Verdant Tea

Yet another of my Spring 2020 clearance sipdowns!

This is a really lovely, quite special sheng puerh. I wish I’d bought a little cake of it, back in 2016 when I got the tea club delivery of it. The leafs smelled great, with those notes of forest floor and gentle floral undertones.

I brewed it up in my little flat Yixing pot and probably got through a good 8-10 infusions with it. The early steepings were rich in woody, herbal notes, with a clear honey-note that faded into a more muscular forest-floor flavour in the mid-steepings. As we carried on drinking, the honey note seemed to gently re-emerge and the tea continued to produce refreshing, slightly minerally, herbaceous cupfuls.

Did a sipdown session with my last few nuggets a few days ago over a few games of Splendour. This remains a very smooth, easy-drinking puerh, with lovely notes of caramel and chocolate. It brewed out well over around 8-9 infusions (and, to be honest, probably could have carried on going), with those lovely warming camphor notes just started to creep in as we carried on drinking.

I always really enjoy the Dongsa Coops teas and this one has proven no exception. They’re lovely, refreshing, easy-drinkers that offer a well balanced flavour profile and a stimulating, satisfying drink.

I did a session with this lovely old tea yesterday. I’ve had a sample from an old Verdant tea of the month club – possibly from 2015 or 2016? – but never got around to drinking it and figured that, as it was shu in a sealed packet, it would probably be fine to wait for a little while.

On the nose, the dry leaves are just wonderful. They gave me and my boyfriend a really strong hit of wet woodland or of the hold of an old, wooden ship – that sort of slightly dank, nostalgic smell of an old children’s adventure playground in a forest, or a tropical enclosure at a really good zoo. The pieces of leaf were quite large and flat.

I brewed the packet (5g) in my porcelain gaiwan. I preheated it and then left the leaves inside briefly to start opening them. I then rinsed the leaves at around 95C:
- the wet leaves smelled even more potently of the same kind of dark, humid woodland/enclosure. It was a surprisingly nostalgic smell; I just couldn’t shake the way it transported me back to (very fond) childhood memories of walking through the tropics house at Chester Zoo.
- the rinse was pretty mild on the palette, to be honest. I didn’t get much from it, but it also carried the smell of old wood.

Further infusions (at increasing increments from 5s up to around 30, all with 95-96C water) held much the same; the tea was surprisingly mild but the aroma was lovely and nostalgic.

I’m not sure what to make of it, overall; it was such a mild drink, despite the incredibly powerful aroma. I think I still enjoyed the overall experience but probably wished the liquor itself packed a little more of a punch.

This is incredibly unique, and was such a pleasant surprise. So sweet- brown sugar, molasses, and honey, with a nice malty twist. I can imagine this would actually be wonderful with some milk and honey.

Is this actually a black? Or is it an herbal? I don’t remember.

Anyhow, it’s a nicely sweet sort of black tea – it’s the tea I confused with the Osmanthus Laoshan Black, until I came to my senses. It tastes nothing like LB, but does have a lot of floral qualities. It’s unusual, and I enjoy it.

I haven’t been drinking tea much over the last week. My 2 year old cat very unexpectedly went into the hospital, and in a matter of days passed. She hadn’t had any other medical issues, and suddenly lost her appetite and became lethargic. What I thought would be a pretty routine trip to the vet, revealed a mass in her abdomen. Exploratory surgery revealed one of her kidneys was completely destroyed, and had to be removed. Everyone thought she would recover, being only 2. However, her body slowly failed over the course of a few days. She was put on oxygen, we were called, and she passed within 15 minutes of us being there.
Everything seems pretty empty and sad. My cats are my world, especially my baby Remi. She was so happy, so loving.

Apologies for the personal tangent, I’m trying to get back into doing things I enjoy (like being on Steepster).

This tea was really satisfying. Really deep cherry notes, and some chocolate maltiness. I only got 3 steeps out of it, before it turned a bit more leathery than I wanted.

Enjoyed this throughout the day today. Nice and malty, with some stone fruit and chocolate notes. Just a bit roasty, with the roasted flavor complimenting the natural sweetness nicely.

The leaves were smaller and more broken than the standard autumn tieguanyin I got in the same order from Verdant. I preferred that one much more. This had similar lilac and orchid notes, but was much more subdued.

I found this to be a bit too mild, no matter the temperature or length I brewed it. Very strong roasted note, and not much else going on. Not terrible, but not something I wanted to steep more than a couple times.

Had another session with this one and I still find it really enjoyable. Pleasant and predictable, which is sometimes what I’m looking for. Pretty standard flavors for a TGY, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

I loved watching these big, beautiful green leaves unfurl. A floral bouquet of lilac and orchid, combined with buttery roasted vegetables and a bit of vanilla. Really enjoyable!

I’ve had a lot of luck with the different Laoshan black offerings from Verdant, but this is my least favorite. It’s missing the silky chocolate quality that I love, and is a bit more sharp and acidic. Not bad by any means, just not as smooth and decadent as what I was hoping for.

Eating a brick of Walker’s Hazelnut Toffee and sipping on this has been quite a treat this morning. Fruity cherry and raisin notes are followed by sweet cookie and caramel flavors. Holds up very well over many steeps, and gets progressively more rich with subsequent steeps.

Drank this one at work. Didn’t bother measuring or timing anything and just winged it for a change. This is almost a year old but it has kept well in the fridge. Slight fruity with vegetal notes of zucchini, soybeans, and aloe.

With this sip down, I’ve officially cleared out my once massive stash of Verdant green tea. I’m now down to just a few teaspoons of Japanese greens and a YS green tea that hasn’t aged well. As someone who drinks green tea daily, I’m a little nervous about running out soon. Looks like I’ll have to reach for my oolongs, whites, and blacks more frequently until new spring greens are available.

I’m trying to stick to my tea-ban, I really am. But, I’m running out of new teas to try, and that brings me such joy. So, I’ve placed 2 Verdant orders. Their sample sizes are too perfect. I’m very glad I got this one (and I’m sad it’s only a sample). I haven’t been drinking a ton of green teas, even though they used to be my favorite. Oolongs and blacks have stolen my heart. But, this is my ultimate green. Nice and nutty, with roasted soy bean and soy sauce notes.

This tea tastes exactly like my memories at the Pierce College pumpkin patch petting zoo smelled. I don’t consider that a bad thing, it’s quite happy in fact. But, this is a barn and I love it. Subsequent steeps are all surprisingly similar, but I don’t mind. I’m loving this.

Finished up a sample size from my last Verdant order. Remarkable milky notes in the first steeping. The almond flavor was robust and pleasant. Subsequent steeps gave way to minerality and plum notes.

Sipdown, though not much of an achievement since this was just a sampler. This was a very good Bi Luo Chun – spinachy and herbaceous with a peppery arugula note. Onto the spring version of this tea now to see how it compares.

Got this from the last TTB and I’m just now brewing it up. No idea if I brewed it properly, but it smells and tastes very unique. A bit piney, a bit peppery. Overall very herbal and slightly medicinal. Not something I would necessarily drink again.