Verdant Tea (Special)

This has been a lovely day, so far. I got up at 7:30, did taichi & yoga, & it felt so good to have time to just breath & stretch. Then it was out to the garden, where I picked a carrot, a parsnip, some egyptian walking onions, a radish, a few turnips, some tomatoes & peppers, & dandelion greens. My garden is a mess! I’ve had so little time, it really is a wreck, with tall weeds everywhere. I’m gonna try to get out there next week & get at least part of it under control, but I guess when winter comes all the weeds will die, & I can start next spring with a clean slate, LOL. Meanwhile, it is still producing! I have lots of fresh herbs, all of the aforementioned veggies, the fall raspberries are starting to come on (I ate the first small handful), & there are sweet potatoes, crowder peas, brussells, & butternut squash that will be ready soon.

I came in & made a pot of root veggie stew for breakfast, using some homemade chicken stock from my freezer, & added a cut up chicken thigh. I love soup for breakfast, and I got to sample the first cup of my continuous brew Kombucha! Yay! I’ll never buy the bottle kind again, cuz it is SO much more amazing! It actually reminded me of a fizzy apple cider :)

Teas I drank today:
Multiple steepings of Imperial Mojian – YS
I shared a pot of Two Tigers with wedding clients during their consultation – Devotea
A large mug of Elderberry brew, fairly strong.
And now this one, a much hoarded Wuyi oolong. I’ve reviewed it plenty of times, & it really is very nice: roasty, fruity, with a heady aroma that rises into the sinuses & lingers.

I just got home from playing a wedding. The acoustics in the church were so wonderful, & I love it when it’s like that. Every note means more, there is so much more nuance to every piece. I can reach levels of loud & soft that I can’t access in my living room, or in a place that is just average. Don’t get me wrong, I always love playing, in every venue, but something about a place with amazing acoustics makes the music ever more magical, at least for me. I experience extra things that can’t be described with words, I become more than myself, it’s my most favorite thing in the whole wide world. I love my job!

So before I return to Tony’s house, where I will dwell in my PJs until late sunday evening, I wanted to relax with one yixing session, & this was the tea I was thinking of. This is a tea that I have deemed Hoardworthy. Just the aroma of the dry leaf alone is a beautiful thing, & that dry leaf is a beautiful thing to look upon as well. Rich, roasty, & fruity, it is everything I want a Wuyi Oolong to be. I’ve written several reviews about it, & I’m tired, so I’m just gonna sit here & savor this as long as I can.

I love this tea! I love it so much that I bought a ridiculous amount of it back when it was available, enough that I got the awesome little box it came in, plus maybe a an oz or so in the verdant pack. I covet & hoard this, & today I finally opened that special box. I’ve been sipping this since I got home from my gig, & will keep sipping for awhile yet.

When you don’t see your friends for a long time, you grow in different directions, as we all know, & although I’ve always been into tea, the extent of my tea collection/obsession kind of blew my friend away a little bit. She started talking about making Kombucha & bringing over a mother for me, & was very interested in trying different teas to make Kombucha from. We had a nice long discussion about how teas are processed. The recipe she uses for her Kombucha uses a bagged oolong. Next thing you know, I was doing a show & tell on all my Oolongs, & then we shared several steepings of this one. I love the roasty incense & fruit qualities of Wuyi Oolongs, & this is one of my favorites.

Why has it been so long since I drank this?
I guess it doesn’t really matter, cuz I’m drinking it now.
It is delicious.
I don’t feel like describing tea right now, but I’ve reviewed it before.
It’s one of those amazing Wuyi Oolongs with deep flavors of berries & chocolate, with a smooth roastiness, there’s even a hint of citrus.
After each sip there is a sensation in the sinuses that is kind of incense-like, that I can only describe as an ‘after aroma’.
I love it…sigh…

After much contemplation, well not really too much, but at least some contemplation, I decided to season my new Yixing pot with this one. It is my favorite of the Wuyi Oolongs I have, with it’s wonderfully nuanced flavors & aromas, & it just seemed like the right choice!

So into a hot water bath my new pot went last night, following Garret’s instructions. After it cooled, I dried it because by then it was pretty late! This morning was a little busy, but this afternoon I filled that pot with leaves & started brewing robustly. Most of the steeps went into a small pan, but some of them made it into my cup. Once the pan was full enough (& I’d also filled a small pitcher for personal use) I used chopsticks to pull the leaves out of the pot, dropping them also into the hot pan of tea. Then I gently lowered the pot & lid into the hot tea, where they are almost finished cooling.

