Verdant Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

90

I took a break with this between returning from running errands and before coordinating some family activity planning. This tea was again solidly (not excitingly) great. I was glad to see how much of the sample was left in the packet after removing the required teaspoon, looking forward to more cups of this.

This green tea is at once nutty, vegetal, sweet, and has a hint of bitterness. This leaves a moderately sweet aftertaste. It feels creamy. It has everything, and in balance.

I made a second hotter, longer steep which gave some more vegetal flavor and a stronger sweetness.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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90

I tried three 8 oz steepings with 1 teaspoon of these leaves, 2 min at about 175F each time.

The dry leaves smell like dry hay and, unexpectedly, chocolate.

1st
The leaves partially unfurled. The liquor has a powerful nutty aroma that I can smell with my face feet away from the cup as I pour it. Putting my nose down in the cup gives the nutty aroma plus a weaker aroma of something like something with sauteed onions. The appearance is a very light yellow green liquor, crystal clear.

The taste is light and smooth, with a slightly creamy feel and a body that is surprising for something so faint in color that only steeped 2 minutes.

This has a strong nutty flavor and a pleasant amount of light bitterness. There is little sweet and less than gum-tingling astringency. Swishing around my mouth turns the nutty flavor to something more like coconut. There is a sweet and bitter aftertaste, with a faint bitter coming in first and then a stronger sweet remaining.

This cup of tea went fast.

2nd
There are several nice sized dots of tea oil floating on the surface of this cup. The liquor is greener and darker in color. There is significantly less nutty aroma. The creaminess is gone, leaving the nutty flavor and some bitterness. Astringency is more present.

There is a slight vegetal, green flavor moving in reminding me of, edamame?! The nutty flavor gets some mint character.

The aftertaste makes me think “Wow.” It is an almost tangible sweet with some floral notes.

The nuttiness is stronger and harsher. I make my rating based on this more complex and interesting cup.

My stomach feels full and sloshy, and I’m not sure where this tea is going (will it get meaner?), but I forge ahead. . .

3rd
The color is lighter and much more brown than green. There is an aroma of steamed edamame over the cup, but the aroma is light overall.

This taste gets an “ooohh” from me; it tastes like the water used to steam a batch of edamame but with a sweet kick, and not sugar sweet, but tea sweet. The edamame is the only real flavor note. Bitterness is gone, and a bit of creaminess has come back.

The “ka-pow” aftertaste is gone, replaced by just a respectable sweet aftertaste.

My fears were unfounded. The 2nd steep gave up all the leaves’ fierceness. This cup is mellow and friendly. The volume of the flavor is on the order of something like the first steep of Tazo China Green Tips.

I appreciate that this adventure in a cup has been made available in an affordable sampler. I think I could be happy enjoying just the first and second steeps here.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Spoonvonstup

Very interesting! I always think that these leaves smell chocolatey, but I was never sure if they really did smell that way, or if my mind were playing tricks on me. Have you tried the Laoshan Black yet? The chocolate is in that tea in full force. I usually make this pouring between two glasses, but whenever I make it in a larger pot, I also get a hint of something minty. Again, I always wondered if this was just something in my head or in my pot, so it’s nice to know it’s really there.
I’m surprised you could steep the leaves as you did three times! I usually give up on them after one larger pot, and only resteep when I’m doing gongfu style. I will have to try it your way and see what happens.

teamax

I’m also glad to have some confirmation about the mint flavors and chocolate aroma. I did try the Laoshan black and was surprised by it, too.

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92

Ok, so I tried upping the tea amount and reducing the steep time, and it worked like a charm!

With 2 tsp. / 8 oz. water, I yielded 4 strong cups before the tea started to really weaken. It was great!

Also, on the second and third cup, the buttery flavor really started to come out with the sweetness, and I tasted a good amount of nuttiness in later steepings as well.

Again, this is the best TGY I’ve ever had!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 30 sec
David Duckler

Excellent! I am so glad to hear that those tips worked for you. That buttery saffron sweetness is such an interesting part of the tea that I am delighted to hear that you were able to experience it more fully this time around.

Spoonvonstup

Glad you got to taste the buttery profile of this tea now- it’s one of my favorite parts! Well, along with the key-lime pie after-taste and all the other things..
What are you using to steep? A mug/cup with a steeping basket in it, or a little 8oz teapot, or..? I’m just curious about how the tea stands up covered/uncovered, in different materials, etc. For reference, I usually make this in a covered gaiwan or in an yixing.

