Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
These nuggets are formed from only the smallest most delicate buds, and slow-fermented to form nuggets.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Just … Wow!
I always seem to be so surprised by pu-erh… surprised that I actually like it. The first couple of times that I did try it were less than successful tastings, and as a result, I have it programmed in my head that I do not like pu-erh. But, you’d think that by now, after so many successful tastings since those first few, that I’d have managed to reprogram myself and realize that I DO like pu-erh.
And I REALLY like this pu-erh. Immediately upon opening the pouch I KNEW this was different. The tea has been formed into little nuggets, looking a bit like dried clots of dark earth. And I expected it to smell like dark earth, but it didn’t. The aroma is fairly faint. I detect hints of wood, but not much else.
The flavor is quite remarkable. The tasting notes on Verdant Tea’s website seem to describe what I’m experiencing very well. Notes of sweet cinnamon and a vanilla tone that is not so much a creamy vanilla, but more of the sugary sweetness you’d experience from an angel food cake. Enhancing these angel-food-esque flavors even more is a sort of cake-y like taste … wheat and browned sugar and tones of malt.
But it’s what I don’t taste that makes this shu even more remarkable … I don’t taste EARTH! Usually with a shu pu-erh, even a very good one that is sweet and delicious, there are earth tones that taste unmistakeably … well, like earth. But, I don’t taste those same earthy tones here. I don’t taste that brine-y fish taste. I taste a sweet, clean flavor with notes of wood and spice. And I like it a LOT!
If you have wanted to get in to pu-erh but have not found one that you can enjoy without tasting those strong, earthy flavors, try this one! This one WILL surprise you!
Laoshan Village Chai from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Chai is a wonderful thing. When the spices and tea are just right, there is something alchemical about the flavors with or without milk and honey. We set out to build a better chai, starting with the tea. We use our chocolatey, malty Laoshan Village black tea as the base, and build up from there with traditional additions like cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and peppercorn. We found that it wasn’t quite rich enough as a simple chai, so we added burdock root for a graham cracker sweetness, fennel for a lingering aftertaste, elderberry to deepen the flavors and finally, saffron strands to make the whole concoction perfectly smooth and creamy.
Ingredients: Laoshan Black Tea, Ginger, Cinnamon, Clove, Fennel, Cardamom Seeds, Cardamom Pods, Elderberry, Peppercorn, Burdock, Saffron.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before, I love chai and while I’ve tasted and reviewed many really wonderful chai blends, I don’t think I’ve found one that lives up to my Masterpiece Chai. And while this Laoshan Village Chai from Verdant Tea is REALLY good, I can’t really compare it to my Masterpiece Chai because they are really two very different chai blends.
As with any chai, though, it is important to consider the base tea. And Verdant Tea used their Laoshan Black tea which I previously reviewed, and in my opinion that makes a big difference in the brewed cup. The flavor is rich and malty and even has hints of chocolate-y notes in the background and these notes add so much to the overall cup.
The “usual” spices – cinnamon, clove, ginger and cardamom – are all present and are balanced quite well here. Also sometimes found in chai blends are pepper and fennel; Verdant added some of these spices to this chai as well. These spices make up a delicious base of spices that bring to mind many of the usual terms that I use to describe chai: spicy, sweet, tangy, and zesty.
But Verdant Tea was not content to stop with just the “usual” and added a few other interesting spices such as burdock root and saffron. And WOW what a difference these two spices make. The burdock root gives it a sweetness and a sort of “bread-y” depth. Together with the ginger, it gives a flavor that is a bit like gingerbread.
The saffron adds such a distinct flavor to this as well as an amazing aroma. Savory bitterness but also a delightful sweetness and hint of spice that you don’t typically experience with a chai … except for those that might include saffron.
I absolutely LOVE the way the spices come together here. It is spicy, but not what I’d call super-spicy or spicy-hot. Instead, it is more of a savory spicy flavor with medium heat. This is more flavorful than it is spicy … if that makes sense. This is a chai I’d recommend to someone looking for a fairly warm but not too spicy chai – one with a good balance of spices that keeps the taste buds actively exploring. This is also a chai I’d recommend to foodies because of the diversity of flavor to the cup.
Superb! Very well done, Verdant Tea!
