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Once upon a time there was a girl who drank Assam for breakfast everyday. Then she got caught up in comparing various English, Irish, Parisian, & other breakfast blends. She loved them all, & it’s so much fun comparing them, savoring them, but once in awhile it’s nice to go back to your roots!

This is a really nice Assam! It’s everything it should be, Malty, hints of chocolate, & not a touch of astringency or bitterness! Thank you, Stacy, for your lovely teas!

While reading about all of the teas on the Verdant website, my initial reaction to this tea blend was disinterest. I kind of go through phases with mint, I grow several varieties, & right now I’m just not that into them. So initially I didn’t have any interest in this one.

Then I found out the current blends were all going away, to be replaced by more fall-like blends, & it was like, “I guess I’d better at least try them all before they’re gone.” Besides, I’ve enjoyed everything from Verdant so far, so I got some of this, & a few others that also didn’t initially peak my interest.

The first steeping (3 minutes) looked like soy sauce. It was very smooth & mildly sweet, but the main thing I could taste was MINT. In my face.

I got a sample of this in my first Verdant order, & am finally getting around to trying it. Dry, it smelled like Wakame (a sea veggie). I followed the instructions on the Verdant site:
1. It looked like Coca Coca, & tasted of toasted rice, like a really nice Genmaicha, with a hint of carmel.
2. The wet leaves have a deep charcoal & smoldering sweet grass scent, & I picture a pile of leaves burning in the fall. The taste has expanded to include a hint of cinnamon.
3. Now the flavor is sweeter, with a resinous quality that reminds me of a substance I used to smoke (back in the day). I’m also getting a bad case of cotton-mouth. Tannins or dejavu?
4. Bananas Foster with Vanilla ice cream & a sprinkle of cinnamon.
5. The wet leaves now smell like banana leaves, roasting over a bed of charcoal. A juiciness is rising (cotton-mouth is gone), with a bright hint of mango.

This was a really tasty tea! I’ve been re-steeping all day,lost count, interspersed with a few other teas as counterpoints. The leaves are seriously sturdy, & willing to continue to release their flavors each time.

Thanks to Bonnie for this lovely sample

First, the pagodas in this tea are SO cute! Hand tied, they are round & flat bottomed, then they rise to a point. They remind me of Hershey’s kisses, chocolate brown with streaks of gold. A mild smell of maltiness.

I brewed them in my little glass pot, so I could watch them come to life. (the package says 2 – 3, but I included 5, because they reminded me of Black Dragon Pearls, & I always use more then they say).
They floated, they swam a little, then they bloomed, like sea anemones, gradually sinking to the bottom.

I tasty, mildly chocolaty tea. I drank the first cup straight, 2nd steeping I added a little stevia. I’m gonna try for a 3rd cup.

Enjoy the morning!

I’ve had a couple of crazy days! One of my daughters came friday, we spent the day eating, gardening, & sipping tea! We started with Laochan Black (her comment, "Wow! This is a great coffee substitute). We had some of Verdant’s Hand Picked Summer Tieguanyin (which I already reviewed) with it’s wonderful orchid-like essence, S’mores from Della Terra (thank you Azzrian), & Butiki’s Coconut Cream Pie (which was my daughter’s favorite tea of the day). All of this was spread out over the day.

I spent the weekend running around playing gigs, so all of my tea drinking was deep & strong: Wild Picked Yunnan Jin Jun Mei, Laoshan black, Bergamot Rose Laoshan black, & Imperial Breakfast Summer Blend. After each one was steeped 2 X, I dried the leaves & this morning I combined them all into one big brew, which was then strained off into a quart jar & refrigerated. An interesting combo, & tasty cold. Also, I only had one tsp of the WP jin jun mei, so I added a tsp of Laoshan black this morning for a nice hot cup!

What will I sip on next?

I’ve always loved Jasmine tea, but some are better than others. This is one of them! I’ve not always been a huge fan of white teas, often feeling that they are kind of boring, but that has been changing lately, maybe it’s just because the quality of the whites I’m drinking is better. I’ve had some really tasty white teas lately, & I’m enjoying the difference between the various varieties.

In this tea, I think the balance of the silver needle to the jasmine is perfect. The aroma is heady, without being overpowering. The silver needle is delicate, & combined with the Jasmine I picture a field of early spring bulbs, especially the white ones. I actually have 2 different potted jasmine varieties as houseplants, & when they bloom (when they’re happy), my house is like heaven! ahhhhhhh!!!

So I brewed the first small pot of this tea this morning & shared it with one of my adult harp students. I think I’ll give her some as a gift, as she was enamored with it. I shared the 2nd steeping with my 2 sons, who have come back for 2nds. I’m on the 3rd steeping now. This was a sample size, but I plan to order more!

