Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Year: 2008
Workshop: Diyi Workshop
Region: Xishuangbanna
Flavor: True to the smell, this tea really does taste like corn, but with an impressive complexity. The spearmint comes through as a tingling sensation, more of a a minty texture than anything else. Despite the sweet corn flavor, the tea is weightless on the palate and almost refreshing like an iced drink.
Taster’s Review:
This month’s Steepster Select Package theme is “Migration.” My first thought when I saw the card insert in the package was “Migration? What an odd theme.” But I don’t mean odd in a bad way… I happen to think odd is a compliment. I mean, why settle for ordinary when you can have something a little odd?
The card insert explains the theme like this:
Autumn brings bodies in motion – animals and people alike – savoring the final wisps of warmth. Stroll through the park and you’ll find empty nests, scattered branches and crisp, fallen leaves, all proof of the impending frost.
Some take flight, migrating to warmer climates, but those more observant recognize Autumn is merely the beginning of many tea-soaked months.
Rather than fly away, we choose to nose-dive in wholeheartedly. We bring you 3 teas inspired by everything the migrating birds left behind.
I really like this explanation and how it fits with the three teas chosen for this month. This particular tea is the “empty nest”!
And I really am liking this tea!
If you are a frequent reader here, you may know that I am not as fond of pu-erh as I am other types of tea. But I am gaining an appreciation for it with each new tasting. This Shu (meaning “cooked” pu-erh) is full of surprises!
My first surprise was the aroma of the dry nest. It is earthy, yes, but, the earthy notes are not as strong as I usually find with a Shu. I can also smell notes of corn and even a hint of mint nestled in the mini tuo cha. The brewed liquor has a stronger corn scent. Earthy notes are still present, but, they are significantly softer than the dry leaf.
The second surprise is in my gaiwan. Usually, when I steep these little nests, the tea remains in a little mass at the bottom of the gaiwan… but this pu-erh seems to be very loosely packed into the nest, as it fell apart. And what it revealed to me was not only the deep brown and almost-black colored leaves, but also green leaves in there.
The flavor … is like WOW! Corn! I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a tea that has such a profound corn flavor as this. It tastes like roasted corn to me … like when you go out to the fair … the roasted corn on the cob? Yeah, that is what I’m tasting. I LOVE roasted corn on the cob, and I have tried my hand at roasting my own corn on the cob but with very little success. I can never seem to capture that same flavor of the fair. But… interestingly enough, this tea has!
The sweetness is a corn-like sweetness, reminding me a bit of sweet corn cakes. The mouthfeel is remarkably light and has a crispness to it. It feels cleaner on the palate than any other pu-erh I’ve ever tasted.
This is a remarkable pu-erh. I recommend this to all tea enthusiasts out there, especially to those who want to gain a stronger appreciation for pu-erh, and have had some unfortunate experiences with it in the past. This pu-erh is unlike any other I’ve ever tried, and certainly one that you should try!
Sun Dried Jing Shan Green Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Jingshan is a little-known mountain village in Yunnan province that has quietly been producing some of the best green tea out there. Anyone who enjoys the more delicate Chinese greens like Dragonwell, will love these sun-dried downy buds. The aroma of the leaves evokes lime, basil and sweet grass. Steeped, the tea is perfectly clean, bright and almost sparkly. It has a distinctly fruity sweetness, and tangy aftertaste. It shares some of the thicker sweet asparagus flavor of matcha powder, but without the intense grassiness. Overall, this is an extremely cleansing tea, and a great way to start off a day, especially brewed up in a glass cup to watch the leaves unfurl.
Taster’s Review:
On Steepster, several of the drinkers of this tea talk of this tea dancing. They pour hot water into a tumbler, sprinkle the dry leaves on top, and wait for the leaves to dance. I steeped my tea in a gaiwan, so I missed the dance, but, even though I missed the opening act, I am thoroughly enjoying the main event – the brewed tea.
The first two infusions of this tea are light and sweet. There is a clean, crispness to the cup. The above description suggests a “sparkly” kind of taste to this, and I am getting that too. I taste a sweet and tangy kind of fruit flavor that is almost citrus-y, a flavor that is further emphasized a moment or two after the other flavors have subsided in the aftertaste. This does have a vegetative flavor but it is not a strong one, and I wouldn’t categorize it as grassy tasting. It is more like the flavor of a sweet, steamed vegetable.
The next two infusions delivered slightly less of the sweetness. This is still a pleasantly sweet green tea, but it just isn’t quite as sweet. In it’s place, I get more of that sparkle – it is very crisp and vibrant. There is some change to the vegetative flavor as well, this is less of a sweet taste, and more of a savory vegetable.