Brooklyn

I’m using an 8 oz. yixing teapot, so there’s no infuser basket.

However, I’m about to order a 4 oz. Gaiwan for some of the different oolongs I have/want to try.

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92

This is EASILY the best TGY I’ve ever had. I’m happy to have found Verdant Teas, for their teas are wonderful (and are getting pretty high ratings here on Steepster all around).

Brewing this Western-style (1 tsp / 8 oz. water), I managed to get 2-3 strong cups before the tea became significantly weak.

The first cup was yelling lilacs, to the point of being lightly perfumey. It was so good! I love those kinds of floral qualities, and the vegetal aftertaste complemented it extremely well. This tea is very smooth, making it even better for this time of year.

The second cup lacked much of the lilac power, but that’s when the umami and sweetness really jumped out. The vegetal aftertaste actually became stronger, which I personally appreciate.

The third cup, as I stated before, was when it started becoming watery. The vegetal qualities were still faintly there, but everything else had mostly died down. As per David’s advice (which, Verdant Tea’s customer service is better than most places you’ll ever go), I think next time I’ll try using more tea, and steep it for a shorter amount of time. One thing I did miss was the creamy-buttery flavor so many TGYs have, but perhaps with more tea next time I’ll be able to bring it out. Perhaps trying Gong-fu steeping would help as well.

I loved this TGY so much, I actually am dedicating a new Yixing I just received to it. If you even remotely like greener oolongs, you must buy this variety!!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Spoonvonstup

Hurray! I always love it when people try this tea, because I also think this is the best TGY out there by a long shot. I’m impressed you got so much out of this doing it western style in a larger pot. You will really love this one in a gaiwan or small teapot gongfu style (good choice, dedicating a pot to this! we’ve got two TGY pots at home that have been enjoying this tea). The smaller cups and shorter steep times with more leaf really shows off how much the tea changes over time, and wil reveal how creamy and buttery this tea really is (and it is!). It taste more like a mix of spring and autumn TGY in that way, actually, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. You will be so pleased when you drink this gong-fu style; I’m excited for you! Happy drinking!

Brooklyn

Thanks! I’ll definitely keep things posted as I drink more :D

Geoffrey

I concur with Spoonvonsup on this one. Gongfu is the way to go with this tea! You can steep it 20+ times with that method and it won’t stop giving. I can leave this tea in my gaiwan and steep it over and over for three days, remaining very happy with the results well into those later infusions. If you have a gaiwan, you might want to try this tea in that as well while you’re seasoning your new yixing teapot for it. In any case, happy drinking!

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96

A classis Tie-Guan-Yin, well balanced. Pleasant feeling in the mouth and flowery aroma. Very good for the price.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Spoonvonstup

Have you tried doing this one gong-fu style with short steepings yet? I definitely recommend it to you, since that’s where this tea will really knock your socks off!

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87

This tea smells amazing – grassy, fresh air and flowers. That’s what I smell. It smells crisp and clean and fresh.

The tea has a very substantial body to it. This is not a “light” green tea. It is smooth and rich, not just in flavor but in texture too. I can taste notes of grass, nuts, and flowers. A savory spinach note toward mid-sip. A beautifully complex tea that is well worth the time to contemplate its many layers of flavor.

Kashyap

its a lovely and creamy cup…the Laoshan black is also not to be overlooked..yum

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94

Brewed this again last night in my gaiwan. I had left it alone for months. My first attempt at brewing it didn’t go very well, but I’m now certain that the method I used at that time was wrong for this tea. Verdant’s steeping notes for Sheng Pu-er generally prescribe 7 grams of leaves for Gongfu brewing, and I think I must have missed the note that for this Farmer’s Cooperative tea a pretty big exception to the general rule is suggested. For this tea, no more than 1 teaspoon of leaves is prescribed for Gongfu brewing. It seems like too little when you’re looking at it, but these leaves are apparently loaded with flavor. Verdant also suggests that you wash the tea twice before drinking any of it, and I think that definitely makes a difference. Following these guidelines last night, I found the Farmer’s Cooperative deeply satisfying.

