Verdant Tea (Special)

Thought I’d try this again, since I found it when I was cleaning up yesterday.

Smells like coriander and pine forests.

Umm.

Anyone whose address I have want it? I have the 1oz blend club pack and I’ve tried it twice. It needs to go to a home where it will be appreciated.

(steeped twice)

Hmm.

Today I’m getting more baked cookie, but there’s still that underlying current of pine forest. I’m not quite munching on the needles, but it’s darn close.

Definitely interesting, but I prefer the fairy tea they have with yabao in, whatever it’s called. I know I have some around here somewhere… ;)

This will be steeped many times today. I’m curious as to how it changes, even with a cold!

It, umm, smells like I’ve stuck my face in a spruce tree out in the forest. Cold, icy, woody, frozen tree pitch. I haven’t had the yabao before, so I’m not sure what part is giving me this scent.

When I think of snickerdoodle, I think of a vanilla cookie that has been rolled in cinnamon sugar then baked. Is that not what a snickerdoodle is? That’s not what this tea is.

The tea tastes like the forest. All bundled up on a crisp winter day, pushing through the forest, looking for the perfect tree. It’s quite herbal under there too, almost medicinal. Quite earthy, as well. And I feel the warmth of the ginger.

So. Weird.

sipdown! since the last of this will be heading over to terri to try. Still not a fab of this one. it’s just kinda…well..boring? I steeped it for 4 mins and while that mafe the bergamot finally present in the steep it didn’t mesh all that well with the other tastes going on for me. aah well, can’t win them all!

EG this is not. This is zhu wrong and LB….and maybe a couple spices thrown in. Again 1 min steeps is stupid. lol Pretty much feeling like i could just toss the two teas together and get mostly the same blend. Will try to play with this a bit more later. still like it..but feel more like this is like other teas than being an EG blend.

nothing to say about this one really…tried again with it and it still isn’t any sort of yummy for me. I don’t much like yabao and after a few cups of trying this out under various conditions it’s still nothing i’m enjoying. the last little bit of mine is off to terri to see if she can pull some delight out of this one.

meh. 1 minute steep is stupid. i will rant more about that i’m sure. Drinkable but as not a fan of yabao…esp silverbuds yabao, i wasn’t hoping for much. it’s ok but i’ll have to play a bit more.

sipdown!(178) with the last little bit of this off to terri for her to try. I didn’t mind this one. it’s a pretty decent mint blend if you’re in to that sort of thing and as i’ve mentioned before, it’s different enough from stacy’s peppermint patty that both could hang out in my cupboard.

I’ve got som backlogging to do and no idea how long my internet will be up to let me do it. While we have power here at our place which i am SUPER thankful for, the internet is still spotty and having issues.

Let me preface this by saying i HATE that all verdant’s blends seem to have a steeping parameter of boiling, 1 min. The teas never taste delicious and wonderful until you change those…and really? every tea needs boiling? hmmmm

This one is from yesterday. It’s tasty, but nothing to write home about. That being said, I would also be fine having this AND stacy’s peppermint patty in my cupboard as they both bring something slightly different to the table. :)

This is delicious and I’m hoping it helps my immunity since we’re flying up to visit my parents this week! Curious to try it with cider or wine as suggested.

Wow, I absolutely love the smell of this chai dry and steeping! Thanks to the carby sweet potato quality of the base and the ginger it smells like a pan of freshly baked soft gingerbread. The flavor then surprises you by being quite peppercorn-y. I’m trying this steeped like standard tea, but I am pretty sure this will love being made with honey and milk. Very nice. One of the best chais I’ve tried, I love the spices and the balance.

Perhaps I under-steeped this one, because although pleasant, it was unremarkable to me.
I make home-made snickerdoodles with cream cheese and roll the balls in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar…I tasted no cinnamon, and if snicker doodles? …very generic :-/
Sorry Verdant…

This still isn’t tasting right again. Is it my Finnium, or something else? Tastes bitter and a bit off, with less cocoa than I remember.

Hm. There’s something off about this today. Something bitter in the fennel is my guess? I don’t get it. I think my tastebuds are off. Boooo….

1.5 tsp in 12oz.

Always perfect, always delicious, especially when trying to (still) get sinus gunk out.

Interestingly, the bit of this that I got from (I think) CelebriTEA had zero chocolate or cacao or whatever in it. This blend that I just got direct from Verdant? Full of big pieces of what looks and tastes like something cocoa-ish. I think I like this blend more.

Okay, so I enjoy this so much that I caved and bought some Verdant last night. 2 oz of this in that order. It definitely helped kick whatever stomach ick I’ve been fighting the past week.

Bringing out the big guns now to feel better. Love this tea anyway, so it’s just a good excuse. ;)

Hung out with a friend last night who has been fighting a cold for som time now, and now I’m feeling a bit off myself. Time to crack out the elderberry! Steeped this just over 18 minutes, and it’s still delicious, although I am getting more licorice than previous incarnations.

So… my last sample (that was a sipdown) came from OMGsrsly. This sample (a full pouch!) came from CelebriTEA. Wowza! So glad I love this.

Working on transitioning to a brand new laptop. Whee! I just wish it were a bit easier. Win 8 is a bit… weird. Love the keyboard though, and the actual laptop itself. And so, I’ll be up late tweaking. May even set up the new printer, too.

Thank you Sil for labeling our swap with your handle on them; I need to start doing this as well, and marking the ones I receive as I get them. Why? Because it could be one of four different people’s swaps. JustJames? CelebriTEA? akgrowngirl? OMGsrsly? I dunno. I also have several packets of this now, and huge thanks for that as well! It’s become a favorite.

The deep, dark purple in this makes me want to dye wool with it. I’m getting closer to my dream of dealing with wool from shearing to finished product, and I think when I get to dying my own wool, it’ll be with elderberries. http://sewnnatural.com/blog/2012/09/natural-dyeing-with-elderberry.html

Yum, yum, yum! Had a big mug of this tonight before I went out for a (late) date with a (young) gent.

Thanks to OMGsrsly for this lovely sample and swap earlier today! So much fun.

I may have steeped this for 20 minutes. Possibly. It is still delicious as-is. It’s a lovely dark purple — which makes me think I should try and figure out what it is that turns the tea this color, to dye wool with. It’s naturally sweet, zero astringency, full, with a bit of bite to it that isn’t hot, more zesty and sparkly. Hard to describe. Definitely on my to-order list.