Verdant Tea (Special)

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I really hated this one the first time around. The second time, I made the first steep at four minutes instead of two, which made it much more bearable to drink. The first taste is apple, followed quickly by sweet chamomile and honeysuckle. Then there’s the lingering flavor of goji berries on the back end. It’s really well blended, actually. The smell is strange and off-putting though. Like something you’d baste a turkey with. Maybe that’s the frankincense? I have absolutely no idea what frankincense smells like. But the weird savory note actually comes out in the flavor and gets stronger as the tea cools. It’s just not working for me. Happily, I am sending the rest of this off to someone who can enjoy it.

A nice creamy tea. It does remind me a bit of butterbeer. I highly recommend it!

I received my first ever swap in the mail today from Kaylee, consisting of more of this lovely little tea, some flowering teas from Taiwan and a tea charm bookmark! And the cutest card! Thank you so much!! :)

So receiving the swap totally made my day, and now that I have more of this tea, I made myself a cup of it this evening to relax after another busy day of work. It looks like it might rain here (hoping!) so this tea combined with the rain will make for a very relaxing evening. Soft, sweet, soothing. Quite tasty! See previous notes on this tea :)

So I caved and ordered the extra February box from Amoda once I saw it was limited edition Verdant blends..I could not resist, especially the eight treasures one :D also, Amoda looks like it would be a good little investment! If I decide I need another monthly tea club, that one is definitely on the list :)

So I am trying this tea first as I felt like I needed a non-caffeinated tea right now haha. The dry smell is very chocolatey actually, with sweetness from the chamomile. I steeped with boiling water for 2 minutes. The resulting aroma is strongly of chamomile, with a floral and berry scent lingering in there as well.

The flavor is a very unique chamomile blend! Yes, chamomile is a predominant flavor in here, but there are soft floral notes blending with the other herbs to create a very soothing, sweet blend. The florals are SO NICE in here actually. There is a mild cocoa note mid-sip as well. A soft, well integrated tea, I like this for a cloudy, dreary afternoon like today. Oh, and I am pretty sure I can taste the Goji berries in here too, or elderberry, there’s some type of fruity berry flavor melding nicely with the florals! The chamomile is also a very apple tasting chamomile, I like it :)

Overall, this is another well done tea blend, and I am extremely pleased I have the privilege of trying this limited blend with the lovely offer by Amoda! Soothing, calming, delicious. I would probably order more of this if it ever becomes available again, for now, I will savor the sample!

ETA – as the cup cools, it turns even more into mostly chamomile flavor. Hmm. I miss the variety of flavors that were present eariler..still a nice relaxing tea though at least!

Not exactly my cup. The taste is way too aggressive and though I kinda like it, it is a very bad idea to drink it while eating or as a complement to anything else… (like thinking, lol). The taste overpowers everything. It’s certainly an interesting experience but not the one you’d like to repeat too often. (i.e. brewing multiple times is definitely possible but by the time you finish first cup you are a week away from wanting to try it again)

Eeek! I’m on my last cup and I’m sad to see this one go as it was such a yummy sample!

I’m quite enjoying my cup of this so far! This was in the March monthly bundle which just arrived yesterday so this is the first one I’ve tried so far.

I have only a few more samples left from the wonderful bunch Sil sent me back in Decenber…it seems that I saved the best for last.

This has an amazing aroma…it really came as a burst as soon as I removed the lid of the gaiwan. And guess what? It tastes even better!

It’s floral but not in a bouquet kind of way, just a delicate linger…also fruity, fig like.

Some caramel as well and a subtle nuttiness that wraps and ties everything together.

It feels round in the mouth, thick and voluptuous. I think it’s one of the finest Wuyi I have had for sure.