This is the tea I remember impressing me when I initially tried it at Verdant Tea’s first pu-er tasting. I love the slight numbing sensation that it produces in the mouth, somewhat like menthol in its effect. Probably had around six infusions before I had to leave the apartment, so I haven’t even reached the peak of its profile yet. It’s still in the gaiwan and I plan to drink more as the day progresses.

Nothing else of detail to say at the moment, except that this is really an excellent tea! I’m glad I learned how to properly prepare it because the first time I tried (using too many leaves) I thought the tea was not so good. I was preferring to drink Verdant’s Golden Strand Shou while I neglected this one, perhaps only because I was preparing that one right and this one wrong. But then they’re two different classes of pu-er, and really suited to two different moods, so I’m not making a direct comparison. I’ll have to return to the Golden Strand as well at some point and post some notes on that one. For a Sheng Pu-er, the Farmer’s Cooperative has come back into my sight, restored to the great appreciation it deserves. This is a tea worth giving your attention to.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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90

YUM! All I can say is…
well…you’ll have to read it over at Sororitea Sisters
TOMORROW NIGHT at 6pm est!
BE THERE!
This tea took me on a journey!

Charles Thomas Draper

I received this as a sample. I will take the same journey soon….

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90

A VERY Good Red Robe…BUSY day tho…will review more later :)

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So, I think that Verdant’s Xingyang 1998 pu’er is one of the best pu’ers out there. When I saw that Verdant brought in another, younger pu’er from the same workshop, I was really excited to try it.

The dry leaves look really different (they are very small little buds instead of the giant twisting leaves of the 1998). Smelling them, however, is that same, satisfying musty Xingyang smell. Light, bright and clean, but undeniably old-smelling, like that great library smell.
Once steeped, the leaves start to distinguish themselves from their older cousin. They smell like warm tree pulp or maybe tobacco. They also really remind me of one of the woven bamboo mats we use on our tea tray when it has tea poured over it, or of woven reed shoes and being in a room covered with tatami mats (the description is definitely spot on about that part).
The smell of the liquid is really warm and cozy (more on the brown sugar/caramel end of the spectrum), and reminds me in aroma and color of the Twin Elephants Golden Buds brick.

My notes on the taste of this tea suddenly drop off and are really sketchy. I became distracted and too excited; I was too busy talking to my drinking partner about what I was tasting to remember to pull my pen back out. Here’s what I can reconstruct from nine scribbled words and an arrow:
If the Xingyang 98 reminds me of a lunar landscape, the 2007 has all of those same qualities, but brought back down to Earth. This tea feels like it was made by those same hands, but for real human beings, not just some terrific/terrible other-wordly beings. This shares the same soul, but still has the breath of life in it, not yet distilled to the spiritual essence. If 1998 is the cool glow of twilight and dawn, this is the burning, heady redness of dusk and sunrise.
Sure, there are tastes too (brown sugar/caramel, musty yet perfectly lightweight and airy, bamboo, celery notes and..in later steepings.. that delicious, crystalline sweetness of the back of a postage stamp or new book-binding glue), but that doesn’t really describe my experiences with this tea. This is excellent!! I love how fibrous and alive this feels (there is also a tingling, vibrating texture, if I’m remembering correctly), and I love what a great companion tea this is for the 1998.

It definitely stands on its own, but it’s so much more fun and exciting in context. I am excited to see what this will turn into in ten more years, but it is also perfectly drinkable now. I feel like I’m allowed to have this more often than my other Xingyang, both because of the age and lower price, and because I feel like it’s something that fits in more easily to everyday life. This can transport you, but it feels less dangerous than the 1998 (with that tea, you are practically guaranteed to reveal hidden about yourself; you won’t be able to resist coming closer to those you’re drinking with, or learning something new about yourself). This tea opens that door for me, but I feel like I’m being given a choice. I can walk through of my own free will, or I can linger at the doorway, peeking in, and then turn my head to enjoy the present as a simple, sensory experience.

Alas, I feel I am beginning to make less and less sense, so I will try in vain to sum up. This is a great tea that I am happy to add to my collection. On its own and paired with its older relative, it continues my pu’er and tea flavor education. This will be exciting to watch grow, and a pleasure to enjoy drinking on a more every day basis. I definitely recommend it to folks who’ve been drinking pu’ers for a long time, and for those who are just getting started.

