Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Product Description:
For the purist, unscented green tea from the mountains of Thai Nguyen is considered the best choice for savoring the intricacies of Vietnamese tea. The soil and climate of this region are ideal for producing a flavorful, aromatic brew.
Vert du Vietnam green tea has been carefully crafted using a particular combination of pan-firing, rolling and oven roasting to maintain a rich, jade-green color and a distinctive, slender, beautifully twisted leaf.
A golden, buttery infusion with a pleasant, bitter-sweet aftertaste. Very fragrant with aromas of toasted grain, fennel and passionfruit.
You can find this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I could be wrong, but I cannot recall ever trying a tea from Vietnam. And I must say that I have really been missing out, because this tea is delightful.
It has an amazing contrast of flavors. I can taste a fruity sweetness as well as a toasted sweetness to this tea, which is contrasted by a savory bitterness that hits at mid-sip, as well as a sour note that arrives just shortly after the bitter taste. The fruity tones are in the foreground of the sip, while a sharp, licorice-like taste in the background. 
And the contrasts are not restricted to the flavor alone, but also to the texture and aroma. The tea has a silky smooth mouthfeel that then becomes somewhat dry from the astringency. The aroma possesses sweet fruit and nut notes with a contrasting brisk undertone of vegetation.
The more I sip on this tea, the more I like it. This one is a hidden gem in The Tao of Tea’s collection!
1999 Vietnamese Cooked Loose Puerh from Canton Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Product Description:
An excellent loose cooked puerh made by a small artisan producer on China’s Yunnan/Vietnam border. The large twisted leaves are bright golden brown and release a clean, satisfying liquor with a good balance of wood and fruit notes.
Taster’s Review:
This is an incredibly smooth Puerh!
There is a strong earthy undertone to this tea, but it doesn’t smell as strong as it tastes, which is the opposite from my past Puerh tasting experiences. Usually, the smell is much more earthy than the taste.
As I continue to taste, a very pleasant sweetness presents itself. It is caramel-like in flavor, and is harmonious with the earthy flavor. I also taste oak and apple. This puerh has a lot of complexity, and isn’t as heavy in taste as I thought it would be, although the liquor is quite thick to the palate and reminds me a bit of the mouthfeel I’d experience with a green Oolong. There are even buttery notes to this – browned butter – although it lacks the vegetative taste of a green Oolong.
This is a really enjoyable Puerh. I do think my palate has finally developed a taste for this stuff! Puerh is still not something I’d imagine myself wanting to sip on a daily basis, but I do quite enjoy it on occasion.
Cheers!