Gardens of Anxi

I realized today that I haven’t had an oolong in a while. It’s been almost all black tea, black tea, black tea since I got back in the country. But something triggered in my mind and all of the sudden I really craved a tieguanyin. Also I went through my tea stash recently to update my swaps list, and I saw this one lying neglected in the back of the cupboard. For shame, and one of my favorite teas! It will be a very sad day when I run out of 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!

This is a very pretty tea, tightly rolled green balls with jasmine flowers ans little pieces of orange rind. It doesn’t smell much different than a regular tiequanyin. The extra pieces don’t seem to add much in smell.

Taste starts out floral, orchid and jasmine, but the jasmine is very soft like it’s part of the tea, like the orchid is, and not like a scented tea. There is the buttery texture with a rich mouth-feel lasting into the aftertaste. The orange rind adds a slight citrus note that compliments the floral and creamy notes quite well during the main sip. It also adds a bit of a sparkling quality on the tip of the tongue in the aftertaste. There is also an extra bit of sweetness to it, i might be from the saffron but that’s a wildcard for me.

The oolong is still very predominant and the extra add-ins compliment and enhance the tea.

This is like falling in love with Verdant’s Tieguanyin all over again. It is the only blend in the alchemy line that I would believe is straight tea if someone handed me a cup and then I would swear up and down that it was the best tieguanyin I’d ever had. It is the perfect balance of floral, buttery, sweet, vegetal and umami. I got so far in my steeping with this that I even got a mint note with a second sweetness. Well done Verdant Tea!

This tea is well past its prime, and tastes like it too. It’s just a hint of its former self – smooth tieguanyin, and just a hint of floral. Still drinkable, but I know this used to be much tastier. Sad times.

This is a lovely, lovely tea that does exactly what the description promises. The additions complement and enhance the already fabulous base perfectly. I’m drinking this from my tea glass at work. I used cooler water than I would normally since the leaves wer left in. I’m shocked to have got to the bottom after a good 30-45 minutes with zero bitterness! Very rich, sweetly floral, and delicate but not timid!

Another sample from Indigobloom?. While this is a really lovely tea, I’m wondering if oolongs just aren’t my thing. I’m not getting the citrus notes in this one but I can taste the jasmine. the color is beautiful ( I’m so glad I bought the bodum glasses for drinking tea with at home) and its a nice relaxing cup of tea. I just don’t think I’d purchase it, but that’s more to do with oolongs than this being a bad tea.

I didn’t realize I had any of this left! Happy to log this sip down as my 200th tasting note! Whoopee!

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!

When I was a little girl, my mother took me out to high tea for the first time, and I had a jasmine scented green tea. Since then, it has always been one of my favorite flavors of tea. This tea tastes like that, only, like, better by and exponent of ten. It smells like leaves after the rain (and jasmine), and the first thing you taste is the excellent oolong, then you get orange, and it has an intriguing aftertaste of saffron. One of my new favorites, I think!