I hope there will be other Xingyang offerings from Verdant in the future. They’re operating at such a high level; they’re going to raise the standards and expectations of what pu’er can be, and that is a good thing.

steeped in a gaiwan over multiple steepings, as always

Kashyap

wow…hands down what I think a tea description should look like- passion, memory, sensation, culture, mythology…and the grace of a cup….awe inspiring

Geoffrey

I found the 2007 Xingyang showing an unmistakable familial relationship with with the 1998 release. It’s like the similar facial features and mannerisms you often find between siblings. The leaves look dramatically different, and the overall flavor profile is unique in each of them, but they definitely share some very fine familiar qualities. The “old books” element is clear in both, and is really one of my favorite parts.

I like to fantasize that these two are brothers with some age between them, raised together in an aristocratic household that has yet to fall into decadence, and both of them having spent a great amount of time in the expansive family library educating themselves in the varying histories of the world. These are teas with perspective, which when looking out upon life can relax in the knowledge that, while everything has changed, the basic story remains the same.

Spoonvonstup

@Kashyap – aw shucks! It’s all the tea. I just flail around, trying to convey some part of my experience. The tea does all the rest.
Ideally, I’d just like to drink my teas with everyone; that would be the very best way to really convey what’s going on. These are just arrows in the sand, pointing vainly in the general direction of the “truth.”

@ Geoffrey- That’s an excellent description of these two teas; well said! Thanks for the story, too; it’ll be in mind every time I try the teas from here on out.

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95

Brewed this again just now. The lingering aftertaste is heavenly, as was the fragrance of the first cup I poured. This time I steeped for 1.5 minutes and the result is exactly what I desired. I can imagine how this state might be just a bit too light for some people, but for my tastes it’s perfect. I love this green! Planning to continue experimenting with steep time to gain perspective, as I may want it stronger in a different mood. Off to steep the leaves again. Great tea to start the day!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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95

I was very impressed with this surprising new green offered by Verdant Tea when I had my initial chance to try it at Verdant’s last tasting. I’ve now brewed it at home twice. The first time was last Saturday night around 9:00pm when I needed a tea fix with special and very specific parameters: something light and enlivening, but also calming and cleansing.

I had slept for most of the day due to sleeplessness the previous night and a brief illness that washed over me in the late afternoon and broke in the evening. My body was feeling pretty good after I ate something and then arranged to attend a social dance, as my body was indicating a need to move. The Jing Shan struck me as the most suitable tea I had for the circumstances.

I brewed it in the traditional Jingshan style indicated by the steeping notes that came with my purchase. Heated water to 175F, poured 6-7oz into my small glass serving pitcher, and sprinkled just under 1 tablespoon of leaves on top. Really fun and beautiful to watch these leaves dance! Many of them float vertically. I waited a minute or so and took in the very fine fragrance of this tea. Then I started pouring off the tea by stages into one of my 2oz drinking cups, holding back the leaves with a spoon. First cup was very light, crisp, and refreshing. Where the first cup was a suggestion of what the flavor would become, the second cup was its perfect assertion. It called for my full attention without any sharpness, but rather with a certain equanimity that compels one to listen closely. Sinking into this flavor there’s a pleasant sensation that the tea is offering some kind of compliment you can’t help but smile at. The best comparison I can draw to it is eating a ripe sugarsnap pea pod that you’ve pulled fresh off the plant. There is also a subtle quality of the ocean in this, which strikes me as giving it more kinship to a good gyokuro than to other Chinese green teas. I took my sweet time enjoying those first two cups, and by the time I came to the dregs with my third cup the strength of the tea (about 2oz of water steeping a tablespoon of leaves for 5+ minutes) was nearing the edge of my preferred intensity. Still plenty good, but not the ideal of that second cup. The Jingshan style steeping would have you just drink the tea straight out of the glass that the leaves are in, letting it grow stronger as you drink it. For my part, I found that I would’ve rather liked this tea to maintain the state of that second cup from beginning to end.