I stopped reading just to make sure I would fully focus all my attention to it. It’s that good. I had 4 delious steeps and will now cold brew the leaves for tomorrow…

Thanks Sil, this was lovely :-)

Dog and tea story…(skip if not interested)

My dog Dexter is a snob. I always say he’s an “AristoDog”, basically he acts like he’s Royalty. He doesn’t like to get messy, spring time, he tries to avoid stepping in mud, and if he does (which inevitably is bound to happen), he licks himself till he’s got no more saliva.
And Dexter likes his comfort. Yes, he’s allowed on the couch. He has special cushions that he grabs and carefuly places at stategic spots so he can morph into a sophisticated potato couch. This is a typical illustration of his concept for comfort:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/13451905514/in/photostream/

There’s one thing missing though: his “doux-doux” (French prononced “doo-doo” in English). “Doux” means soft. In my family, we’ve been calling our favourite special throws/blankets a “doux-doux” ever since we were little children. I still love special blankets, have several all over the house and ready to be used when sitting in front of a fire, or just to lounge on the couch, a book in one hand, a cup of tea in the other. Dexter has his own doux-doux, the same one since he was just a puppy. He carries it with him pretty much everywhere. When I wash it, he looks for it everywhere.

Today was a lounge doux-doux day for the both of us… I grabbed mine, he grabbed his, and we had a cup of this wonderful tea. I say “we” cause while I was sipping, he kept trying to get into my cup, literally…totally unlike him!

But there’s something about this intoxicating aroma that tantalized his canine nostrils it seems…well I don’t blame him, this stuff is irresistible!

First review! Haha I haven’t paid a lot of attention to this cup so far, but I’ll do my best. This was part of the March blend of the month club. I’ve sampled all of the teas from this box and the club itself actually except this one!

The dry smell is not very appealing to me, but that is the sarsaparilla giving it the woody, strong scent. I do get a bit of a vanilla-ness in there too along with the floral oolong base. I steeped this for around a minute and a half with 195 degree water.

The steeped scent is a bit better, more oolong, but still that sarsaparilla note that I don’t really enjoy. A bit cinnamony as well. The flavor is much better than the smell luckily. The first tastes reminded me of Master Zhang’s genmaicha with the toasty flavor, I think that might be from the dandelion root as it’s a common ingredient between the teas. As it cools there is more oolong flavor and almost a marshmallowy flavor, definitely can taste the sarsaparilla as it is like that foamy rootbeer flavor but not as sweet lol. There’s still a woodiness in there too, and that’s the one thing killing it for me, I haven’t really liked it in any of the blends with sarsaparilla from the blend club.

Overall, not a bad tea, but not a favorite of mine due to the woody note. An interesting tea nonetheless, I do get the marshmallow vanilla-y notes it’s going for, just not a solid winner due to personal preference. Happy to have the opportunity to try this tea though!

I love this Chai! I am so sad there will be no more. Cozy chai + book = awesome evening.

I love chai, so its not too hard to impress me on the chai front, but this chai. This chai blew my mind. I could taste the wonderful base, and all of the flavors were so amazingly mixed. This was one of those cups that I finished and then immediately went to the web site in hopes that they always kept this one around. It looks like it may be seasonal or a one time good deal, but I hope it sticks around because I am in love!

Actually drinking this one, and I’m not even going to try to be coherent. (Going to spend that energy on my overdue paper instead. Theoretically. Anyway.) I do really like this one, but we’ll see how I feel at the end of the ounce. I do think I need to try the base tea, though? Because I think I liked it in that other blend… Yeah…

I’m at a sipdown for this tea on this lovely Saturday :( I really enjoyed this tea! The final cup is crisp, bright and perfect for a sunny day like today. The lavender evokes a sense of peace and the bright citrus just cheers me up inside and out! Delicious and beautiful, here’s to a good day! I might do some painting, I started my acrylic painting course on Wednesday and it was just amazing! Relaxing and so freeing, and the three hours just flew by! I can’t believe how fast it goes when you are doing something enjoyable such as painting. Hoping to get back into it and keep with it even when the course finishes!

