44 Tasting Notes
After some effort I have finally arrived at the optimal brewing conditions for this tea. The taste is definitely reminding of an artichoke. The full spectrum appears very fast in the first steep, that is if the temperature is right. Too hot, and the brew tastes bitter and grassy. But steeped properly it is very attractive taste. Dry leaves smell very much like green chypre perfume with the high notes of galbanum, hyacinth and magnolia leaves. Overall quite seductive.
Preparation
There is nothing more amusing that a hype written about perfumes and teas which make you drool with anticipation and then rush to buy pounds or gallons in case they get sold out FOREVER. 1980 year for a tea makes it antique by American standards. And indeed, this tea tastes and smells like a very antique ginger root fermented in miso. How does such old ginger root smell and taste? Well, to know it you would need to try this tea. Use hot boiling water and wait 1 minute. The secret should be then revealed to you. As for me, I am going to store it in a ginger jar, hide in a dark place and then wait another 30 years to taste it again.
One of the finest black teas I ever drunk. And the price is so right!
It tastes powdery with strong bittersweet cacao notes and smells like iris flower in full bloom, deep and mysterious. After tasting Bai Lin fromTeavivre or Black Gongfu from Zhi, one would think that it is impossible to get any better, then Verdant appears with his Loashan tea and beats them both. I am rushing to buy more while it lasts. Bravo David!
Preparation
This is medium but good quality tea. The first steep was not too impressive, the taste was dull, lacking high notes which define a good tea. Luckily the next steep was much better revealing earthly notes and much desired depth. I do realize that a high quality Big Robe is hard to find. In particular at a reasonable price. This tea is certainly the best one can find without spending fortune.
Preparation
Oh, wow! Your tasting note sure has changed since you first made it! I’m glad you eventually found this more enjoyable.
Did you experience this tea’s weird “ringing” or “vibrating” texture in the mouth? That’s one of my favorite parts!
I really recommend making this tea in yixing or a gaiwan, and using a good amount of leaf. This tea can give great complexity, but I find it is impossible to ignore when made gong-fu style.
Hi, yes- this tea needs zisha pot. The earthy, woody notes come forth much faster. Overall I love Verdant teas, the teas are not only different in a positive way and original, but also the service is superb. Laoshan teas green is certainly not easy tea to get to admire.
To be honest, I expected better from Verdant. I have drunk many Tieguanyin teas and this one was rather disappointing.
The first steep produced light, floral tasting and smelling brew, reminding of jasmine tea. Nice, but lacking complexity. The leaves opened very fast and the second steep gave rather flat tasting tea. I did not care for the third.
However, I will try to brew this tea again in a zhuni pot. Perhaps my impression will change for better. Right now, I do not feel that this tea deserves 5 stars. It does not mean of course that the tea is bad; it is a good tea, just a bit too mediocre for my taste.
Yes, TGY is an old kind of tea. And yes, the modern methods of making TGY are green, not roasted. However, I must disagree with your implication here that only classic, roasted styles of TGY are legitimate and desirable. If you’re looking to find the flavor profile of a roasted, classic TGY in a green TGY, you obviously won’t find them. It is really a different kind of tea. I do not think Verdant has ever misrepresented this TGY as a classic, roasted TGY, so your comment that you are “looking now to find better vendors of this tea” doesn’t really apply. If you are looking for a different example of a modern, green TGY, that is a different story. (I would wish you luck in that search; I don’t think you’ll find it available outside of China!)
Personally, I’m not sure how constructive it is to compare the two kinds of tea. That would be like comparing a shu pu’er to a sheng pu’er. Yes, shu was originally created to mimic old sheng, but the two styles have now completely diverged! You can like shu, and you can like sheng, and you can appreciate them each for their own different merits.The same I feel is true for green TGY and classic TGY, which both offer their particular flavor profiles and ideal types.
For example: Why would I drink an Earl Gray flavored black tea, and then complain that I do not taste mango? That would not be constructive, because Earl Gray is not the kind of tea that tastes like a mango. OR I would not drink Frozen Summit Tung Ting taiwanese oolong, and then be surprised and unhappy when it does not taste like classic, roasted TGY. I was drinking Tung Ting, not classic TGY, and those two teas taste different.
That being said, it is clear that you prefer classic Tieguanyin! That’s great, and that’s your own preference. However, I hope that someday you will give modern, green TGY a chance, because you will find they have a whole new world of delicious flavors to offer.
Hi, I am trying to get to know this TGY better. Certainly Verdant did not misrepresent the tea, it is rather me wrongly expecting something different. In fact Verdant is my favorite seller. I am a perfumist and I not only like to taste the tea, but smell it too. I find teas very much like perfumes ( the best perfumes you can almost taste). So, a good tea to me is a tea which must be able to activate more than one sensory perception. The smell must be paired with taste. With this TGY I got a bit confused. I also think that it is a matter of the right pot. Previously I used Zhuni, which is thin walled. The thicker purple zisha may do better.
What about Ting Tung? There are so many varieties! I just got 1980 Ting Tung from Red Blossom Company. I have mixed feeling. I hoped to find some mystery smell and taste in it, but so far I have not been too successful.
Right brewing temperature is very important here. So far, I getting more and more fond of this tea. But I am also learning how to get best out of it. Will write more later.
Preparation
Aw, now that comment about other Lao Shan teas is gone. :( It’s one of my favorite styles of green, so if you’ve found another vendor, I’d love to hear about it. Or have you been trying the Summer picking from Verdant? That one is quite strong and buttery and beany, so I can see how this might not seem as strong. Personally, the autumn feels more complex, but if you’re looking for that classic “yo ho ho.. I’m a beany Lao Shan green!” flavor, you’re right that this one is not as strong in that.
How did you steep this one? I ike making Lao Shan’s in a glass. Do you make this and your other LaoShan teas in a gaiwan or a big pot?
I used lower temperature and a zhuni pot. It made an instant difference. I would say that brewing should not be longer than 30 seconds ( first time ) and the temperature 170 is the most optimal. It brings forth a very beautiful baked pear scent.
The tea is very good, leaving a lasting impression on the palate. Very similar to Bai Lin Gong Fu from Teavivre, only less chocolate notes. Nevertheless they are very comparable. If given a choice I would probably decide on Bai lin, but luckily I do not have to choose. The tea is excellent for daily drinking, particularly in the morning, very energizing, and good for many steeps.
