Verdant Tea (Special)

Aw, I wrote a ton of things for this one and I lost it. Thank you Dinosara for this one! I had no idea how to steep this one, so it was a little bitter from the birch bark, which seems like that happen anyway. I’m not sure what it’s for anyway. I don’t taste much rooibos or yerba mate but there is a lot of mint, spearmint and lavender. It seems like I had this combination before but I have no idea where. It’s an odd mix of ingredients. Not bad but not Verdant’s best blend.

Tea review + story time.

So I wake up this morning happy to finally have some time to do my own thing after a weekend of socializing. I make this tea and go out to water the garden so it has time to cool. Unfortunately, husband suckered me into helping him wax his car. Then I spent some time watching 5 swallowtail butterfly caterpillars demolish my small (3" tall) bronze fennel plants. I’m actually more concerned that they’ll run out of food than that my plants are being eaten down to nothing. I purposely got the fennel in order to attract these butterflies, but they haven’t grown enough to support the appetite of even 1 caterpillar, let alone 5. I should run by the store and pick up a parsley plant or something for them. I wasn’t planning on planting carrots until later in the season. hmmm…

Anyway, by the time I got in to drink this tea, it was only lukewarm. And I was so hot from working outside I didn’t even want it anymore. I wanted iced tea!! I drank it anyway. Can’t let tea go to waste. :D

This was one of those teas I purchased when I made a big order from Verdant a while back. First time opening the bag. I’ve decided that I’m not really such a huge fan of qimen. Sometimes I like them, but sometimes not. This one seemed like a really good quality one for someone that appreciated this type of tea. Smokey and fruity and autumn leaves. Nice.

Now on to the cold brewed tea in my fridge. yay!

Spring 2014 version

Dear Mr. He:

Thank you so much for picking this tea. Like the dearly beloved “regular” LB, this smells and tastes like like roasty chocloate malto meal. It is a sweet, malty cocoay cup of comfort and I’m very glad that I get to have some.

Having said that, I believe I love my regular LB just a little bit more. There is a little more depth and body to the later pickings I think. I really and truly appreciate having both and the opportunity to compare the nuances and subtleties. I love that Verdant finds and supports the tea farmers to bring us these sips of lusciousness.

This is a perfect cup of tea to have pretty much any time and I’m really enjoying it (much too early) on this Sunday morning.

Method: 1 tbsp, 8 oz, 205 degrees, 3 minutes, Forlife brew-in-mug strainer

Dry Leaf Aroma: Cinnamon and licorice

Flavor: Cinnamon and spices. Licorice. I don’t taste the fruitiness I was expecting. I thought this might have some sweetness from the elderberries, but I didn’t find that either. I don’t think this one is for me, as I’m not a big fan of cinnamon. Im a little sad because I really wanted to taste the elderberries.

I tried this warm and found it be ‘nice’ but nothing special, so this morning I decided to cold brew some to have with dinner. It’s amazing! The cold steep has brought out the lemongrass but also some floral and cream tones. It’s refreshing, light and crisp. Everything I was hoping it would be in warm form.

I have another steep or two worth of leaves left and I will definitely be cold steeping it.

I’ve had this on two occasions including at tonight’s craft club yet I’ve held out on reviewing it. I can’t say that’s for any specific reason, just to make sure it was the same throughout. My reason being that as this is Dragonwell ie a green tea it is hard to taste it, and as I’ve had this specific Dragonwell on it’s own I know it’s delicious, in that sense it seems a shame that I cannot taste it. What I can taste is lemongrass and it’s sweet, strong and crisp which dominates everything else. Undeniably it is very nice as I happen to love lemongrass but it is disappointing not to be able to taste anything besides that. In retrospect it’s a fancy blend that tastes like your bog standard lemongrass, again it’s nice and I want to enforce that but it doesn’t live up to it’s ingredients list. For that reason I will not rate this tea as it’s hard for me to define but it is a sample I can happily finish and am thankful to have tried.

While I appreciate OMGsrsly sending me a sample of this tea with the intriguing name, I kind of had an idea of what to expect…that is, likely nothing good.

Definitely not a snicker doodle tea.

Tastes like ginger and things that grow in the ground. Not in a good way.

I enjoy snicker doodles as far as cookies go.
Not so much, this.

