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“First cup of the day! I debated trying more new teas today, but I have the day to myself (boyfriend is working) and, well, I just feel like having some old standbys, relaxing. And this tea seemed...” Read full tasting note
“I FOUND IT! I still really like this one. Nice and mild, cinnamon and apple. Yum. The rest is being sent off, provided I make it past both a dollar store and a post office after my physio...” Read full tasting note
“It’s one of those mornings where I’m feeling really sad for no apparent reason. I hate mornings like that, because there’s not really much I can change about my circumstances, and the circumstances...” Read full tasting note
“SIPDOWN! I’m working on putting a box together for a tea friend down under, so I’ve been saving my verdant samples to keep them fresh as long as possible. Today i’m starting to put the box...” Read full tasting note
“Comforting, cozy and well-balanced, this blend evokes fall weather while remaining true to it’s white tea base…”
As the weather cools, there is nothing more comforting than a steaming cup of tea in your hand. Here in Minnesota, the apple orchards are bustling, and we take time to pick apples and berries on our family farm on the bluffs of the Mississippi. This blend is inspired by the bounty of the fall harvest and the crisp fragrant autumn air.
We start with a sweet and floral Bai Mudan white tea and blend it with organic dried apples, cinnamon, elderberry, orange, and vanilla. We round out the texture with stone-milled Zhu Rong Yunnan Black tea matcha powder to create a perfectly cozy and well balanced tea that is honest to the Bai Mudan while evoking pumpkin pie, mulling spice and all the wonderful and comforting things that cool weather brings.
Ingredients: Bai Mudan white tea, Zhu Rong Yunnan black tea, organic dried apple, organic cinnamon, organic elderberry, organic vanilla, organic orange peel.
Company description not available.
First cup of the day! I debated trying more new teas today, but I have the day to myself (boyfriend is working) and, well, I just feel like having some old standbys, relaxing. And this tea seemed like the perfect start to the day as I await the giant storm on its way. Might make some cookies, read.. One of those days. :) oh and it feels like a puerh day too, maybe some sheng later.
This is a very good tea. I should pick up some more, I only have enough for one more cup. It’s sweet and soothing and soft. Vanilla, apples, light cinnamon. I really enjoy this tea. Having it in my handmade green mug as well. Lovely! See previous notes.
I FOUND IT!
I still really like this one. Nice and mild, cinnamon and apple. Yum.
The rest is being sent off, provided I make it past both a dollar store and a post office after my physio appointment. :)
It’s one of those mornings where I’m feeling really sad for no apparent reason. I hate mornings like that, because there’s not really much I can change about my circumstances, and the circumstances aren’t even the problem, anyway. Uggh.
That being said, my verdant order arrived yesterday. excitedly, I shook the box and heard the familiar sound of tea leaves being shaken inside. I tore it open, and then came the delightful part of trying to figure out which tea was which. Orchard spice and vanilla citrus spice.
“Does this smell like vanilla to you?” I asked my fiancé, waving one of the opened packages in his general direction.
“Maybe. Although didn’t you say the other one was orchard something? I’m sort of smelling, like, greenness, maybe some orchard smells, you know?”
“Well I’ve never been in an orchard. Ok but you think that’s orchard spice? How about this one then, vanilla?”
“Oh no, that’s definitely orchard. Way more orchardy than the other one.”
Disgruntled but still thrilled at receiving my order, I facetimed my sister and had her confirm which one was which, and then of course they smelled as they ought to because my brain had already made the association.
So I had the orchard spice this morning. In the bag, it does smell rather spicy, and definitely as though you’re in the presence of greenery and shrubs and all that sort of thing. The leaves themselves actually feel really cute—they almost have a down quality to them, and are sort of fuzzy. I’d never felt tea leaves like that before.
The steeping instructions call for “1 T” (tablespoon perhaps?) of tea for eight ounces of water, and a steep time of two minutes. well, I don’t think I’ve ever steeped anything for two minutes in my life (save for my brief foray with a genmaicha), and so I ignored it and steeped it for four, adding in my usual cream and sugar.
Here’s the thing. The tea tastes a lot more like a typical chai than anything else. Like, if someone had told me this was verdant’s chai, I’d believe them in a heartbeat and even suggest it was decently done. But I was expecting to feel as though I was guzzling an orchard and instead felt as though I was drinking a straight-forward chai. Perhaps towards the end of the sip some of the orchard-esque spices stand out a bit more, but certainly not enough to tip it full on into orchardism, and that’s just a fact.
So, the bottom line is that I’ll definitely finish up the sample, because it’s a fairly decent chai, but I’ll play around with steeping and sugar and such and see if I can’t coax out any more orchardness.
