for summer. Right now though, I wish the warm notes were stronger, since it’s still cold outside.

Thank you Verdant for this lovely sample of which I instantly went and ordered more of!
A lovely wooded flavor with many little surprises along the way!
Light berry notes.
And yes I do like apricot flavored teas – when they are naturally flavored :)

It’s been four months since I reviewed this tea.

I was wondering what I would think after going so long without even tasting it at all.
I’ll admit that I was hoarding the half ounce portion in my stash for some unknown reason. (Am I the only one that has the fear of a tea disappearing forever?) I must have more faith that there are further tea adventures ahead of me and bid this and other hoarded tea’s farewell.

Oh what a beautiful liquor this Jin Jun Mei has! Bright red-orange, golden and clear. Something like looking at a radiant amber topaz in the sunlight.

The flavor is not what I think of as a heavy Winter, stuck in the dark library… malty Black Tea. This one is a Spring morning and the World is waking up from months of frost malt type of tea. It’s flavor is alive and vibrant.

I make a caramelized Italian golden squash dish (Mario Batali’s recipe)using long slices of pumpkin (or squash), butter, brown sugar and a little balsamic vinegar and basil at the end. The squash turns into the most delicious sweet and savory, buttery dish. Oh my!

When I drink this tea, I think of this dish! The yammy, buttery and roasted flavor melting in my mouth are what I taste in this Verdant tea.
You can see why I hoarded it. Why wouldn’t I steal away as much as I could for a treat? But it’s gone.
I will have to look with anticipation for that next tea around the corner and now, after four months of drinking stunning tea’s…I know those tea gems exist. I have confidence.

This was a great cup of tea!

My learning continues, it’s just slow.

I can’t wait to jump right into the taste of this tea…but wait…catch my breath…first things first. The aroma of the dry leaf is very inviting and sweet pastry. The color of the liquor…ah..deepest pure bright honey gold 24K.

The flavor, oh my….Wonderful!
This tea is like the best homemade, still warm from the oven wheat bread…soft and steaming (my daughter bakes all the bread for the family). You want it now and can not wait to put unsalted fresh butter on it…and finally the whole messy lump is melting in your hands. Heavenly! It is one of those best memories for both kids and grandma’s.

Now on to the honey assertions. Honey is a harder flavor to pin down since there are soooo many honey’s out there. I know what the Verdant Website discription is getting at…but in this case I think that the bread itself has the sweetness and if anything it is a sweet malt from the wheat that I taste. Perhaps further steepings may change my mind. I added some sweetening after a bit which enhanced the flavors further and was delightful.

This tea is absolutely rich and special. I would recommend it especially as a brunch or morning tea because of the toasty flavors which would brighten up the day and give an excellent start. I imagine this would go well with strawberries and cream.

Here is a piece of music I love and sing in English (this is Russian):http://youtu.be/IHtfYkL71dI

Second Steep I had great success on a second steeping with no weakening of the brew. Very hardy. I think I know what I taste instead of honey for sweetness! Yam! It is fortuitous that I had been baking yams and the scent called to me. Once cooled, I tasted one… did a double take and a lightbulb went off in my head bing…YAM SUGAR! which can be very honey, brown sugarish. This is my final answer!

I’ve finally used the very last of this tea. It’s been almost a year, shich is rather remarkable, and this tea still tates just as good as it did when I bought it. The bottom of my canister was cleaned out into my cast-iron teapot, and I let it steep for a bit mroe than 15 seconds. The result is a very malty tea with a bit of a linen sensation that David commented on in one of his blog posts, highlighting the tea’s Yunnan pedigree. Another nice quality of this tea is that it is very warming, which is another reason that I decided to drink it today (It’s 40 and raining here in Virginia). Also, this tea is moderately sweet, adn the aftertaste is a bit hard to explain, but it lingers wonderfully on the roof of my mouth for two minutes.

Second steep, 10 seconds. The big change is the texture, which really dominates the flavor profile now. It’s really ver interesting to feel it this clearly. The tea is also a bit sweeter, but not quite at the same level as Golden Fleece. Regardless, this tea is still a wonderful example of a Yunnan black, and if I remember corectly it will contiunue to be a very interesting tea for several more infuions.

