Earl of Anxi

There are a lot of different flavors going on with this blend, many of which just don’t work for me at all. I think the frankincense is the one that stands out the most that I don’t care for. However the heavy citrus flavor that takes over is a close second. I wish I could have tasted the TGY more in the early steeps, it didn’t really come out until the third.

Beyond that, this makes tea #3 or 4 (I’ve kinda lost count) from Verdant that I’m allergic to. I’ve come to the conclusion it is probably the goji berries, they just don’t agree with me and give me a rash, but they also trigger my asthma.

Big thank you to Terri HarpLady.
I definitely glad I got to try this tea. I’m not wowed by it, but it’s still a good cup. I’m thinking it’s because I built it up so much in my head.
The leaves are absolutely beautiful, both dry and wet. It’s amazing how much it expands in water. The 8 oz of water is completely taken over by multicolour leaves. It brews up a light yellow.
Very fragrant liquor. As Bonnie had stated it tastes exactly as it smells.
I don’t know how to describe it, I’m not familiar with what I’m smelling.
All in all, it brews a beautiful cup. I likely wont purchase this one though.

A very well blended tea that has ingredients of Bergamot,Jasmine flowers,Frankincense and Oolong Teas that blend together in perfect harmony to create a blend with a very bright,cheery, sunny and refreshing experience. NO ONE blends teas together in such perfect synchronicity as Verdant teas, their Alchemy blends are simply Exquisite!! The first thing you notice after drinking this tea is an elevation of your mood, it brings about a “Sunny Disposition”, the perfect tea for the transition in seasons to colder and gloomier weather ;) Early steepings are very bergamot/lemony, with subtle hints of jasmine and frankincense to balance out the Oolong that it is paired with. No component of the blend becomes “Unruly” at any time, and blends together like a fine perfume, in perfect harmony, with each subtlety and nuance creating the perfect symphony !!

Thank you so much Kimquat for including this in our swap!

Since I only had one servings worth, I was very precise with my water temp and steep time. Man, this tea smells so beautiful! Floral and citrus sweet with the incensey undertone and oolong tang. But taste wise? Frankincense is SO not my thing! How can something that smells so good taste so bad?? Haha. Anyway, really glad I got to try this one, I’ve been really curious! Apparently I would prefer it as a potpourri ;)

This has been a fantastic weekend for tea, and I can’t help but smile as I continue to drink my re-steep of this blend. Thank you, Kelsey of Verdant, for the opportunity to try this out! It’s very different, but wonderful in a way that’s completely all its own.

It takes the idea of the traditional Earl Grey flavor profile and turns it on its head – instead of a black base we have the Tieguanyin, which brightens up the cup and gives it a buttery silkiness. The splash of citrus provided by the orange peel lends just enough of a hint to evoke the memory of Earl Grey, but it quickly fades in the face of the jasmine and Frankincense. This tastes more like a wintery tea for me than an Earl Grey, but I loved it all the same.

You can read my full review at:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/08/earl-of-anxi-by-verdant-tea.html

This tea is quite lovely.
As an Earl Grey fan, I could say the taste of Bergamot was lacking, but only slightly…
and to be perfectly honest, it perfectly suits this tea.
You can taste the perfectly balanced Bergamot & Saffron (I love BOTH)…
The Frankincense is ever so subtle, but definitely there both in taste and in the perfume
of this tea. I am finding I am loving this tea more at room temperature.
I might add, it only takes one packet of Truvia to sweeten the entire pot.
This tea leaves the lingering feel of silk on your palate…mmmm….
You MUST try this tea.
The more I drink, the more I want…not one tinge of bitterness or astringency.
What a smooth, creamy, oh so lovely tea.
I love every element of this tea~
saffron, cedarwood, frankincense,jasmine, goji berry,bergamot~
what a lovely balancing act performed within this one tea.
This feels like Christmas, and my silly mind can imagine
the three kings who traveled to see baby Jesus sipping THIS tea.

When I read the ingredients considering what to order this blend seemed to have everything I really like: bergamot, jasmine, saffron and goji berry. So I had pretty high expectations.

It’s a nice blend, I love the citrus sweetness and hints of jasmine. But I have to admit that this is not really my favorite. I still will definitely enjoy it and do not regret trying it.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @ 90C, steeped 2 minutes 30 seconds Western style.

I’ve been wanting to try this blend for a long time. Frankincense is one of my favourite scents, and to think of it in tea …

This works. This works so very well. My first thought was “I want the goji berries out and a pinch of lapsang in,” but I’ve changed my mind. I find goji berries get a bit too sweet for me, so I might try a pinch of lapsang later in a second infusion. Frankinsence cries out for smoke, but I’ll need to be careful, because the tieguanyin could get overwhelmed.

An unusual but very well-balanced blend. No one flavour dominates, and using tieguanyin instead of a black tea as the base was inspired. As for tasting notes, I haven’t got anything much to add to the Verdant write-up; they describe it well. I can say that the frankincense gives a slight pine note to the finish, which, with the bergamot, is intriguing.

Thanks for this sample cheetah_pita!

This one has a lot of ingredients that I don’t like. I don’t like floral flavors and I don’t like Earl Grey. But this certainly isn’t a traditional Earl at all and the dried leaves smelled strongly of frankincense rather than of flowers. I was uncertain how I’d feel about Frankincense as a flavor, but it was worth a try.

I brought it over to my parents house so that they could sample it too. Once brewed, the frankincense aroma was completely gone. All I could smell was a cup of flowers. My parents agreed. My mother was happy with it because she likes floral teas. My father said that the flavor was tolerable but that the aroma smelled like ‘ladies perfume’ and that he could probably do without a second cup. I, myself, didn’t finish my cup. I could have, as I’ve learned to accept floral teas when they are already in front of me, but I gave the rest of mine to my mother as I knew that she would appreciate it more.

Although it didn’t turn out to be my cuppa, I’m glad that I had the chance to sample this unique blend.

What a nice tea. I don’t feel like I need to write notes on it because there are already so many of them. I will say that the TGY base is awesome! The frankincense and saffron can be hard to detect if you aren’t very familiar with those aromas but they are there. I love floral teas, I love the natural floral aromas of a TGY, I like jasmine, I like incense, but considering how much I like all of those things I don’t like this tea as much as you would imagine I would. It’s weird. Hmm…