Hand-Picked Autumn 2011 Tieguanyin from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Typically, spring Tieguanyin is light, sweet and flowery, while autumn Tieguanyin is heavier, grassier and more buttery. This goes well beyond the established flavor profiles of any oolong we have tried. The first steepings yield a sweet leafy green taste, and peppery spicy notes. Soon, the flavor of saffron sets in to bind everything together with its sweet, savory qualities. Next, the saffron is enriched with a growing buttery taste that fills the whole palate, and demands our attention. In later steepings, a juiciness develops until it is almost mouth-watering. We can only describe it as the sensation of biting into a perfectly ripe peach. Late steepings yield notes of kaffir lime, and interestingly, roasted marshmallow. We loved our spring harvest Tieguanyin, but might venture to say that this crop, produced by the same family, is even more complex and rewarding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The above flavor profile from Verdant Tea’s website is remarkably spot-on as far as what I’m experiencing with this tea.
Brewing this the way I would usually brew an Oolong, I used my gaiwan and started with short steeps (following a quick 10 second rinse, I steeped for 1 minute for the first infusion, and added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. I combined the brewed tea of the first two infusions in one cup, the second cup was the combined efforts of infusions three and four … and so on.)
The first cup offered a sweet, floral taste with vegetal notes mingling throughout. I could taste the peppery notes as mentioned in the flavor profile above. The mouthfeel is thick and velvety – it starts out with the early infusions as a soft sensation and develops into a melted butter taste and feel, and because there is so little astringency to this cup, these buttery tones continue to develop as I sip. The aftertaste offers more of that delightful sweetness and a slight peppery twinge that settles on the back of the palate.
The saffron notes as described were not experienced until I was nearly finished with the first cup, and then it was very slight – imparting a savory bitterness that arrives and disappears just as quickly, and then a smooth, savory sweetness takes its place. While it does have a distinct saffron-like flavor, it is so faint that it was difficult to discern it as saffron, and it wasn’t until the second cup that I could really identify with the saffron flavor.
With the second cup, I also noticed a mild fruit note emerge, almost like an apple. With many Oolong teas, I usually taste a peach-like flavor, but this is much more like a crisp, snappy apple, reminiscent of the Braeburn variety.
What starts out as a flavorful, juicy sensation becomes almost dry toward the finish, as I notice more astringency with the subsequent infusions. There is also less of a peppery note as the saffron-esque flavors begin to come forward. With my third and final cup, I notice that the apple-y flavors begin to fade and instead I taste more of a tangy citrus note. The overall cup is much smoother now as the flavors become more unified.
A truly lovely Oolong, and quite different from a typical Tie Guan Yin. This is one that should be on your must try list!
Huang Zhi Xiang Phoenix Mountain Dancong Oolong from Verdant Tea
Tea Type: Oolong Tea
Where To Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Region: Phoenix Mountain, Guangzhou
Leaves: Our Phoenix Mountain Dancong is picked from the old tea trees higher than 1000 meters above sea level. Huang Zhi Xiang is a varietal, or subcategory within Phoenix Mountain Oolong, sometimes translated as Orange Blossom or Yellow Branch. At such high altitude, the tea trees are large, slow-growing plants covered in mist that protects them from excess sunlight, helping to produce especially sweet and complex tea.
Flavor Profile: Through the entire 20-25 steepings that we usually take this tea to, this tea yields a staggering spectrum of flavors with a complexity that can rival the depth of any fine pu’er. Early steepings have a woody base with strong notes of toast with apple butter. The apple soon yields to blueberry jam, and the body of the tea becomes sparkly with flavor and texture creating a sensation like electricity or rippling water. Chocolate and darker citrus notes enter with the woody flavor becoming a more pronounced pine base.
It seems in these middle steepings that the oolong is finally settling into itself, but then it takes a sharp turn towards darker more savory flavors. First there is the taste of buckwheat and honey, which leads into what can only be described as the graham cracker marshmallow goodness of s’mores. In very late steepings, the dark flavors start to lift like a fog leaving a tingling lime citrus flavor on the tongue and a vegetal tieguanyin-like aftertaste, and even a bit of peppery cinnamon spice.Notes: This Dancong keeps us coming back for more. As you can see from the tasting notes, it is a true shapeshifter, taking on so many intriguing forms that it seems to throw down the challenge of drinking it again and again. While it is an incredible full-evening’s entertainment to steep this Chinese style, we have been enjoying large pots and mugs with great effect as well. One note to point out is that this is one of our only teas that requires some attention to steep time. Forget about this for 10 minutes in a pot and the grassy notes get a bit strong. The extra care needed is well worth the reward!
