Have you ever tried to use a dehydrator to dry herbs?
It gives you a good sense of all the work it takes to make a good tea. Too hot, too cold. Too long, too short. And so on.
A unique tea like this one, which one can tell just by looking at the leaves, requires concentration and years of hard work.
Let’s not forget either that Master Zhang uses the highest and above standards for sustainability when it comes to his tea and other plants. One sip of this tea transports you to the mineral rich mountains of Anxi, China. Straightforward mineral flavors. It’s like licking a wet rock.
Tasting the purest granite surrounded by spicy dark woody notes. They mention florals along with the woody notes but honestly all I can taste are the mineral and woody notes.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
This unusual tea is based on Master Zhang’s ongoing research into early Anxi oolong teas with a half-rolled / half strip-style shape, and a very meticulous turning and fluffing process that goes further than most modern tea would. In this experimental offering, he applies this research to the Tieguanyin varietal and provides enough roast for a deep, rich aroma. The result is a very well-balanced tea full of toasted sweetness, rich plum, and an lilac floral complemented by lingering minerality.
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Autumn 2019 Special Grade Laoshan Black/Verdant Tea
Please do not mind me as I sit here and gaze at this pulchritudinous tea.
It is somewhat difficult for me to describe the color of these brilliantly twisted leaves.
It is dark brown with hints of grays and greens. The aroma is fresh, toasty, and warm. The wet leaf aroma is vegetal.
Slightly musty. What a unique flavor.
Toasty notes are the forerunners. Followed closely by a chocolate and cream sensation. If steeped too long it takes almost like burnt chocolate.
The after taste is a bit mineral and this really shows when it comes to the feeling it leaves on the tongue.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
Pioneers and community leaders in Laoshan Village, the He family was one of the first to plant tea on the misty ocean-facing slopes of the Taoist Holy Mountain they call home.
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2018 King of Thieves Dancong/Verdant
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. This little phrase can be used time and time again with tea.
If you don’t like it the first time you try it, try it again. I was not impressed with my first session, so here we are trying again.
The dry aroma is better this time around. Somewhat floral, somewhat earthy.
The first time around is the best but I’m finding subtle floral notes that are nice in later steepings as well. The mouthfeel is smooth and refreshing.
While using my aroma cup I encountered I very briefly encountered some intense fruity notes with woodsy notes but couldn’t find it again after that. The leaves are a unique dark color but when wet they are outlined with lighter brown shades.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant
Description
贼王 or “King of Thieves” got its name from the famous story of a thief stealing this valuable tea tree in the middle of the night over 200 years ago, but leaving some of the roots and trunk in their haste to cut it down. King of Thieves growing today is said to have regrown from that little remaining root stock. This tea was hand picked and hand processed over 24 hours of intense labor to bring out its rich nuanced dessert-like flavor and spiced tropical undertones.
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2003 Aged Ben Shan/Verdant Tea
Have you ever judged a book by it’s cover? Looked at a tea and thought, meh? I confess I did that with this one. I’m not a big fan of pu er and some other aged teas I’ve had were okay. But I figured let’s give this a try anyway.
I only have a 5g sample so I’m going to do everything right with this one. Using the gongfu method I’ll be trying to steep as many times as I can. (Ended up with around 5 or 6 steepings).
The dry aroma is very woody, dried wood with other earthy notes. When wet, the minerality immediately comes forth along with some clean earthy somewhat roasty notes. It is a unique aroma that is rich and deep but not overwhelming.
The flavor, likewise, is mineral. Soft on the palette. The second steeping has revealed interesting milky notes. Also with the second and third steeping, unique rye notes came out. Like rye bread without the bread. Heavier roasted notes towards the end.
If you guys are able to give this tea a try I highly suggest it. Just make sure you give yourself a good half hour to enjoy the tea as it should be. No tea mugs for this tea.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
The Ben Shan cultivar has a big, strong flavor that is full of all the fruit and sweet florals we love in Tieguanyin. Ben Shan is so rich that it is often sold as Tieguanyin or blended with Tieguanyin to make Tieguanyin taste more like Tieguanyin. Some of the oldest tea bushes on Master Zhang’s high mountain plot are Ben Shan varietal, planted by his grandparents. Ben Shan is used by Master Zhang in many of his Wulong revival experiments for its versatile nature and big, deep texture. Careful aging and roasting bring out unexpectedly tropical florals paired with a taut cooling minerality.
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2018 Laoshan Osmanthus Black / Verdant
Osmanthus. A flowering tree native to Eastern Asia. There are many varieties but the bright, orange blossoms indicate that this is the Osmanthus fragrans. Of all the teas this family, the He family, produces this one ranks of the top of the difficulty list. Due to the tiny size of the flowers they all must be hand-picked.
For each batch they must pick thousands of flowers. After de-stemming and getting rid of all else they dry the flowers while processing the tea. Once they reach the finishing stage the flowers are added to the tea. One might ask if all that trouble is worth it.
Yes. Double and triple yes.
You may open the package and find it lacks scent as I did and wonder what you are in for. This is my first time trying out an osmanthus flower mixed with a tea. It won’t be the last. The wet leaves boast a unique aroma, unlike anything I’ve smelled in a tea before. It is sweet, like perfume, with high floral notes and scant earthy undertones. Hold on to your hats, the amazing train doesn’t stop there.
The clear, amber liquid, light at first but becoming slightly darker as you steep it longer, has a silky mouthfeel with a tiny bit of astringency in the aftertaste. A whirlwind of flavor begins with orange-chocolate tones and changes to brown sugar. Fruity accents, woodsy undertones.
Everything comes together so nicely on the palette. I think I need more of this.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description:
This is a brand new 2018 premiere! Last year we were lucky enough to share the He Family’s Roasted Oolong scented with local osmanthus flowers. This year Mr. He wanted to share a rich reserve-level Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black, scented during finishing with tiny hand-picked Laoshan Osmanthus flowers. The brown sugar, honey and fruity chocolate notes are melded together perfectly with the luscious almost creamy floral of the He Family’s meticulously hand-harvested Osmanthus blossoms. This tea is one of the hardest to make in the He Family collection since the local osmanthus blossoms are so small that they have to pick thousands just to make tiny batch of finished tea, but the results are worth the effort.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!