Which leads me to describe the second brewing of Jing Shan I made this afternoon, and enjoyed moments ago. This time I decided to follow the Jingshan style steeping method to a point, but try to capture a full 8 ounces of the tea in the ideal state I described above. So I poured the hot water in a glass tumbler and added the outlined tablespoon of Jing Shan on top, timing it to steep for two minutes. Then I poured the tea through a strainer into my serving pitcher. The results were indeed excellent, and quite close to what I desired to achieve. In this brewing I tasted more clearly the note of asparagus mentioned by others, and found it delectable. I think for future brewing I will experiment with steep time until I land directly on the quality of that perfect cup I had in the first brewing, trying 1.5 and 2.5 minutes to gain some perspective. On another note, I steeped the leaves from this brewing a second time in the same way that I’ve just described, and am happy to report that the result remained very good. The flavor didn’t diminish much. I’m sure this tea could deliver a nice third steeping as well, but I’ve yet to try. At some point I will need to try preparing this tea Gongfu style through multiple infusions in a gaiwan, just to get a more comprehensive sense of it’s profile. Perhaps I will post results of these future experiments at a later time.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec
David Duckler

Thanks for the great steeping tips and wonderful description. Your image of a compliment that one cannot help but smile at will stick with me. I am going to try your hybrid steeping method in the next day or two and see how it goes for me. I am really happy that the humble but delicious Jingshan could have even a small part on speeding you to recovery. I am also going to think about the Gyokuro comparison. I have been drinking a lot of Japanese teas recently. I think I know what you mean. There is a certain texture or mouthfeel that distinguishes Gyokuro from fine sencha, and this Jingshan might share some of that mouthfeel.

About Jingshan Style Steeping: When the cup gets below about a third, you can fill it up with more water to dilute the intense stuff at the bottom. This can be an interesting balance when done right. Still, I also usually prefer to remove my tea from the water in some way to get an ideal steep. This Jingshan style is very “farmerly” in its rough honesty. Sometimes that is just right, but sometimes, precision is called for. It sort of depends on my mood.

Thanks again for the inspiring note!

Geoffrey

You’re welcome, David. I’ll look forward to hearing how it goes for you. I enjoyed your comment. I think I’m actually going to brew this one up again now. My teapot is already occupied with Big Red Robe, and my gaiwan has some Farmer’s Cooperative in it from last night that I’m not ready to discard yet. Glad to have a third option for brewing in such a situation!

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100

Amazing. Drinking this Tieguanyin again this morning. I had opened one of the vacuum-sealed 7-gram packs last Friday to share with someone, and got a little zealous in my endeavor to pour half of the package into my gaiwan. Looking at how much leaf was left in that pack this morning, it must have been more like 3/4 of the pack that I’d used last time. So I was looking at maybe 2 grams in my gaiwan this morning, and debating whether I wanted to open up another pack. I decided to just brew up the two grams and have a “light” session with it.

HA! Drinking the third infusion now, I could hardly call this “light” compared to my other sessions with it. Even with minimal leaf, this Tieguanyin still goes the distance. A testament to its power, richness, and depth. I can’t wait to try the autumn picking of Tieguanyin that Verdant will be getting in soon, as it’s purported to be the best crop in years, and comparable to this one in quality.

Oh, with this tea in my cup, it’s going to be a great winter.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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100

Had a friend over for dinner last night. We prepared a basic Tuscan-style tomato suase with garlic, chopped nuts and shrimp, alongside some sauteed red bell peppers and zucchini, and a simple salad dressed with fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. Super delicious meal, and I am grateful to have a friend so talented in the culinary arts. We washed it down with DIY lemon soda (just squeezed lemon into a glass and added plain carbonated water); an excellent palette cleanser.

As my friend so kindly conceived, purchased and prepared the better part of the meal described, and had expressed a sincere enthusiasm to experience some Gongfu tea drinking for the first time, I decided that the best expression of my gratitude would be to treat his generosity and interest to the two finest teas in my cupboard. The first of those teas was this Spring Tieguanyin, and the second was my Xingyang 1998 Golden Leaf Pu’er. I will write a separate tasting note for the latter, as I’ve yet to review it here.

As for the Spring Tieguanyin, before and during my preparations to serve it, I hyped it to the skies for my friend. He’s a newcomer to this way of appreciating tea, but definitely has a good frame of reference for understanding it from experience with fine wine tasting and his culinary adventures. The moment I opened the vacuum sealed package and let him smell the leaves, he was just about knocked out from the beauty of the fragrance. We drank four infusions in bliss, and the tea was better than even I had remembered from the numerous occasions I’d had it before. How is this possible? I imagine that the feedback and reflection generated when a host shares his tea with a truly and fully appreciative drinking companion enhances the whole experience.