Tasters Review:
These leaves are very dry and very strong they are on the verge of being wiry but haven’t quite gotten there yet…if Oolong were to have a Silver Needle “leaf” this would be the equivalent minus the fuzzy/hair that is on White Silver Needle for example.
I did 3 infusions with this tea and found them all to be very different in taste.
1st infusion…
was a VERY nice experience! The flavor was nice and even…it’s that of a sweet wood and apple. Not actual apple flavoring – but natural apple notes are what my tongue picked up! I could also taste natural citrusy notes as it cools at room temperature a bit.
Since Verdant said you can get 20-25 infusions on this tea I wanted to do at least 2 infusions as part of my infusion test – and was considering moving on to my next tea after the 2nd – but after the first sip of my second infusion I HAD to do a 3rd infusion!
2nd infusion…
Totally unexpected! The overall taste was more intense – and more strong – than the first! The notes changed and here is what I taste this time around…
It was a sweet wood and a bit grassy taste – not overly identifiable as apple like in the first infusion but I picked up something reminiscent of…peas and peppery flavor that is surprising and neat at the same time!
And for the 3rd infusion…
It wasn’t as woodsy and not nearly as grassy. It was back to being a bit fruity but not apple…maybe a little citrus tho. I could also pick up a little vegetal taste – maybe peas…but a fresh sweet pea or snow or snap pea but certainly the sweet kind!
I can’t really say which infusion I like over the others because they are so different from each other and offer completely different tastes in each.
This is certainly a FUN one…complex and QUALITY tea!
Peacock Village 2004 Shu from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
The Peacock Village is unique in its perfectly light and clean body. It does not weigh down the palate with earthiness. Rather, it sparkles in its crisp sweetness. The very large leaves used are similar to the old tea tree leaf material in the Xingyang 1998. The first steepings yield a crystalline orange tea with tea oils swirling on top. The sweetness is like rock sugar and white grapes. After the preliminary steepings, the tea starts to unfold in darker buckwheat flavor and honey. Unexpectedly, there is something in the texture and aftertaste of dried oregano. As the tea steeps out, the grape-like fruit taste becomes dark elderberry, and the aftertaste is tinged with the warm spice of Thai ginger and peppercorns.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea made me a little nervous at the start. While the dry leaf aroma doesn’t possess a strong earthy scent, the liquor does smell rather earthy. And it is that earthiness that often puts me off when it comes to Pu-erh. But Verdant has not let me down yet, so I relied on my past experiences and took a sip.
Yes! Fortunately, the earthiness is not as strong in the taste. The first sip starts out with a fairly moderate earthy tone which quickly dissipates into a clean, sweet flavor. With each subsequent sip, I notice less of the earthy note, and more of that sweetness. It’s really quite lovely.
I brewed this Gongfu style as directed on the Verdant Tea website, except that I steeped the first infusion 30 seconds and added 15 seconds with each subsequent infusion. What I am drinking now is the results of the first two infusions (following two quick rinses). The taste is remarkably light for a Pu-erh, which tends to be somewhat heavy. Once the earthy notes subside, the flavor is sweet and crisp … almost like a honey that has been thinned with sparkling white grape juice.
The third and fourth infusions render a tea that has almost no earthy note to speak of. There is just a hint of earthiness somewhere in there, but, it’s back in background, and so easy to miss with the other lovely flavors in the cup. It has a warmth to it as if it had been slightly spiced. The spiced tones develop later in the sip, toward the finish, and the aftertaste imparts a tingly taste on the tongue as if I had just eaten something with fresh peppercorn. Not hot or spicy, mind you, but, just a hint of pepper. I taste lovely fruit notes throughout: the grape-y notes that I mentioned earlier are still there, and I taste something else too … pear perhaps? A very interesting tea, this Shu from Peacock Village, and I am eager to try the next two infusions.
My fifth and sixth infusions are even sweeter, reminding me a bit of the rock sugar candy that I used to love as a child (and if the flavor of this tea is any indicator, I still quite like that rock sugar candy!) The earthiness is gone. There is a dry sensation toward the finish and into the aftertaste … but it isn’t astringency. It almost feels powdery, like dry cocoa but it doesn’t taste chocolate-y, instead it tastes like warm spice. It is a curious sort of sensation, but not at all unpleasant. I’m quite enjoying the mysteries that I experience as I sip this tea.
For those who have thought that Pu-erh is not to your liking, I think you should give this Shu a try. It is quite remarkable, and unlike any Pu-erh I’ve yet to taste.