109 Tasting Notes
My favourite perfume in the world utilizes sandalwood and vanilla. Burberry Classic, in case you were wondering.
Jumped on the opportunity to buy a 15 Year Aged Tieguanyin because it listed sandalwood and vanilla as prominent notes. Also, being new to aged teas, it fascinates me that people are so patient as to store a bunch of leaves for as long as this.
I can’t imagine putting anything aside for fifteen years and thinking so far ahead for something in the physical realm. And I know there are teas and wines people keep for decades and decades.
Anyway, brewed this in my roasted TGY yixing and I’m really enjoying it. Part of the enjoyment is knowing how old it is, haha.
I always feel like I have to overbrew roasted TGY to bring out that fruity tang unique to this varietal. Does anyone else know what I mean? Otherwise, it can taste a bit like water-logged wood to me.
The raisin note is quite enjoyable here, even though I don’t like raisins, the sweetness level is perfect with everything else going on. Also lists a marzipan note, but I haven’t tried marzipan.
I found this to be a worthwhile purchase.
Let me start off this review by saying that I’m not a giant fan of greener oolongs. I have found many to be obnoxiously floral yet thin. Also, they make me dizzy the way green tea does sometimes (except for matcha as it’s more processed and therefore removes some of the ‘freshness’ which causes dizziness in certain people.)
This wasn’t bad. First four steeps were creamy with a decent, lasting aroma. Nothing distinguishes this Jin Guan Yin too much from the average green oolong, only that everything tastes more balanced.
However, after four steeps it seemed to disintegrate into some overly savoury, fishy, grassy flavours which totally put me off.
If I discount that last steep, it wasn’t bad, but I can’t see myself reaching often for this over my beloved roasted oolongs.
Having actually had a lemon macaron before in France, I had high expectations for this.
Butiki hits the mark. So lovely and light and refreshing; clearly a good white tea base too. I also appreciate that this is very, very old and has been sitting in my cupboard for a few years. Added flavouring diminishes with time so I imagine a fresh blend of this would send me to heaven.
And I don’t even usually drink white teas.
Sounds obvious, but steeping vessels really make all the difference. Especially for oolongs, I’ve found.
The first four steeps of this were in a glass teapot and while it was clearly a good quality tea, it didn’t have the complexity I expect from an oolong as old as this. To be fair, my only point of reference for aged teas is the 9 Years Aged Da Hong Pao from YS so perhaps I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Fifth to tenth steeps I transferred the leaves into a new, previously unused and unseasoned yixing and the teapot brought out so much additional sweetness and warmth. Perhaps it was the minerals in the clay. Perhaps it was just being able to keep the temperature closer to 100C which worked best for the tea.
As the first five steepings of this were not in an optimal vessel, perhaps I missed out on a lot of interesting tastes because this ended up a little disappointing. The best TGY I’ve ever had is actually from a yum cha place near me, which is so crazy but I think I prefer that one to this.
This tea tasted like an above average roasted TGY with all the notes described by Verdant, but the one flavour I enjoyed specifically was that of Thai sticky rice.
Will report back again when I brew this in a yixing all the way and adjust my rating later.
Sipdown.
I brewed this many times over the course of sigh 48 hours. It was the very last of the package and I just can’t afford to rebuy it.
Very sad. And slightly regretful that I chucked out the leaves, even at that point. Like maybe I could have given them one last shot as a cold brew?
The hunt continues for an affordable fruity DHP.
I am in a tough spot of mental illness. I am trying to be gentle to myself.
This had cha qi from the first sip. I thought I was imagining things until I looked at the website description and it did indeed mention powerful qi. Perhaps it is from being re-roasted a few times over the course of nearly a decade.
Gongfu’d in my Da Hong Pao yixing. First steep was of roasted mineral water. Subsequent steeps gave way to distinct notes of bourbon and vanilla coke aged in an oak barrel. When the bourbon gave out, last few steeps were of light cola with a dash of honey.
Not something I could drink every day, but what an experience it was!
Sipdown.
Very fragrant malt, a tiny hint of cocoa and a wisp of smoke. This is by far the smoothest and most delicious European-style tea I have ever tasted.
I did not allow myself to buy more when I was in Paris because my stash is honestly ridiculous, but I regret that decision when staring down at the empty tin.
The strength of this black tea jolted me out of a depressive episode yesterday (though of course it came back later) and it is again helping to soothe my system on this beautiful Spring day (lol f*cking hate the spring – does anyone else get Spring depression here?)
Most definitely recommend this for any French tea lovers
A nice tea.
This is beloved among Steepsterites but I have to say it tastes a bit thin to me. Used the whole 6g sample in my little teapot and went by the Western brewing guide.
Maybe it’s the harvest (it doesn’t say which) or maybe it’s a bit old or maybe it’s travelled too far and too long to where I am in Australia. Some other Verdant teas have blown me away though.. so it’s probably just an old sample.
Cocoa, chocolate, grains, sweet cracker. It’s still nice.
Was deciding between ordering some more Chinese blacks from either Verdant or Teavivre. I think I’ll go with Teavivre this time since I had the Yunnan Dian Hong Gold Tips around three years ago and still think about that sweet potato note to this very day.
Add this one to your Verdant order if you like chocolatey teas.
Picked this up on a whim at my local supermarket.
Had too much sushi and needed something soothing for the stomach. This did the trick just fine. Also running out of caffeine-free options so this is handy to have in my cupboard.
I’ve had better peppermint, but for $0.10/teabag I’m not complaining.