After a good number of infusions, I confided in my friend that when I was praising this tea to the heavens for him, I had a faint worry at the back of my mind, “Will it really be as good as I say it is?”, but then when we got to drinking it the tea inevitably outstripped my praise by a length that I wasn’t prepared for. My friend concurred, saying, “This tea is 120% of what you said it was.” Drinking the next infusion, he expressed to me a very deeply felt gratitude for my providing him the opportunity to be introduced to this manner of tea drinking and tea culture. He said that he had felt for a long time in his life that an experience like this existed and was somewhere available in this world; and that it was something he’s been looking for, but previously found no access to. My friend went on to characterize this first exposure to Gongfu style tea drinking as a life-changing experience for him. I can’t explain how grateful and happy it made me feel to have some part in precipitating an experience like that for another person.

Needless to say, my friend there became a fully fledged lover of tea, excited to explore the great world of experience it provides… And that was before we even tried the exceptional Xingyang Pu’er! Concluding my note on the Tieguanyin, I will say that we continued to drink infusion after infusion of it for a good hour and a half. I have no idea how many infusions we had, but its flavor was merely settling, and hardly at the point of diminishing, before it felt like the right time to move on. I put the leaves aside in a container for later use, as I’m confident they will continue to produce good infusions for a while yet.

A tasting note on our experience with the Xingyang Pu’er is to come. I can’t begin to express my gratitude to have access to teas of this quality!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec
David Duckler

Wow!
This makes my whole day. Thank you for sharing this tasting experience. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that tea culture is being shared. it looks like you have had a profound cultural impact on your friend, and I am honored to have had a small part in connecting you to the farmers and artisans that make that possible.

On a side note, I got word today that the autumn Tieguanyin harvest is the best in years, meaning that the next shipment to replace the spring tea should live up to its predecesor.

Very good choice on teas by the way- I always pull out the Tieguanyin first to new tea drinkers. It is such an inviting tea that can focus people onto flavors and smells and prepare them for something like the Xingyang 1998.

Kashyap

this is a beautiful tribute to an amazing tea and a awe inspiring way to celebrate the sharing and illuminating social nature of what a cup of tea can bring…a wonderful way to praise verdant teas offerings and David Duckler’s kind heart and gifts….I wish each tea review was such a way of bridging the way we celebrate our lives in the cast reflections on a cup of tea and within the core of a sharing community

Spoonvonstup

What a great review! Thank you very much for sharing. I also always feel like the TGY (and most other teas) are almost always better when I am sharing them with someone else. And that’s the way it really should be. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Xingyang!

Geoffrey

@David: Thanks for this note, and for making the tea available! I’m happy that the story made your day. I’m looking forward to this Autumn Tieguanyin you mention. Cheers!

@Kashyap: I appreciate your kind words. I had described this kind of sharing with tea as “a great fulcrum for friendship”, when my mentioned friend and I were drinking.

@Spoonvonstup: Indeed! I think drinking with a friend is the way to go. For me it seems to be so much easier to make liminal time and space for deep and attentive appreciation of the tea when sharing it with good company. Just posted my note on the Xingyang. I quite enjoyed what you had to say about that one, and totally agree with your assessment of it! Hope to see you again at the next Verdant tasting.

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100

Absolutely love it! I’ve tried this Tieguanyin on four different occasions now. First two times a friend brewed it to share, third time I brewed it for myself to drink throughout the day, and the fourth time I brewed it to share with a friend. Each time it’s been brewed Gongfu style. This last brewing I kept the leaves in my gaiwan from almost three days and kept infusing until the flavor started to dissipate, which was likely over 25 infusions, but I lost count. The friend I shared this with on Sunday, who is only mildly interested in tea, was very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have about 1.75 ounces of this Tieguanyin remaining, and I’m definitely feeling that I must purchase a greater stock before it’s all bought up. My experiences with this tea have instilled in me an unshakable faith that the person who sources Verdant’s Teiguanyin knows what they’re doing, and make me look forward to future offerings of similar quality. If Tieguanyin gets better than this, I can’t imagine it, but would no doubt welcome the possibility. For the time being, this tea from what must have been an exceptionally good harvest is available until it’s gone. . . . and the thought of that makes me anxious to buy more.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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98
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
39 tasting notes