Thanks anyway…I know I was warned! :)

Although I was initially disappointed with this one, I’ve grown increasingly more impressed with this one as I’ve had time to experiment with it. My new favourite oolong steeping strategy is to “rinse” the leaves until they begin to unfurl, and then do a first steep of about 2min 30sec.

The aroma of the dry leaves is equally buttery and floral, with a touch of something sweet and lemony, and that is much how it tastes once it has been steeped. It’s a fine and delicate flavour that layers itself on the tongue, like silk, over time. The finish leaves behind a melted butter texture and taste, which make this tea feel heavier than it is.

This has some of my favourite aspects about oolong, but my all-time favourite component is actually the heady floral aroma of that first rinse. I wish I could make my whole room smell that floral, green, and fresh. This oolong is real pleasure to work with! I’ll often get to around six steeps without realizing how much of it I’ve drunk.

Thanks so much Dinosara! The dry blend smells like a coffee cake —or some sort of spicy cake. The flavor is the same! This one is so good. I love the ripened pu-erh in this blend. Plenty of orange peels, but somehow the orange flavor isn’t there as much you’d think. This is almost like a chai with a pu-erh base but somehow the flavor is much sweeter. Maybe because pu-erh has less of a bite than black tea. I used two teaspoons with increasing temps on each steep. Even by the third cup the pu-erh in the basket barely looks unraveled so I went with a fourth… a hint of a bit less flavor but still tasty. This is your spicy cake pu-erh and it is glorious. If anyone doesn’t like theirs, I’d buy it.
Steep times: 2-3 min, 4 min, 8 min, 10 min

From the Here’s Hoping Teabox 3.

Whole Lotta “nope nope nope” for this tea for my tastes. It’s chicory, stevia like sweet, dirt floor, medicinal herby, rooibos chippy blarrgg! Reminds me of those tiny glass bottle ginseng bottle concoctions my mom would make me drink before exams

However, I could see a coffee drinker liking this for that thick chicory flavor. Maybe. Something my dad would drink. On the good side, this is pretty flavor packed for a rooibos tea.

From The Here’s Hoping Teabox 3.

I was expecting not to like this, but in the end I slot this one as okay. I haven’t been enjoying Verdant’s yabao, but I thought the concept of this tea too interesting to pass up. I went light on the dry leaf here.

Pretty fun tasting – spruce, honey, ginger, light cinnamon. A very warm tea. Very wild, untamed forest kinda feels to it. It’s about as natural as you are gonna get to a snickerdoodle tea without adding any flavoring oils. But yeah, it’s not like actual snickerdoodle tea – it’s got that lightness of a snickerdoodle but not that tartness I associate with cream of tartar use in the cookie. Maybe if I made a snickerdoodle cookie while camping..
I’m still not digging the yabao, but glad to of tried this one. thanx HHTB!

From the Here’s Hoping Teabox3.

Hmmm, I like this one. It seems to have some mixed reviews, but I am partial to Verdant’s jasmine and I do like chrysanthemum. Its really floral, delicate and lots of hay notes. Tastes like dandelions too. With that said, I can see why it has mixed reviews, but I might squirrel this one away for myself!

Drinking this iced right now and it’s actually really good! Thank you MissB for sending this to me a while ago!
I taste chamomile in this, even though I know there isn’t any. Reminds me a but of Stephen Smith’s No. 39 Fez with the minty/touch of lemon taste, but the rooibos rounds it off nicely. Doesn’t have the woodsy rooibos which I do enjoy!

My first sip ever of the esteemed LB and did someone ever mention CHOCOLATE! Wow, can’t wait to see how this cup finishes, but from one sip I am a fan. Yes, this is on my keeper list.

Picked May 18, 2014

Method: 1.5 tsp in 8 oz at 205 degrees for 4 min, French Press

My boyfriend made this as our breakfast tea while I was getting ready for work. There are no instructions on the bag, but I think he did pretty well, considering.

I’m basing my review on his method, but I will try this again using the instructions on the site for the tea, and update as needed.

Aroma: I did not yet experience the dry aroma, but the finished tea aroma was STRONG. I walked downstairs into the kitchen and I immediately smelled a very roasty aroma. For a minute, I thought he brewed a genmaicha, but when I looked in the mug, I saw that the tea was too dark for that. The tea smells like toasted rice and dark malts. I did not pick up any of the sweet or fruity flavors from the description.