Thank you, Bonnie, for this tea sample! I don’t know where you were yesterday, but I missed seeing your postings! Of course, we all have lives away from Steepster!

I was thinking I’d drink a series of Puerhs this morning, & compare them, like people do with wine. Now I’m thinking maybe that wasn’t the best idea. There are flavors that overlap, & my tongue still feels ‘full’ from the first puehr I drank today. Oh well, next time I’ll drink some other tea in between…

This is a very interesting tea! It definitely tastes like Corn! There is also the sensation of butter on my soft palate, & a tingle in the center of my tongue. I’m on the 4th steeping now. I added a drop of stevia to my cup & swirled, just to see what would happen, & carmel hints come forward, but I think I like it better plain. It’s very smooth, not bitter at all, but still grounding & soothing.

I like Puehr! Now I’m sitting here, with 2 cups, one of cornfields & one of Teaspot’s, sipping back & forth. They are both tasty, one buttery corny goodness & the other deep with a hint of chocolate. Looks like my taste experiment is a success after all!

I don’t know how old this Puerh is, it didn’t come with a pedigree to tell me what year it was grown, or what region it came from, or anything like that. I’m fairly new to Puerh, so maybe that doesn’t matter. So far, I’ve only drank 1 straight puerh, the rest have been in blends. I got an order from The Tea Spot recently, & ordered the sample size.

Smelling the package, it reminds me of a well cooked compost, combined with a salty ocean breeze. The bricks, or tuochas, are cute, dark brown with beige streaks, kind of reminds me of my spring compost pile with a little straw mixed in. I like the Tuochas. They would be great for traveling. At first I was like, “Do I break it apart, or just drop it in the cup?” I dropped it in the cup, it fell apart when the water hit it. Now I know.

I’ve already drank the 1st cup, and it was smooth, with a mineral taste, my bones are saying “This might be really good for us”. It has a dark color, deep reddish brown, & a dark taste, a very mild hint of bitter on the edges of my tongue, but that adds to the package, as the bitter taste is good for the liver & gall bladder.

The 2nd cup has an undercurrent of alfalfa & a mild saltiness to it. I really like the ‘grounding’ feel of it, the earthiness, the solidity. I’m a person who needs to stay grounded, as I’m very ‘airy’ (friends call me Terri the Fairie), & although I’m full of great creative ideas, I’m not always the best at bringing them down to earth. Like the Walt Whitman poem about sand castles…

I like this stuff.

This is another tea that seemed a little bit ‘scary’ for me, because I’m just not a huge fan of Bergamot & citrus, but I DO love roses! I took a risk because:
1. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve gotten from Verdant so far…
2. The new fall line is coming soon, so I wanted to at least give it a try while I could.
3. Anything with Laoshan Black in it just has to be awesome, right?
4. The picture of the tea is just SO beautiful that I couldn’t resist!

Opening the packet, I stick my hose down in there & breath in…OMG! This is like heavenly aromatherapy! The perfectly blended & heady scents of roses, bergamot, & citrus is like a yummy perfume some classy old lady might wear…it’s like a calgon commercial saying, “Take me away…”. It’s intoxicating, & the bergamot doesn’t take over the show. It’s a supporting player, which I don’t mind!

This is possibly the most beautiful tea I’ve ever seen: Skinny little twisted strands of black tea form a palate for brilliant magenta rose petals to lay upon, with a sprinkle of citrus peel.

Brewed, the tea smells like the chocolate buns that a local bakery used to make. I was addicted to them, years ago…yeasty, crusty, ohhhh…

And the taste? The cocoa depth & maltiness of the Laoshan Black, with a hint of rosewater, & there is a bright note of Grapefruit in the background, just a little edge, just enough to add a sparkle!

Yummm!!

Now I’m in the mood for something dark & rich, & this tea hits the spot!
The idea of this particular tea has both intrigued & freaked me out for awhile now. I’m not a big fan of citrus flavors in tea, there is usually an acidity that I don’t care for, but every time I visit the LTR I feel an urge to try this one. So, with my posse of women at my side the other day, I figured, what the heck! If I didn’t like it, someone would, right?

I liked it! I liked it enough to purchase a few ozs. The Puerh base is deep, satisfying, & earthy. Dry, it has a deep smell of orange peel & really reminds me of those fruitcakes my mom used to make. They were loaded with candied fruit, orange peel, etc. I think she baked them a month before xmas, wrapped them in cheesecloth & proceeded to marinate them in brandy, or rum, or something like that. Then when they were ‘ripe’, she packaged them up & sent them out as xmas gifts. They had a dark rich flavor, a sweet sticky density. This tea smells kind of like that.
Unsweetened the blood orange is there, but not overpowering, with a tangy berry flavor. I can drink it plain, but the addition of sweetness really brings out the juiciness of the fruit. It is tart & mouthwatering, deeply satisfying! Yum!