Oh dear… I’m brewing up the autumn batch of Laoshan Black in my new Ruci teapot ( http://hegathers.com/_images/rucipot.jpg ). This is the second time I’ve tried it now. I’m on ten infusions from two generous teaspoons of the tea. It has completely floored me! The first time I tried it, I think I suspected that this autumn batch was better than its spring predecessor, but it was hard for me to believe or imagine that the land and farmers of Laoshan could have taken my favorite black tea and improved it so wonderfully…

As I revisited that prospect this afternoon, the suspicion was unambiguously confirmed for me. At the third infusion, WHAM!, I was hit with that beautiful metallic sparkle dancing on my tongue that comes with Verdant’s Da Hong Pao. Add to the familiar direction of cocoa, honey and caramel, notes of black cherry, and everything else mentioned in Verdant’s own description (currants, hibiscus, buckwheat honey, cinnamon, raisins, and creme brulee crust… it’s all there!). And the aftertaste is sublime!

This tea is so good that I’m afraid I’ll want to start drinking it every day, and will perhaps become disconsolate if at some point I can’t get more…. I have to rate this higher than the spring batch, and foresee the real possibility looming before me that Laoshan Black may in a future iteration be improved further and enter the rarefied circle of teas I consider perfect. I never thought a black tea could achieve a perfect rating from me, but Laoshan Black may very well do it someday.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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98
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
39 tasting notes

Been drinking the Laoshan Black again for the past two days. And I have to up my rating of it a couple notches. I knew this tea was special from the moment I first smelled the dry leaves. And now, several months later, it is proving itself more special than that initial impression.

Constancy and poise are keywords here. What follows might be a funny analogy, but I impart it in earnest, so please indulge me. When I’m drinking other black teas, I always remember this special one from Laoshan as that rare and truly great love. She fully knows her worth, but is very far above holding it over anyone. In calm fortitude, she knows that I’ll always come back, and patiently tolerates my occasional carousing with other teas. Every time I return to her I recognize how in love I am, and also that I’m almost undeserving of her attention. . . . but she loves me. And so it goes.

Laoshan black is indeed my favorite black tea. What great good fortune that these farmers at Laoshan decided to “try out” the production of a black tea for the first time. If you ask me, it was an experiment touched by some kind of grace. And may they continue producing this tea indefinitely!

Charles Thomas Draper

I have to do a side by side test againest several other A1 blacks to determine if it’s my favorite. It is is truly unique….

TeaBrat

I too love this stuff – just finished the last of my sample this morning!

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98
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
39 tasting notes

While I’m eagerly awaiting some new teas I’ve ordered, I thought I’d put in another quick note about an atypical experience I had with Laoshan Black over the weekend. On Sunday morning I woke up a bit late from staying out tango dancing past 1:00am the previous night, and I was in a big hurry to catch the bus to another tango workshop I had that morning. . . So no time for gongfu cha. :P

I thought I’d just brew up a mug of black tea western style, which is now a rare thing for me. I usually reach for any assam on hand (creamed and sweetened) if I just want an quick caffeine kick like this, but I had drunk a really good golden needle black tea the previous morning, and on the heels of that the thought of assam made me wince a little. So my alternative was to try the Laoshan Black western style.

Brewed about a teaspoon and a half of it in a mug for four minutes. I decided to try it plain first and see what it was like. Smooth and tasty! I could definitely have enjoyed the whole mug straight, but I also wanted to experiment out of curiosity. So I pulled out some milk and very carefully poured a very small amount in. It really doesn’t need much, if you’re going to use any. With the same care, I tried to sweeten it ever so slightly with honey. Not the best idea. This tea is delicate and transparent enough to be overwhelmed by additives, and the honey flavor will take over. Thankfully, I only used a little bit. If you’re going to sweeten, very small amount of sugar would be better than a sweetener with more if its own flavor character.