For the final two infusions, I notice a little more sharpness here than in the first four infusions. Not at all an unpleasant sharpness, but more like the tea leaves saying “all right, I’ve been soft, sweet, and smooth with you, and now it’s time for some serious tea flavor.” I taste more of a “Dragonwell” flavor from these two infusions than with the first four, it is more vegetative, less sweet (but there is still some sweetness weaving its way throughout the sip), and a bit more astringency than in the first four infusions.
Of the six infusions, these last two infusions taste more like green tea to me than the first four, if that makes sense. The first two were especially sweet and really tasted nothing like “green tea” as I might’ve expected it to. That is to say, it didn’t have a strong grassy tone. It was mild, sweet, and lightly astringent. With the subsequent infusions, I notice more of a savory tone emerge while the sweeter tones retreat slightly.
Overall, a very pleasant green tea, one of the very best I’ve ever had the opportunity to taste – if I were making a list, this one would be in my top 3!
Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Type:
Oolong
Where To Buy:
Verdant Tea
Product Description:
It took Verdant Tea 4 months of sampling to find a Big Red Robe unique and delicious enough to really justify importing. This incredible tea from the rocky cliffs of Wuyi mountain offers a side of Big Red Robe that most people have never seen. Usually all you get is caramel, chocolate and floral notes. This goes far beyond. In early steepings, there is an intriguing sensation on the tongue, almost like the metallic vibrations of a bronze cast bell, or the idea of fast moving water flowing over slate. As the tea opens up, there is a perfectly synthesized note of orange and elderberry that dominates, and lingers in the back of the throat. In middle steepings, the elderberry orange flavor splits into fruity wine grape notes, hibiscus-infused dark chocolate, and molasses cookies with crystalized Thai ginger. In late steepings, the thick beany and malty flavor of Laoshan green comes through, combined with the lilac sweetness of Tieguanyin. One of our favorite aspects of this tea is that it was expertly roasted in a way that lets so much complexity come through the caramel notes of any darker oolong. If you are interested in oolongs, or seek a very comforting yet engaging tea, give this a try for a new perspective.
Tasters Review:
When I see a tea with the word Mountain in the name it really makes me want to travel to the place of origin. I would LOVE to travel to far away lands to see, smell, and touch the leaves, the soil, before, during, and after. I guess in a way it’s much like a Fairy Tale of Tea…but this one is a dream come true!
I think this is another reason I am a fan of Verdant Teas overall! David is an amazing story-teller! I LOVE reading his descriptions. If you post comments about a Verdant Tea over at Steepster it’s common to see a thoughtful response from the man himself. I enjoy reading about the personal connections he has with the people he buys the tea from…the farmers themselves!
With Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe from Verdant Tea you can tell he searched high and low for this quality of tea. He didn’t settle! I appreciate that. This truly is a lovely Oolong!
At first I could smell a bit of charcoal in the aroma of this tea. It made me wonder if that is what it was going to taste like – which would have been completely fine – as I do like a nice charcoal type tea – but this morphed. The taste actually morphs from start to finish, too! At first there was a woodsy/earthy type flavor but then it turned sweet! I could taste slight fruity notes as well as sugary notes, too! The fruity notes did change-up to a more defined berry-type taste for a few seconds. It left a pleasant roasted aftertaste, too!
This is special. It shows it – from start to finish – and then some! It’s more than a tea…it’s a journey!
Single Mountain: Yiwu Wild Arbor Sheng (2004) from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Mt. Banzhang is considered the absolute top of the line in pu’er leaf, but Mt. Yiwu is giving Banzhang a run for its money. The art of pu’er in Yiwu is thriving and threatening to take 1st place. Compare this to the American cheese and wine movement that is finally strong enough to hold its own against France. Because Yiwu is not yet as famous, the tea is much more affordable, even certified single origin bricks like this one. Buy a brick if you can and watch this tea age into some of the best. In ten years it may be much more difficult to even obtain Yiwu leaf for import.
To Learn More, click here.
Taster’s Review:
This is Pu-erh? I found myself questioning it the moment I opened the pouch and noted the aroma, which was not strong nor as earthy as a typical Pu-erh. The earthiness is very slight, smelling a bit more like mushrooms to me than earth. The brewed liquor takes on a slightly stronger earthy tone, but, still, not nearly what I’ve come to prepare myself for when I drink Pu-erh. There are lingering notes of wood, reminding me of a walk through the forest – again, not so much of the smell of the earth in that forest, but the trees and the surrounding air which is enhanced with a hint of smoke from a nearby cabin.
