I haven’t had tea in a few days ‘cause the weather has been kinda nasty the past few days and I just haven’t felt like it. Not to mention by the time I get around to wanting any, it’s after 10 and I’m trying not to drink any tea after 10.
Anyway, with Verdant having that new roasted oolong in their shop I wanted to place a order and figured I should try some of the teas I got from their 5 for $5 incase I wanted to order any of them again.
By the way, I loved this deal, but I only wished they sent them in resealable packages. I dunno what I’m gonna do with this now that I have opened it. I don’t really have that many airtight containers at the moment. Lol.
So tonight I picked this out of my remaining samples since it seemed like a nice tea to have after dinner with a minimum of fussing. Opening the package it has a lovely jasmine-y/flowery smell and the leaves are very pretty to look at. Large, whole leaves that are silvery and fuzzy.
I don’t have a gaiwan, so I brewed it western style in my ingenuitea.
1st steeping – 2 min – 175ish – When I drained it, it was a very very pale color. At first I didn’t think I brewed it long enough, but then, I’m used to oolongs and blacks. The tea has the same jasmine-y smell and a very light taste. Again, it almost seems like I didn’t brew it long enough. But it was still tasty-ish.
2nd steeping – 3:30 – Same Temp – Same smell but maybe a bit stronger in flavor? But that just might be me. At the end of the cup it tastes like I’m getting a mouthful of that fuzz I saw on the leaves. The back of my throat is all prickly feeling. Very strange. Might be because the leaves are starting to uncurl a bit more, but I dunno if that’s how it actually works. Lol.
3rd steeping – 4:00 – Same Temp – The jasmine is a very faint taste now, but still there. Just light. And it’s gotten astringent to me now. Ah well.
Overall it was a very nice tea to try, though I was missing some of the undertones of taste that most of the other people’d reviews here talked about. But likely that’s my own palate.
I greatly appreciate the opportunity Verdant gave with this 5 for $5 deal. I might keep the rest of the sample to the side for when my tastes get a little bit more refined….And I master the art of gongfu brewing for a different experience. Lol.
But I’ll probly not order more any time soon. It’s just not in my current tastes right now.
