Earl of Anxi

This was one of those teas on my wish list. Thanks Liquid Proust for adding it in.

I had this one yesterday and should have kept notes. I know I enjoyed it but wasn’t wowed by it. I found the bergamot was done nicely, not overpowering. It was quite mild as was the jasmine. I think I might need to have this tea again to really get a feel of it. I’m glad there was enough for two cups so I’ve still got enough left.

While this may have a decent taste, there really is too much going on with this tea. I thought this was an earl grey oolong only and then I opened it find find flowers and goji berries which was fun because I really wanted to try it then. The liquid was just not as appealing as the thought of it :/

Just finished the last of my stash of this tea and I’m torn on how to rate it. Sometimes it could be sublime, other times it tasted like bad potpourri and made me feel sick. It starts out nice enough. The jasmine and citrus work nicely with the floral tie guan yin and there are hints of goji berry, but then the frankincense comes out and dominates leaving me sick to my stomach. There is saffron in there but it’s not detectable.

Thanks to OMGsrsly for this sample! It’s cool because I probably wouldn’t have picked this, but now that I’ve tried it I’m SUPER happy I got the chance. What an interesting tea! The aroma is amazing – it has this peppery spiciness that I’m assuming is the frankincense, having basically no experience with frankincense up until now. :) It smells like it might be a bit overbearing, but as I sip the tea the other flavours balance it out. The tieguanyin base is lovely and creamy, the citrus peel is bright, and the frankincense/saffron adds this amazing depth and richness. I’m actually not getting much of the jasmine – a bit of a floral note that might just be the oolong, but… oh actually, maybe the jasmine is more in the aftertaste. What a neat combination of flavours!

Doesn’t matter if it’s too late in the evening for tea—it’s been a long day and I just feel like trying something different!

This is a sample I ordered from Verdant a long time ago. It’s one of the most unique-sounding blends I had seen in their selection. Visually, it’s very striking as well, with vivid green tieguanyin (the word “verdant” would do well here!), plenty of jasmine blossoms, and goji berries. The scent is a very bright and floral mixture of jasmine and the tea itself. There’s also a little twist of citrus aroma adding to the fresh effect. The overall aroma reminds me of springtime after a rain.

The tea brews up a delicate light yellow-green color. The taste is smooth and gently floral, with a hint of jasmine and sweetness from the goji berries. There’s also an unidentifiable note that reminds me of gingko fruit or some other kind of pulpy, mushy plant matter. I’m not sure if it’s the goji berries (which I’ve had quite often; this seems to only resemble them a little bit, and I can taste their fruitiness separate from this note anyway?), frankincense, or something else in the mix. It’s a little distracting, but not unpleasant. In terms of caffeination, cha qi, or what have you, this blend not as intense as a pure tieguanyin, which at this time of day I do appreciate. Overall, this is definitely a one-of-a-kind blend, fresh and bright but subtle at the same time.

Resteeping my leaves from Wednesday. I enjoy this so much. It’s a bit buttery, with lots of jasmine, bergamot. Earthy, floral, hints of goji. So well balanced. The finish is floral and slightly perfumey.

I think this needs to be a staple in my cupboard. It’s so unique and wonderful. <3 <3 <3

Uh. I don’t get this tea, I feel like I’m missing something major. It might just be too subtle for me or something.

All I taste is a somewhat musty vegetal and also floral oolong base.
With maybe a hint of some kind of old fruit, I don’t know. Maybe that’s the frankincense? I have no sweet clue what that would even taste like.

I can’t stand the smell of incense though. I only have a fond memory of when I was 13 and would burn it because I used to pretend I was Wiccan. I didn’t even like the smell back then, at least it had a purpose at the time. Can’t imagine wanting to drink anything that tastes like incense.

It’s basically the opposite of everything I like.
Luckily this basically tastes like nothing to me… No bergamot, that’s for sure.

Sounded interesting but I guess it’s just not for me! Sorry I couldn’t do your beloved tea justice, but thanks for the sample, OMGsrsly!!

I can’t drink this western style; some of the flavours come out more sour and astringent than I would like. I’ve tried 170F, 180F, etc. for different periods of time with different measurements, but the results never seem as good as a short-steep gongfu session with this tea.

Mostly due to the time and dedication I like to put into my short steep sessions, this tea has been largely neglected. I’ve had this same big bag for over a year, and it is still plentiful.. or at least it was until I discovered that it’s also passable when cold steeped overnight. It’s not as good as the short steep method but it’s good enough for me. If the citrus notes get a tad sour it just adds to overall refreshing qualities of the cup.

I knew when I tasted Laoshan Black followed by Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha that I liked where Verdant is going with their blending ideas. There is no doubt Earl of Anxi is another masterpiece. It just tastes like it makes sense. Like it was supposed to be that way, with no one component trying to drown out the others. In a blind tasting, I would have picked out the delicious, creamy oolong base and then decided that they probably invented a new spice and a new fruit that have never existed before. Its flavor is so new to my palate, that I’m going to have to give it several tries. I do like it already, but I have a feeling that I just don’t quite get yet how to process it. So I don’t yet know if it’s love, but it could be.