The complexity of the aroma translates into the flavor. I taste a fruit note in this cup – something I can’t ever recall noticing in another cup of Pu-erh. It is not a strong flavor, but more of a whisper of a flavor in the background, a mystery that is hidden behind the solid notes of wood and spice. The spice tones start out “almost” peppery – almost but not quite. As I continue to sip, I find that the peppery tones develop somewhat, but it remains a subtle spiced note.
The tasting notes on the Verdant Tea website suggest a hibiscus tone, but I have to say that I don’t really notice hibiscus. Perhaps a hint of tartness from the berry/fruit notes that I mentioned earlier, but as I don’t like hibiscus, and I am enjoying these fruit notes, I don’t taste hibiscus when I taste the berry-like flavor; but I can see where the comparison to hibiscus is made.
It is incredibly smooth with no astringency or bitterness. The body is lighter, delivering a taste that is not quite as heavy as a typical Pu-erh. It has a light sweetness that is not so much the caramel-like sweetness that I’ve come to appreciate in Pu-erh … it’s different, but no less enjoyable. In fact, that this IS different, it becomes even more enjoyable; intriguing me to continue to sip so that I may pinpoint what it is I taste.
Subsequent infusions seem to deliver more complexity. Just as the previously mentioned tasting notes from Verdant Tea suggests, the berry/hibiscus-y notes develop into more of a tart apple taste. I can really taste the cedar notes now. The spice has developed as well, a light peppery note without those high spice notes. A subtle, low pepper tone.
If you’re new to Pu-erh, I think that this would be an excellent Pu-erh with which to start. If you’re a seasoned Pu-erh veteran, I would still recommend trying this Pu-erh for its unique set of flavors, you may find it to be a deliciously different addition to your tea cupboard.
An exquisite Pu-erh (and I really don’t think I’ve used exquisite to describe a Pu-erh before!)
Artisan Revival Stone-Pressed Sheng from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Region – Hekai Mountain, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
Processing – This is wild picked from one of the most bio diverse ancient tea forests in China. Hekai leaf is known for an orchid-like fragrance absorbed from native flowers. The tea is allowed to sun dry and age loose as maocha for several months to a year before being steamed and stone pressed into bricks. The leaf material for the Artisan Revival brick is from the oldest tea trees, some of which have to be climbed during the picking.
Read more about this tea.
Taster’s Review:
My experience with Pu-erh has been pretty well-documented through the blogs for which I write, because really, before embarking upon writing reviews on tea, I had less than a handful of experiences with Pu-erh, and those tea moments were best forgotten. They were negative experiences, to say the least. Since those times, I have learned better ways to steep Pu-erh and have come to appreciate it.
This Artisan Revival Stone-Pressed Sheng (2006) from Verdant Tea is one of the best Pu-erh teas that I’ve tried yet. The aroma of the dry leaf is quite different from other Pu-erh teas that I’ve approached, rather than that strong, earthy presence, I find this one to to be a little more like warm spice and tobacco. It reminds me of the smell of my father’s pipe tobacco (my stepmother was very keen on trying to get him to smoke a pipe, she seemed more interested in it than he did, though).
For the first couple of infusions, I am tasting a floral note. This is a Pu-erh? There is very little earthy taste to this cup, and what little earthiness that I do taste is on the sweet side, like hints of wood and earth. It is incredibly smooth. So smooth, in fact, that it almost feels like melted butter as it glides over the palate. There is a sweetness that comes from the floral notes, as well as a somewhat honey-esque tone in the background. These honey notes, together with the floral tones give this a very honeysuckle-like finish. Overall, these first few infusions are light, sweet, and flowery, reminding me a bit of those early moments in spring when the air is clean and the plants begin to show hints of life.
With the subsequent infusions, the flavors became more assertive and yet the tea kept its smooth demeanor. It hasn’t become earthy, though, as much as it has become more vegetative. I can taste grassy tones. The aforementioned buttery texture is still there, and I can taste a buttery flavor as well. There are still flowery tones to this tea, but they are a little less distinct with the emergence of the grassy flavor. Still incredibly sweet and delicious.
In the last two infusions (infusions five and six … I suspect that these leaves could very well have submitted even more, but, I was content with the six infusions), I began to note a savory flavor emerge. It was still quite sweet, but there was a savory tone in the background that provided a nice contrast to the sweetness. There are still floral notes. The grassy flavor has mellowed slightly, making for an even smoother taste. There is less buttery flavor to these infusions, but the sweetness remains. If anything, I think the sweetness becomes more intense.
Now, as I sit and contemplate this exquisite tea, I can’t help but think back to those first few Pu-erh experiences with a bit of sadness. If only they had tasted like this Pu-erh…