Anyways, goodbye lovely tea (that most other Steepsters despised :P) and maybe we will meet again! See previous notes!

Good morning steepster! It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, I just made a pile of pancakes and have leftovers for later, it’s partly sunny out, and I’m having a delicious cup of this tea to start off the day right. Today it’s even more crisp green tea with citrus, not as much lavender, and it’s just perfect for the morning. I’m going seed shopping with my mom today for seeds for our first garden, and will also pick up some other gardening goodies hopefully (watering cans, more hoses, etc). Looks to be a fine day on this 3 day weekend, and maybe even going to the lake tomorrow! See previous notes on this tea :)

Second tea of the day. Haha I really do enjoy this tea, so much dislike for it, but here I am, one of the few black sheep who quite enjoy this. Fresh, bright, buttery, and calming, an excellent morning tea. See previous notes!

Woooo I got my last month’s box from my friend!! Hehe more new tea!! I creeped on these teas on Steepster before receiving the box and was very excited about the selections! This is the first one I’m trying from the February box, as this definitely screams morning tea at me. And I love trying EG style teas without a black base!

The dry smell is really nice to me! Bergamot and citrus galore, with a sweet hint of lavender. If you like bergamot and lavender, you will love the smell of this! The leaves are very pretty and springlike too, bright green leaves. I enjoy my sundried Jingshan green, so I am excited to see this base in a blend in another blend, I think I’ve only seen it in summer garden citrus mint.

I didn’t really know how to steep this tea lol, so I used my best judgement – 2 minutes with 175 degree water. The smell during steeping morphed from lavender to citrus to strong lemon!! Very tasty smelling, almost savory when steeping was complete. Now that the basket is out, I really smell the grassy-honey scent of the Jingshan green base.

As for the flavor, wow, I really enjoy this. The first flavor is the green base, a honey grassy flavor that is quite delicious. This turns into a bright, rich citrus flavor, almost like a poppyseed cake with it’s lemony rich flavor. There is a bit of astringency in the aftertaste from all the citrus and bergamot, but it’s not overly mouth drying. As the cup cools, the lavender comes out more in the first flavor and mellows it out so the base is the aftertaste now. The citrus is decreasing. Very light cup, oh and the bergamot is also still presentI can never get over how much these teas from Verdant change just with the simple cooling of the cup. I love it!

Overall, this is a excellent tea for bright Sunday mornings or afternoon tea with lemon cake or cupcakes of some sort. It reminds me of a fresh dew covered garden with the flowers poking out for the first sun rays, or a rain kissed garden. Spring tea through and through. Recommend if you like citrus, bergamot and lavender!

This was one of the teas I took to work today. i don’t normally do well with green oolongs, but as I always say – if someone (Sil) is generous enough to send me a tea, I’m willing to try it. I was really expecting to drink a cup or so and then move onto something else. I actually drank this all day. Not something I would buy more of, but definitely better than I was expecting.
There wasn’t much floral to this one, wasn’t too grassy, didn’t have that weird green oolong taste that most of them have. For my tastes this was more green tea than lightly oxidized oolong.
Thanks so much Sil for sending this to me, different experience in green oolong – I learned something today.

First tasting note! Oh and a bit sad haha, I had my previous monthly box sent to my friend’s place as I was in the middle of moving when it arrived and didn’t know where I’d be lol, and I still haven’t managed to pick it up from her! (along with some Teavivre samples, some A&D, and a mug haha) so I will hopefully get them this weekend! But in the meantime, this month’s verdant blend box arrived to my new address today so I am trying this one out tonight and hopefully the rooibos!

This blend intrigued me! I am very excited for it :D it reminds me of my beloved Eight treasures Yabao blend with all the flowers but with a different base and some interesting additions of star anise and peppermint. Beautiful dry leaves as well, colorful and huge floral petals and lovely white tea leaves! The dry blend smells not really what I would have expected, the mint is definitely there and a subtle woodiness, that could be the star anise in there, it’s a deep, rich yet fresh scent. Very interesting!

