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“Spoiler Alert on February’s Amoda Box! I was so, so, so excited when this showed up in the mail today because yay — Valentine’s Blends! I’m so incredibly less cynical about the holiday than I was...” Read full tasting note
“Second steep, and this is a bit more enjoyable — although I fail to get anything even remotely close to candy hearts. I get cocoa first, jasmine strongly, then a touch of rose and honey. There’s...” Read full tasting note
“Surprise Tea! (And sorry if the name of this gives away the surprise to those with subscriptions, but I’m not sure how to handle these things. Before I just added them in and never tagged it Amoda...” Read full tasting note
“It seems as though all my teas that I chose tonight all came from MissB! Well, it is another lovely sipdown tonight. Probably one of my last ones. I feel like the elderberry is what makes this...” Read full tasting note
Originally inspired by traditional “ba bao cha”, a very auspicious sounding tea to ring in Chinese new year. What’s more is this blend has been reinvented for us as a Valentines day special. It introduces Yabao, a unique and uncommon tea. Some call it an aged white tea since it’s made up of buds and goes through minimal processing. Master Han calls it a pu’er. So intriguing – it’s sweet like white tea, spicy like Yunnan black, age-able like pu’er. So, maybe we’ll put it in a class of its own :)
Time the first steep at only 30-40 seconds. Resteep at least 3 times, adding 20-30 seconds each time. You can steep longer to enhance the colour (from the elderberries) or bring out more of the sparkling/cooling taste (from the holy basil).
Ingredients: yabao, jasmine green tea with jasmine blossoms, elderberry, juniper, tulsi, burdock, while vanilla bean, rose.
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Spoiler Alert on February’s Amoda Box!
I was so, so, so excited when this showed up in the mail today because yay — Valentine’s Blends!
I’m so incredibly less cynical about the holiday than I was when I was a teenager, but still don’t do anything special for it. I don’t really go out of the way to make myself miserable anymore either though, so there’s that. I pretty much like all holidays now because gifts are so much fun to give!
Amoda said this tea has a ‘surprising similarity with a Valentine’s Day tradition — candy hearts’ and I’m not sure I’m quite getting there with this.
I really like the yabao in this, because Verdant’s yabao has always tastes like wet cedar planks, with a bit of pepper and glimmering bursts of marshmallow sweetness.
The jasmine adds a delicate floral note and another element of sweetness, while the vanilla makes it thicker on the tongue (more noticeable on consequent steepings). I think the Tulsi and burdock also ramp up the savory-esque cedar/wood notes a bit more as well. It all kind of blurs together and it’s a bit hard to pick out individual components, but I think this blend actually works.
Subsequent steepings yielded a slightly altering wood-tasting profile that emphasized pine instead of cedar.
So well I guess in a way, this does kind of remind me of deconstructed candy hearts — a little woodsy, with a slightly drying mouthfeel, and a good amount of sweetness. I still really I think it’s more like a canoe ride alone on a lake surrounded by only pines and cedars at the break of dawn. It’s beautiful.
Happy Heart Day, Steepsterites!
Second steep, and this is a bit more enjoyable — although I fail to get anything even remotely close to candy hearts. I get cocoa first, jasmine strongly, then a touch of rose and honey. There’s still some granularity to the brew that puzzles me and a few other flavors that I’m finding hard to place. I doubt I’ll steep this again – it’s just a weird tea, and one that falls outside my “must try” interest.
Flavors: Cocoa, Honey
Surprise Tea!
(And sorry if the name of this gives away the surprise to those with subscriptions, but I’m not sure how to handle these things. Before I just added them in and never tagged it Amoda but someone has, and I DO see how that could be a useful thing especially when there are exclusive blends…)
Anyway, I was surprised by this tea, but I am enjoying it! I didn’t care for Silver Buds Yabao as I couldn’t get more than slightly sweetish water from it, but I did like Eight Treasures more, and I can see that this is similarly flavoured. The rose petals are not overpowering, thankfully and I do get sweet nectar and spices with the gentle rose flavours. I probably WILL resteep this at least once since I was careful to only steep 8 oz, and I have the variable kettle keeping my water warm for the next hour.
I guess I’m happy I didn’t cancel my subscription. This isn’t a tea I would have purchased but I do like it and am glad to have been reminded that I did like the other Eight Treasures blend too!
I’m pretty excited about the other two – especially because one is a Sheng (which I’ve never had? I don’t think?)
Also, this tea is foresty. Why isn’t forest a flavour?
Haha. That someone was me. ahem So glad you also think the yabao is foresty! :)
Hahaha. I think it’s a good idea putting the name in there! :P I just hope I’m not spoiling people. But how long should I wait before I sample it otherwise? I want these samples gone before the next ones arrive! When my Amoda samples pile up it’s a sign to cancel the subscription since the teas aren’t exciting enough…
Yeah. I’ve cancelled the subscription. I might regret it, but I have enough teas right now that it’s just overwhelming to get more every month. I’ll probably resubscribe later in the summer, especially if they start offering some customization – like no mint!
That makes sense! I can see how a subscription would be difficult for someone with allergies etc.
It seems as though all my teas that I chose tonight all came from MissB!
Well, it is another lovely sipdown tonight. Probably one of my last ones.
I feel like the elderberry is what makes this smell so funny when it’s dry. It does take a slight medicine-y scent to it? And I don’t smell the jasmine at all.
But as it steeps, I can most definitely smell the jasmine!
Good tea, but a bit too much elderberry and tulsi, not enough jasmine :)
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.
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
LOL you sent me blergamont and licorice in the last package you sent me – I thought that meant everything was fair game. ;))
(Also it’s really hard to find things that you HAVEN’T tried….)
haha everything IS fair game! it’s way more fun that way. :)
Yep, you never know until you try it and I’ve been surprised on MANY occasions.
I am not crazy about yabao, but I will try anything labeled “tea” at least once…lol..
Finally trying this.
It’s actually pretty good. Lots of tulsi. Very herbal. A bit of pine from the yabao.
Not something I think I’d want to get again, but I have some of another 8 Treasures that I haven’t finished yet. And Yabao Snickerdoodle. And honestly, I think I’d rather have the ginger sage winter spa blend over any of the others, most of the time.
I was skeptical about trying this tea because it smells so perfumey, but that also intrigues me. Floral teas smell perfumey to me but I love the taste so I was hoping that would be the case with this one. But this tasted awful. I could detect the jasmine which I liked, but it tasted just like incense of perfume. I love the idea of it, it’s not like any other tea I’ve tried, but I just can’t do it. Unless someone really wants this, I’ll probably throw it away. I’m only giving it a rating above 10 because I think it is a quality tea and I wish that I liked it.
Sipdown! I’m on a roll this weekend.
This blend is still wonderful. The floral notes are predominantly rose and jasmine. There’s a thick, subtle sweetness to it. There’s something holding the sweetness in check – a woody quality that maybe comes from the juniper? I can’t pinpoint it but it’s a nice balance to the sweetness.
Well… this one tasted how I expected an “8 treasure” blend from Verdant to taste. Prominent yabao, which is ok as I like its creaminess and different flavour, and other random herbally flavours. I like this one more than the Love & Joy Blend, but it’s not one I’d pick up. A cup of yabao every now and then is all I need (and preferably, it’s the pear-yabao that was part of a 12 days of Christmas swap in 2012). Anyhow, again a good selection IMO, because most people will not have tried yabao previously, and it’s pretty easy-drinking here.
nice!!!