I am in love with these 2 miniature pots! I’ve been drinking Master Han’s Wild picked Yunnan all day from the Blue Lotus, just another cup here & there, & it’s still good, and I’m thinking of straining my yixing soaking brew & pouring it over ice. :D

I have so many awesome teas here to choose from, many which I haven’t sipped in quite some time, & yet I found myself wanting this one again today. I sipped my way through several Gaiwans full over the course of the afternoon, sharing some with a student who appreciates fine tea.

A few days ago the TOMC bundle box arrived from Verdant. I took a peek at the sampling pages, but haven’t actually opened any of the teas just yet. I’ve still got tons of samples from Sil, I have the TTB-A, I have a garden I’m still planting, I have gigs, students, & I’ve come to the conclusion that there is only so much tea one can drink in a day.
And quality is better than quantity.
Which is why I’m drinking this one.
If I was going to study with a tea Master, I think it would be Master Bi. I’ve decided he is the Guru of Tea, at least for Wuyi Oolongs.
This tea, which I have sampled already before (& purchased more of…twice), is probably the most nuanced tea I’ve ever had.
This tea is about an amazing aroma, a total mouth filling sensation, a aroma & sensation that rise into the sinuses & fill them with a perfume that is thick, heady, fruity, floral, sensual, & lingering.
Initially it kind of freaked me out.
I love it.
When I do gongfu sessions, I tend to get bored with most teas after awhile. This is one that I can continue to enjoy for hours. I very rarely give teas a rating, but this is THE top wuyi oolong, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t believe a wuyi can get any better than this. I think this is as close to an authentic Big Red Robe as anyone can get.
It’s awesome!

I decided to go ahead & steep this one western style also, pretty much using the same parameters that I used for the Shui Jin Gui. It also has that ‘after aroma’ thing in the sinuses, & is a very nice & flavorful roasty kind of oolong that I love.

I don’t have any gigs this weekend! It’s been weeks since I had a weekend off, & I think it’s suppose to rain all weekend too. Tony’s picking my up in about an hour, & we’re going to meet another couple at the japanese restaurant. Then I think we’re spending the weekend in our PJs, being couch potatoes, cooking & eating awesome food, & drinking tea. I have packed a ridiculous amount of tea for the weekend…lol…I always take more than I can ever drink, because I don’t really know what I’ll want to drink, so I have to have a variety, right?
Just for the record, Tony & I have been together 13 years. His house is 5 minutes away from mine.
BTW, I posted pics of my garden on my FB, for those who would like to see https://www.facebook.com/terri.langerak?ref=tn_tnmn

This is a Reserve TOMC tea for March.
After reading the tasting notes that came with the tea, I was almost ready to buy another oz, just because it sounded so amazing!
I saved it to be the last tea I sampled from the box, because of the awesomeness of the description. Also, I’ve been pretty busy, & I really wanted to have time to fully experience this tea.

So yesterday was the day. My grandkids were visiting, & since they are old enough to not be high maintainance, I had time to just sit around & relax. I opened the package & the dry tea smelled of chocolate & roasted dried fruit.
I preheated my Gaiwan, then dumped in the recommended 7oz, putting the lid back on to warm the tea. When I opened the lid, the aroma was amazing! Chocolate, roastiness, berries, and an ’after’aroma that lingered in my sinuses that was undescribable: floral, fruity, & I don’t know what else, but it was ‘thick’, & I continued to smell it, high in my sinus on the exhale. I was blown away. I sat there huffing the aromas from my Gaiwan for awhile.

Then I did the rinse, which I drank…duh! It was interesting…
I kept the steeps to 4 secs: they were strong at first, but I like my tea strong. Lots of roastiness, made me think of Big Red Robe.

I am at Tony’s, & my tea notes are at my house, so I don’t really have a lot of detail to share. I made it through maybe 7 steepings, & then my afternoon suddenly became complicated, causing my steeping sessions to end abruptly. Then I had to shower & go play a gig, so I put the leaves in a jar in the fridge. They will be there until Monday. This is the first time I’ve left damp leaves for this long, although I sometimes leave them overnight…maybe I should have dried them out? I’m open to advice here…

I’d like an opportunity to steep these out a little longer, & there is also enough in the sample for me to try again. I have to admit, although this was a nice roasty oolong, I didn’t experience all the flavors that the aromas hinted at. I got some of the chocolate, & some floral, but the raspberry never really came forward for me.