I didn’t really know how to steep this one lol, the sheet says 30 seconds with boiling, but I did about 1.5 minutes with 185 degree water. The resulting liquor is a nice sunny light yellow color and smells very clean lol, not really floral or anything, just a clean, fresh scent. Hard to describe.

I tried a sip of this and hmmm. What to make of this tea haha. It is going to be very hard to describe…it’s very fresh and clean. Pure. Like I would imagine a river flowing through a clean flowery meadow would taste. A brook, if you will. The white tea is possibly the strongest flavor of the very delicate flavors that are here, and something that is reminding me of Eight Treasures, so probably the marigold and rose. There is a slight spiciness in the aftertaste that comes out, adding a golden glow to the bubbling brook haha. As it cools, I think I feel the freshness of the mint in the middle of the sip too. What an interesting tea, I am really at a loss for how to describe it, very subtle. I might also be completlely off base and steeped it wrong or something haha, but this is my perception.

I am excited for others in the blend club to try this tea so I can see if my perceptions are kind of accurate lol. Oh, as it cools, more of the star anise comes out, I definitely taste a sweetness and a spicy aftertaste. No rating yet, I need to form a better opinion of it haha. Beautifully interesting tea! I love this tea club, it never fails to provide some crazily unique teas!!

ETA – as it is almost room temperature now, man oh man there is definitely some star anise flavor going on! What a tea haha this has morphed into a sweet, rich flavor but there is a definitely cottony note to it. Yes, cotton. I think that is the flowers and base tea coming through. It’s satisfying and fresh. Now it reminds me of a fresh breeze with the clothes hanging on the line. The cotton. :D

This one’s from January, apparently, but I’m just trying it now. (What a coincidence, I just tried “midwinter robe” the other day.) I don’t recognize half the herbs in this (galangal? astragulus? shatavari? rhodiola’s a flower, right? or am I thinking of gladiola?) but it all blends together very smoothly. Not much to say right now, but it’s good. I could drink an ounce of this.

Okay, more research needed before going further into this tea. I smell and taste Lapsang smokiness, yet Steepster tells me it’s an oolong, which is normally something (I find) I have a strong, severe reaction to within minutes of drinking. I get violently nauseous, and while that’s all that happens, it’s really quite horrible. This is the first oolong in… many years… that I’ve had zero reaction to. Nice! This makes me think it’s a lapsang though instead of an oolong, especially because of the taste, so I’m off to figure out what’s what, and why.

…… and I’m back. Okay, so Lapsang is really only referring to the roasting process, which of course makes sense (although I do feel a bit silly). So it’s a roasted oolong, and that’s why I’m getting campfire/pine needles out of this. It’s earthy and slightly sweet, with lots of smoke and woodsy elements to it. I also get something gummy, resin-like out of this, maybe myrrh? Dunno.

I’ll have to re-steep this a few times to see what else I can get out of it. Verdant’s descriptions of cream and chocolate? Far from this experience for me, so far.

Thank you Sil for generously sharing this with me; I realize it’s no longer available, and quite pricey to boot. Truly appreciated!

Wow, I guess I’m adding the first tasting note? I am so not worthy of this honor. Or, rather, my badly written note is not. >.<

Got the box today, and I’m drinking this one because it’s caffeine free and I’m sleeeepy. I’m definitely getting orange creamsicle from this, except without the artificial weirdness (tasty weirdness, but weirdness) of the (cheap, supermarket brand) orange creamsicles I usually consume. I might have expected it to taste a little more like an earl grey, given the bergamot, but I g uess it doesn’t. And that’s cool. And I’m only getting a little bit of that weird mold note that I get from rooibos, so yay!

… maybe I’ll be more coherent next time I drink this. I definitely wouldn’t bet on it though.