Flavor: To me, this tastes like it smells. Toasted rice and dark malts take center stage. I did not find the tea to be bitter of astringent when hot, but it did pick up a tinge of astringency as it cooled. Nothing outrageous. I am hoping to try this again when I get home from work, using short steeps. Maybe some of the other flavors will come forward at that point. I’m not unhappy with the tea, but I feel like it has more to give.

Update 1: Dry leaves smell like burny chocolate. Tried this brewed western style to the specifications on the website. I think it was 1 tbsp to 8 oz at 3 min in boiling water. That was a mistake. I called this brew: THE BURNINATOR. Burned malt, burned chocolate, burned molasses. I wasn’t sure if it was the increase in tea leaves or the temp until later, but it was definitely the temp because…

Update 2: Tried 5 g in a small gaiwan at 205 degrees. 20 sec, 25, 30, 30, and 35. Poured those all in a mug. The smokiness is there, along with a little chocolate and molasses, but it’s definitely better this way.

I think that heavily smoked/burny teas just aren’t my bag, baby. This reminded me of brewing a porter, with the dark malts that impart a smoky flavor.

Samples Only TTB
Back log
This was a very, uh, interesting tea. My mouth couldn’t really understand what was going on, there was cocoa notes with flowery, fruity notes with with minty. Too much contrasting going on for my taste. Love the name though.

Another tea from Terri HarpLady :D

This sheng brings to mind fresh cut wood, as well as slight hints of golden raisins. Strong aftertaste on my tongue. Decent enough sheng but as I’ve been drinking a lot of different ones lately I can tell you this is NOT one of my favorites… but it is hard to pinpoint why exactly. Perhaps the woodier ones are not for me? Still totally drinkable though and I will steep the heck out of these leaves :)

This tea was just not for me. Yuck

Meh…
Thanks to Sil for sharing anyway.
Sipdown!
383

Oops, another tea I am at the end of and haven’t written a note on! Well it was a tasty enough tea to finish relatively quickly haha so that says something! :D I believe this is the second rooibos that Verdant did, the Rooibos Tulsi is still my favorite of the two (possibly my favorite of all time) but this one was okay as well.

Usual steeping parameters were 1-2 minutes with boiling water. This blend is mostly cinnamon and rooibos to me, not much in the way of vanilla or orange, maybe they add to the richness of the blend. However I did find the rooibos a bit more woodsy and strong that I usually like, but at least it’s not a terrible flavor. The cinnamon and orange probably add to the warming qualities of this blend, as it really is a warm, cozy tea, a bit spicy and very comforting. There is a bit of creaminess present too.

Overall, a tasty little tea, although quite heavy on the rooibos flavor. Warm and comforting though, perfect for sipping while I watch the 5th Harry Potter movie for about the millionth time. :D it’s on TV tonight haha.

Samples Only TTB

Well third tea from the TTB today.
This one is… interesting. It tastes like I’m drinking a flower garden.
I’m not sure I like it. I think the chamomile used in this is probably German chamomile which I’m decidedly less fond of than Egyptian. The aroma is strongly buttery flowers. The tastes are buttery chamomile, sweet floral notes and a lingering sweet, tangy flower that’s probably rosehips.

I am enjoying this cup well enough, but won’t seek out this tea for stocking. If someone were serving it, I’d say “Sure.” But I’m not overly impressed. :)

Wonderful!
I have always adored peppermint and the mix with licorice and cinnamon worked well. The tea had a sweetness to it that reminded me of honey.

Perhaps i would like to try to add some silver needle to this blend ^^

PURE HEAVEN! Thank you so much Terri HarpLady for letting me try it.

I’m pretty sure this is last year’s, because I just checked on the website and it seems that this year’s harvest is in pre-order mode right now. It is taking all of my willpower not to order some RIGHT NOW. I have a full ounce of summer harvest Laoshan green from last year I haven’t even opened yet…must be strong. This is top notch though. SO SO GOOD! Everything I love about Laoshan green but even more concentrated :)

Last bit of this in a cold brew. This was never my favorite blend (too much fennel, I think), but as a cold brew it worked pretty well, especially since hot root beer isn’t totally appealing to me. At the same time, the tieguanyin in this kept it from really reminding me of a sarsaparilla soda or root beer… just a bit too vegetal, even with the traditional TGY.

I actually added a pinch of rose black tea to this cold brew, and I like the rosey flavor added to the blend. It’s an herby blend already, and the rose makes it a bit sweeter for me. Of course, I think almost everything could use a bit of rose. Yum!