Did your tea arrive unlabeled? That’s very unusual! If so, I would love to send you a replacement of Vanilla Citrus Spice and Orchard Spice, where the differences between the two are clearly labeled on the packages. Orchard Spice has pieces of simply dried apple in the blend – you can’t miss them! If the package you opened contained no apple, then you may have been sipping on Vanilla Citrus Spice, which is a spiced black tea blend with citrus and vanilla additions.
Lily, I’m sorry—I should have explained. I’m actually blind, so I’m sure the packages were labeled just fine. But when I get multiple packages that feel similar to one another, I often get a person with a pair of working eyes to tell me which is which and then label them with a labeling system I have for myself. I really appreciate your offer to replace it, but no replacing needed—I’ll enjoy the rest of my sample for sure!
Thank you, keychange – that makes perfect sense! If I can ever answer any questions, feel free to contact me directly any time ( [email protected] ) or here through Steepster’s direct messaging system. Best wishes!
Keychange, I used to be almost blind before double eye operations and I had nobody to read labels. Often I would pour water in the sugar bowl and miss my tea pot, get the steep minutes wrong all the time. I’d laugh at myself…which I still do. I’m old and forgetful now! What I learned was how to ask for assistance and the difficulties navigating places such as a tea bar I went into with an overhead menu. I couldn’t see the menu and had to ask for.it to be read to me. Signs are what people use to maneuver through the day and don’t think about it. Same with labels and instructions.
I’m glad you shared your challenge with us here on Steepster. We’re a cool bunch!
Thank you, Lily!
Bonnie, you’re right about you lot being a really cool bunch! and not to worry: I’m the queen of asking for help when I need it, especially if it means I’ll be brewing at the correct temperature and using the right amount of leaf.
SIPDOWN! I’m working on putting a box together for a tea friend down under, so I’ve been saving my verdant samples to keep them fresh as long as possible. Today i’m starting to put the box together so i can finally work on these samples – saving the other half for the tea swap! The instructions call for a tablespon per 8oz so i took lot less and steeped it in less water as well.
I want to try this again at a later date as i think this will be a nice fall tea. There’s a hint of spice in this one that is comforting this cooler morning. I’m not picking up the white tea notes, but i generally have trouble with those. I’m going to hold off rating this for when i get a chance to try a bit more, but this is for sure a tea i’d try again from verdant!
I picked up a sample of this with my last Verdant order. I got sick from someone in the hostel when I was in Vancouver so I’m staying home all day drinking tea and feeling horrible for not doing work, work, work. But whatever, let me relax for a freaking second and sip on this tea.
It reminds me of apple pie since the strongest notes are the apple and cinnamon. I also get a hint of orange. The apple note here is natural, which I muchly appreciate. It also doesn’t taste like the flesh of an apple, but rather, the skin. It’s interesting.
As it cools, the cinnamon dominates the apple. Like drinking a cinnamon stick.
I’m not generally a fan of apples and oranges in tea, but this blend really changed my mind. It is such a wonderful autumn tea, I wish I had ordered more than a sample. If this is still available next time I place an order I may have to pick up a little bit more.
With spice teas I’m often disappointed because the cinnamon overwhelms everything, but in this blend everything works together and no one ingredient outshines the other. I don’t notice the white or black base as much as I pick up the flavors of the apple, orange, and spice, but that doesn’t really bother me. The subtle creaminess from the vanilla was a wonderful addition and what really pushed this over the top for me.
Wow, this is my favorite yet, which is funny ‘cause I nearly didn’t order this because of the apple. I can’t go into detail right now, alas—about to sleep—but I really dig this. BTW, season 2 of American Horror Story is even more overtly feminist (and more subtly too, the theme of general compulsory/obligatory motherhood, or rather being force-designated and rated along that spectrum, as horror and entrapment) than 1. Dang.
Yummy!!! You know what this tastes like? Apple pie filling!
Spiced, thick, ooey-gooey apple pie filling. It has a very weighted feeling on the tongue which surprised me since a big part of the base is a white —which makes itself pleasantly present with a slight floral taste that really sweetens up the apple to compliment the spices.
I positively love the spice combination, and it’s just perfect for Fall! If Verdant makes up some more of this blend, I’ll be sure to get some! :)
If I can increase the tea I drink by the time it gets to Black Friday/Cyber Monday I can buy with less guilt right? Lemme drink more tea… So I got a small pack of this when. Verdant was having the blend sale… I’d wanted to try the Laoshan Black Genmaicha too but it was gone then. :( Anyway, this has a sweet smell and very apple cinnamony. I thought I’d really like it based on the reviews but it’s watery to me. The taste isn’t strong enough somehow like I was expecting and I hate that the cinnamon will sludge at the bottom. It was really gross at the end of the cup, and I even tried it with the mesh infuser after the first cup. It makes an alright cold tea but again it’s taste is pretty weak.