I think next week I’d like to compare this tea, the big red robe sample I have, and verdant’s Shui Jin Gui Wuyi.

Sipdown, 144. Today was a rough day at work, and I didn’t get to sit down and drink a cup of tea until the very end of the day. I was very grumpy about the whole thing, so I wanted a comforting tea. I actually drank a session of this gongfu this past weekend, which I didn’t log but was delicious, and I was left with a small amount that would work for a western brew. I didn’t plan to drink it up today, but it seemed like it might help me feel better.

Mmmm, just smelling this made me really happy. I love super tippy golden bud Yunnan teas, and this definitely fits. Brewed western style it is somewhat more chocolatey than gongfu, which I don’t normally associate with Yunnans. Sweet and malty and just all around tasty. I will have to drink a cup of Golden Fleece tomorrow to compare.

Got some vegetable planting done today, and now I am going to relax with this tea this afternoon. I was super excited to see this in the may reserve club package because I love a good dian hong golden bud. The leaf on this is cute, rolled into little semi-balls. It has a hint of cocoa to the smell, but also a bit of rich hay and honey.

Brewed gongfu. I drank my rinse, because that’s how I roll with black teas. I can never rinse in less than a second anyway, it must take me at least two. The rinse was quite light but sweet and flavorful still. Definitely wildflower honey notes, along with a slight buttery sweet-starchiness of a sweet potato chip. Later steeps intensified those notes with a smooth, creamy texture. Quite a nice dian hong and a pleasure to have today.

Much better than the usual Yabao from Verdant. This one I actually like.

Thanks to Sil for this one.

The dry tea leaves are beautifully twisted in to small braids. There is a strong sweet floral jasmine fragrance.

The tea tastes like a slightly sweet jasmine tea on a base of mildly creamy green tea. Very delicious jasmine tea.

I steeped for one minute. The jasmine braids only slightly unfurled. Many more steeps to come of this one.

Thanks Bonnie for sharing this tea with me.

Dry – Sweet, VERY aromatic floral, TGY characteristic bitter-sweet floral, fruity and cinnamon.
Wet – Vanilla, Sweet corn, floral-fruity, nutty, mineral, faint cinnamon, buttery.
Liquor – Pale green.

1st steep – 10secs – Initially sugary sweet, vanilla, floral-mineral TGY taste that is well balanced not overwhelming. As I slurp, several notes appear but vanilla, sweet corn, butter and bittersweet floral are the most apparent. The sweetness is sugary or ‘clean’ at first but becomes more fruity/floral that lingers.

2nd steep – 15secs – Sweet, floral and mineral TGY taste that is well rounded and goes down smoothly retaining a lot of sweetness in the mouth and showing off some of the mineral and somewhat nutty notes. This taste lingers in the tongue and seems to travel to the back of the throat. Floral-vanilla sweetness lingers in the aftertaste.

3rd steep – 15secs – Sweet, nutty, floral bittersweet TGY taste that is very aromatic and pleasant, slightly creamy mouth-feel. As it goes down it is mineral and floral that becomes sweeter that resembles vanilla. The aftertaste is sweet and complex with notes that combine well.

Final Notes
I was able to several more steeps that were really enjoyable. What I liked about this tea is how well balanced it is. I think this is the trait I enjoy the most in good tea whether cheap or expensive, a well balanced tea is very enjoyable and even memorable.

Thanks again to Bonnie for sharing with me. I really liked this one, complex and subtle and overall very well well balanced. I’m sorry I took so long to review; but I’m kind of glad I did, since I had the time to truly sit down and enjoy it.

I am enamored with this tea! I’m not going to go into a flavor profile right now, as it is complex, but for me this tea is a keeper!

And I must thank David, and everyone at Verdant…I purchased 3 of the two ounce portions as allowed when the tea was released for purchase, which would be an estimated 170g of tea. Imagine my surprise when I saw two of the original 100g boxes staring at me as I opened up my package! Also the note with a mention that as I purchased a bunch, that they figured they would include the two boxes for me :) As per all of my interactions with David and the Verdant Team, they continue to go above send beyond what is expected!

I feel I am going to be having a very tough time with this April Reserve shipment…A Wuyi, a shu puer, and what looks like two black teas…ugh, I have a feeling I am going to love each one, and I may be parting with a sizeable sum of money in the near future stocking up on these teas!