Sorry that it’s been so long, but I’ve been super busy lately. My internship has gotten a bit frantic, since it’s drawing towards it’s conclusion and I want to get as much done as possible. To top it off, a small presentation that I’m doing tomorrow just got a lot more serious (The CEO and other senior executives decided to attend :-\ Lots of stress…)

Anyway, The comforting warmth of this tea is helping me relax,and I’m glad that I decided to take a bit of a break. It actually turned out a bit sweeter than usual today, and the combination of taking time to slow down and make the tea and the comforting flavor is doing wonders for my stress. I don;t know why the malty taste is so comforting, probably has do deal with something from my childhood, but I;m just glad it’s working.

Good afternoon everyone! I just got back from a week and a half in London and Ireland, and the seven-hour flight gave me a major craving for caffeine. Honestly, I had only four good cups of tea, and two of those were iced tea at Hard Rock Cafes (I went to both the original London location and the Dublin location on the trip). Anyway, this tea was exactly what I needed: Sweet, yet still very flavorful. The boldness of the malt flavor was a welcome break from the monotony of the cheap hotel bagged teas.

Another day of intense study, another black tea, and another delightful piece of music. It’s really crunch time for me, so I’ll keep this brief. Today, I’m pairing this malty black tea with more philosophy (but I don’t agree with the author today, so it’s a bit frustrating…), and I’m listening to Das Rheingold as performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Georg Solti. Not the best recording, but I bought this when I was a little less picky, so if you know of a really good recording. please leave a comment.

Anyway, back to the tea, it’s very malty. Not as much as the Golden Buds that I was drinking yesterday, but it’s still the dominant flavor. The tea is a bit too strong yet to be classified as creamy, but I’d say that it will probably be next steep. Finally, the sweet aftertaste provides a nice smooth finish to complete the experience. It’s worthy to note that the tea is sweeter and a bit weaker than last time I brewed it, but not by a terribly significant margin.

As the forth scene of Das Rheingold draws to a close, so does my second cup of this tea. It must say that this was a singularly unique experience for drinking tea, but that might be due in part to the nasty weather I just had to deal with. Anyway, the malt flavor of the tea has begun to retreat a bit, and a wheat flavor has become evident. Also, the wonderful buttery mouth-feel has started to show itself, which combines with the wheat to give a sensation similar to taking a bite of buttered wheat bread, and letting it sit on the tongue. If you’ve ever done this, you’ll realize that it starts to taste sweeter the longer it sits there, kind of like how this tea has a sweet finish. Of course, you should take what I say with a grain of salt, as campus food leaves me longing for something a bit more flavorful…

As the the second act of Die Walküreplays (with an interlude of Byzantine music, see the comment from Bonnie for more info), the third cup of tea finally reached the right temperature to drink. The big developments of this cup was the malt flavor going dormant, and the beginnings of the peppercorn flavors beginning to show up in the aftertaste, lingering on the hard palate of my mouth. Unfortunately, I think this tea is past it’s prime, and I’ll probably only get one more cup out of these leaves.

Ah, the forth infusion of this tea was delightful in it’s subtleties. Most of the flavors of the tea are in decline, but the peppercorn flavor provides a delightful sensation as it dances across the surfaces of the mouth, and once again lingering on the hard palate. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else left for the flavor, so this is definitely the final cup. Surprisingly, one of the things that has stuck around until the (figuratively) bitter end was the buttery mouthfeel. Usually this little sensation would have been long gone from the tea, but that just goes to show how good this tea really is.

I’m backlogging this as I woke up this morning, and found out that 8 hours of work I did yesterday all went down the drain due to a freak accident involving how SAS saves files. Needless to say, the past 6 hours have been full of frantic programming, colorful cursing, and tons of tea. I think I got five steeps out of these leaves, but don’t quote me on that. Anyway, check out my first note about this tea for more detailed information.

It was still raining today. And it was cold. REALLY COLD. And it was windy, so my umbrella was pretty much worthless. I desperately needed something bold and warn to help recover from my brief trip through the elements, and this tea fit the bill.

I was generous with the amount of leaves I used (As much a one can be when using a tea ball), and I let it sit for a good five minutes for the first infusion. the result is a deep red, bordering on black, and with a taste that was a nice creamy, yet strong, malt. Anyway, I’m sitting here writing, this, and it’s already starting to warm me up, so it looks like this was the right decision.