95

I got a small free sample of this when I ordered the Golden Fleece and finally got around to brewing it yesterday with my husband’s best friend who has been in town since Wednesday. It is a solid, dark, chocolaty tea at one moment refined and the next robust. It is so different from the other Yunnan’s I’ve had while it is a chocolaty tea like the Laoshan and Bailin Gongfu, it feels so solid after just 10 secs of steeping (where as the others have a thinner, mineral sweetness, that I love mind you, this is just new and enjoyable). The first two steeps were wonderful,Pierre used the word “meaty” the third was a tad astringent and then in took an interesting turn for the fourth and fifth, so much so that Pierre thought it was a different tea (we took a break after three and he went downstairs). He said it tasted more “herbal” though I would say savory, it had a lighter buttery quality. This and the Wild Picked Jin Jun Mei are actually two of my favorites and ones I would like to order. Though I haven’t tried the Golden Fleece yet, tomorrow perhaps, I would highly recommend folks order Verdant’s Black Tea Sampler, they are amazing teas!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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Bio

Druid, artist, poet, mum, lover of tea, ritual and myth. I grew up on Celestial Seasons herbals but fell in love with straight loose leaf tea working at my local Teavana for a year. I am grateful for the introduction and the experience, but have moved on.

I see tea as an experience for the senses, I like to imagine tasting the land and the weather as well as the effect of sun, air, fire and the human hand. I have a soft spot for shu pu’er, yabao, scented oolongs, wuyi oolongs, taiwanese tea as well as smooth naturally sweet blacks, creamy greens and surprisingly complex whites.

I began ordering lots of samples from Upton to educate myself on different varieties of tea we didn’t have at work and have fallen head over heels for the unique offerings from Verdant Tea. I am learning things I like: buttery mouthfeel, surprising sweet or spice notes, woodiness, mineral notes, depth and complexity and things I don’t: astringency, dry and sour notes.

I collect tea tins and am in danger of collecting pots, though I am trying to restrain the urge due to current lack of space. I brew mostly in a glass infuser mug or a tea maker, only using cast-iron for company now (still need to get a gaiwan) and tend not to sweeten my teas unless they are British or fruity and iced, which is not often.

As far as ratings, I lack a definite system and haven’t been assigning numbers lately, wanting to spend multiple sessions with a tea first. I usually only log a tea once, unless it is a new harvest or I have significantly different observations, but will go back and edit or comment if I find something interesting or new.

Location

Baker Street, Berea, Ohio

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