I decided to try to finish up some samples that had been languishing. I still have enough for ONE more cup of this fella. I really like it but apparently I was not in the mood this afternoon like I thought I was. Maybe its just too hot and humid outside for warm smoked tea?

Mmm, this is the best lapsang I’ve ever had. (not that I have had very many :P) Thanks dinosara! :D

Third day of spring and it’s snowing here near Seattle. And right when my body was starting to expect the spring temperatures. I really need a warming brew today. Surprisingly, when deciding what that should be my mind didn’t go for the spiced black teas I normally reach for on a chilly day — it went straight to this. It seemed the perfect reason to use up the second half of this Reserve Club sample.

This tea embodies warmth. The second that smokey aroma starts wafting out of the cup I feel like I’m huddled around a crackling campfire. And someone is making a s’more because I can smell their burnt marshmallow melting the bar of chocolate it’s dripping over. It’s so nostalgic and warming to just smell. And it’s commandingly strong; I’m still catching whiffs of it all around the house almost 3 hours after my first brew.

At first sip this tea tastes like the smell to me — smokey. And while that’s okay it’s not something I find myself wanting to drink a lot of. But by the second and third sip that smokey taste almost immediately turns into a rich dark chocolate aftertaste. I can’t taste it when the tea is on my tongue but it comes up immediately after the sip and lingers there forever. Five minutes after my last sip I can still taste that rich dark chocolate, but as time has passed it’s become a dark chocolate spiked with citrus or berry, I can’t decide which.

I’m 7 or 8 steeps in right now and that dark chocolate flavor is still lingering there every bit as strong as it was on the first, but the first taste has mellowed from smokey to citrus (something I’m rather thankful for).

This was the perfect brew to start my chilly day off with. It’s so rich and warming. If it weren’t for the price tag on these reserve club teas I’d definitely restock this one, but alas, my budget forces me to leave it as a pleasant memory after today.

Sipdown, 148. With the June reserve club coming in to increase my cupboard size, I thought it would be appropriate to sipdown some of the older reserve offerings I have. These teas tend to languish for multiple reasons: 1) I love them and want to hoard them because they are rare, 2) I don’t love them so I don’t think about drinking them often, and 3) I just don’t have time to gongfu very often. Tonight we came home slightly early so I decided to have this one in the evening.

This is one that I like ok but don’t love. I just haven’t picked up the palate for piney-ness and such. To me it really reminds me of walking a forest, in the cool weather, after a rainstorm. I love that scent, but it just doesn’t translate to delicious to me. But who knows, maybe in a couple of years it will!

I picked this one to try next because I am intrigued by Verdant’s Eight Treasures Yabao blend, but I’ve never had a Yabao before. Then I thought, wait, I do have a yabao, from the club. But then I found out that this is pretty different from the silver buds yabao that is used in the blend. Nonetheless this will be a learning experience!

The dry leaf smells sweet and a bit smoky when warmed. I did a quick rinse, then a 4-second first steep, which is quickly becoming my default for gongfu almost regardless of the tea. The resulting liquor is light tan in color and smells like pine wood and a hint of smoke. In the flavor I get the piney-ness, but also a juiciness that is hard to resolve whether it is fruity or vegetal. I think it is savory and brothy, but also slightly sweet and woody, which is where the confusion is coming in.

Later steepings remind me of cooked spinach and that smoked pine-barrel note hangs on in the aroma, if not the taste. This is a really interesting tea, although not quite my style. Nonetheless I did enjoy my tasting session with it. Now I am more interested to see how the silver buds yabao is similar and different.

Sipdown, 199. Yup, I added all the teas I got while I was gone on my trip and hit exactly 200… until I brewed this one up that is.

Spring sprung while I was away, and it is a lovely day out. I have a lot of new teas to try but I decided that I wanted a tea that screams spring, and this is totally one of those teas. Taiwanese oolongs are always so springy to me, with their light florals and sugar snap pea flavors. I actually found my tea mascots right before I left, so I pulled them out today. I hadn’t been able to find them since I moved and I had forgotten that I wrapped them up in an old cardboard tea box from China (guess I thought there was tea inside). Here’s a photo of them: http://flic.kr/p/ebfpea
I still really want a slatted draining tea tray, but I’ve made my peace with using a plastic tray until I find one.

Mm, the steeps of this tea are so fresh and green it is the essence of spring. Sitting here at the window, watching the birds eating and singing, looking at the daffodils and bluebells in my backyard, this is a great tea for this afternoon.