In any case, it worked well enough, though in the end I think I would’ve rather had that mug of tea without any adulterants. Lesson here is that if you’re going to add anything to this black tea, be very very modest. My preference for preparing and drinking this tea will always be the gongfu method, and that is what I would recommend to others as the best way to fully enjoy its wonderful characteristics.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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98
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
39 tasting notes

Drinking this again as I write. On my second infusion brewed Gongfu style. Used only two teaspoons of leaves this time, and it’s a dramatically improved experience! I echo the malty and smooth comments. Regarding the very pleasant malt aspect in particular, I feel like this tea accomplishes what most Assam tea has been vainly struggling to achieve. This Laoshan black is so much smoother than most of the black teas I’ve tried, both Chinese and Indian. Only Golden Needle teas are its match and potential challenger in that regard. For me it has a vivid caramel quality in its taste; a very smooth high-quality caramel, not the cheap sticky stuff. Dulce de Leche comes to mind. The tea leaves themselves have a fragrance very similar to extra-dark chocolate, and I find this chocolate hint presenting itself more as a flirtation in the aftertaste, beguiling me to come back for repeated infusions. For a black tea, I am thoroughly pleased with this. It is indeed quite nearly ideal, as my first impression of it suggested. This tea just makes me happy, and I know that I will be returning to it frequently. What better praise can be given?

Final word, I think 2 teaspoons for Gongfu brewing is excellent, though perhaps it could stand just a bit more strength. I definitely overdid the leaf quantity last time (in my initial note), probably by an order of 2 or 2.5 (4 teaspoons perhaps). It’s hard to eyeball 5 grams when everything weighs differently! By comparison, that encounter with this tea was a bitter disappointment, and I’m happy to have gained awareness of the mistake I made there.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
Kashyap

I highly recommend getting a small gram scale that can allow you to adust the brew by wt. I have been so impressed by how tea can contrast by controlling this simple factor because its so obvious in each cup…this is an amazing tea and I look forward to buying more of it after I get through my season of charity fundraising and can afford to buy enough to send to friends to fortify them for the coming autumn….

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98
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
39 tasting notes

Drinking this presently as a day-starter before breakfast . Brewing it Gongfu style in my gaiwan. First couple infusions were more intense than I remember from my last experience with it. Perhaps I used too many leaves this time. In any case, it’s mellowing out nicely on the third infusion. Quite delicious. Fourth infusion is even better, and nearer to what I remember from the first time I tried it. I’ll have to experiment further with the quantity of leaves to reach it’s sweet spot. My initial impression of this tea at a Verdant Tea tasting was that it offered what I would consider a nearly ideal black tea experience. I’ll probably write a follow-up note the next time I brew this to round out the picture.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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97

Flat out! I LOVE THIS!
I’m backlogging a cuppa, too, but now I have a little more time to state my claims here…

This is incredibly CLEAN. It’s sweet and makes your mouth water. There are Sun-Dried flavors that pop out much like they would in a Sun-Dried Tomato for example. Very sweet and slightly tangy in a lovely way!

The aroma is comparable to sweet grass and sweet corn and I think it’s tremendous! WOW!

YUMMY YUMMY!!!!!

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83
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
17 tasting notes

Malty, yes, but not harshly so. It’s very light, and keeps the smooth bean notes of its green counterpart. An excellent “straight up” black tea…I can’t imagine diluting this with milk. This may be disappointing for those that like a robust, astringent kick in the teeth, but as a relaxing, silken black tea this performs perfectly.

EDIT: Just opened up my container of this lovely tea and got smacked in the face with chocolate scent. Yummmmm!

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91

This is a beautiful Big Red Robe!

My first couple of infusions brought me flavors that were fruit-like (I tasted peaches and raisins), a little earthy and smoky, and hints of chocolate. A background of caramel and honey-esque sweetness appeared in the distance. The subsequent infusions were more floral, and the flowery notes tapered off to a tangy citrus-y note that lingered into the aftertaste. The caramel flavors really jumped out by the fourth infusion.

I also noticed in the later infusions that the flavors that were once raisin-like became more like currants, while the peach tones were more subdued.

A beautifully complex Oolong. I’m liking what I’m tasting from Verdant Tea.

Charles Thomas Draper

I love what i’m tasting from Verdant….

TeaBrat

I can’t wait to try this one!

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94
drank Yunnan Golden Buds by Verdant Tea
4843 tasting notes

My third (and final) infusion: Sweet honey-like undercurrent, with a pleasant spiced foreground. Less of a wood-like taste than what was present in the second infusion. This is smoother and mellower, although the texture is more similar to the first infusion than to the second, and less astringency now too.

I LOVE this tea.

David Duckler

Hi LiberTEAS,
I am delighted by this set of tasting notes as it really reminds me of trying this for the first time. You have a great palate for finding all the nuances. I love that you also notice how the second steeping suddenly has all that cinnamon flavor coming through that wasn’t there at first. Tea can be so full of surprises!

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