Verdant Tea (Special)

Finishing this one off this afternoon. Steeped in a gaiwan but each steeping combined into one cup. There is something about a snowy day that makes me think of a light, springy green tea. I do enjoy a nice, crisp, nutty green, but I think the “reserve”-ness of this is wasted on me, haha. Perhaps one day I will need to restock a plain green but right now I think my cupboard is fine without one.

This is one of the last reserve club teas in my collection (that I didn’t order more of, that is). I had a lovely session with it this afternoon. It was nice to have such a warm, summery green on a rainy (although admittedly not very cold) winter day. Buttery, nutty, and lightly vegetal. I’m not feeling particularly verbose in this note, but you can be sure that I definitely enjoyed this tea today.

I brewed this with 140°F water for about 10 minutes. So, I didn’t follow the guidelines this time, but I was curious. I think it came out much smoother and more minty this way.

I have discovered that I tend not to appreciate Puerh tea. So, I was hesitant to try this. However, the addition of the mint and tulsi is great. The taste is very earthy with a minty and juniper main body. Definitely a thicker feeling tea. This tea is so smooth and slightly anise sweet. The aftertaste is very short and pleasant.

This tea was definitely interesting and fun to try. I preferred the other two though. Northern Wilds was awesome!

I forgot I had this tea! I found it underneath a larger tea package in the tea drawer and it’s perfect for my mood. Sadly, it’s a sip down! This is one I wouldn’t mind keeping around.

I am on my 3rd steep of this and I really like it. The bergamot is more in the aftertaste, while up front it tastes like cloves and cinnamon. I’m always happy to have a blend with Laoshan Black as its base. It really makes a difference, especially in resteepability. This is my favorite blend of the month.

I used 2 tsp and steeped for 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes and still going!

My husband made me a mug of this for my commute to work this morning, and he usually follows any written directions pretty closely. I think I made a note on this tea’s bag for 1tsp/8oz, boiling water, and a 3-4 minute steep, but I don’t know for sure if that’s how it was prepared. However he made it, I’m getting some pretty similar results when compared to my notes from last time. The Laoshan Black is still front and center, with only hints of additional ingredients at the tail end of each sip.

On a side note, I apologize for going so long in between notes. Between my students’ upcoming graduation, preparing for the school’s move to another part of town, and the battle for and loss of our beloved kitty, things have been a bit hectic lately.

The morning is finally here! Because of the caffeine, I couldn’t try this last night, and had to wait until my commute to sample it. I wasn’t certain what to expect, but I love the Laoshan Black base so much that I knew I was probably going to be in for a treat.

Teaware: 16oz travel mug with ForLife infuser
Measured dry: 2 rounded teaspoons
Temperature: 212º F
Steeping Time: 3min
Additives: 4tsp raw sugar

Unlike last night, I’m a little more with it this morning. I followed the steeping directions regarding temperature and quantity, but extended the steep to match some Steepsterite suggestions. I think that was the right call, as this is still a little faint, and might benefit from an additional minute or even two.

Sipping this, there is no missing the Laoshan Black, but I am surprised with how subtle the spices and other notes are. It’s difficult for me to pick out the citrus notes, but I do get a little bit of the cinnamon and clove – primarily in the aftertaste. As the tea cools, they are becoming more pronounced, but I don’t think they’ve quite lived up to their potential yet. We’ll see if some additional steep time will buoy them.

This cup may need a little more fiddling with to absolutely dial it in, but for now it’s a wonderful way to ring in the morning.

Last school day before winter break!!!

This morning I decided to celebrate, and mix things up a bit. I used 1tsp of this with 1-1/4tsp of Verdant’s Laoshan Black. I’ve mixed things with the Laoshan Black before and adored them, but this… wow. It takes the cake!

The maltiness of the LB with the cheerful kick of peppermint… oh, it’s so very, very good!

I think I should just mix the rest of them together, because I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy this tea without the LB as much again!

I am so excited about this one – I’ve never had a tea subscription before, but the Verdant blends were just so tempting that I managed to talk my husband into a month or two… but time will tell if I can swing it longer! ;)

Today was our first day back at school after the storm this last weekend, and my students were absolutely crazy. I feel like I’ve been juggling all day, and being able to sink into something fascinating and new just sounds delightful. I’m itching to try the Jolly Earl blend, but it’s way past my caffeine cut-off. If I tried it now I wouldn’t do anything but bounce off the walls later!

Teaware: 16oz ForLife glass infuser mug
Measured dry: 2 rounded teaspoons
Temperature: 175º F
Steeping Time: 1-1/2min
Additives: 4tsp raw sugar

I’m so used to ignoring packing lists that I didn’t realize there were steeping notes included. It should go to show how messed up my mind is right now that the other teas I just looked up for re-packaging seem to have influenced my steeping. I love Verdant’s samples, but I really wish they would re-seal. I think that’s how I ended up at 175º F instead of the recommended 212º F. That’s the best I can figure.

I’m getting mostly the peppermint and spearmint right now, with only hints of the cinnamon and maybe the fennel. I’m not getting much of the cacao nibs at all. That may have to do with my mis-steep. I think next time I make this I will follow Bonnie’s suggestion about adding a pinch of Laoshan Black (to bring out the chocolate notes), cut the amount of raw sugar, and make sure to steep at the correct temperature!

For now, I’m going to go curl up under a down blanket, sip this, and enjoy cuddling with my kitty, Mei-Mei, who is feeling extremely affectionate tonight!

I provided some of this one to gongfu, which I had not done with this tea before. I wondered how the blends club blends would hold up to a gongfu type environment, but given that their steeping instructions were all nearly gongfu-ish, I thought it was worth a shot. I used the steeping instructions as a starting point, which was almost semi-gongfu because there was less leaf than I would normally use in a gaiwan.

This one held up well, giving lots of cinnamon sugar cookie flavor in all steeps. The last steep we had, which was 3 minutes long, was nicely bready. I definitely enjoy this tea a lot, although it is more of a fall/winter blend than summer.

I wondered if I would still be as enamoured of this tea (#59) now, since lately my taste for roasted TGYs has swung back away from loving them. But the additions of this one really tame it down, and I still definitely get a spiced sugar cookie note from it. Quite tasty. I wish Verdant would make blends like this permanent and not the ones that have all those weird “aromatics” blends.

Ok, time to catch up on tasting notes. The other day I was thinking about whether I really should keep on with my Verdant Blends Club because there is usually only one of the three each month that I’m interested in. But then I had a cup of this tea. It’s not available as a normal blend on their site, and what I have of it is from the box and also I swiped OMGsrsly’s.

Teas like this make it worth it for me. It really is deliciously like a spiced sugar cookie to me. I don’t really care for genmaicha usually, but this is certainly an exception. It is a blend that speaks to me, although apprently it doesn’t speak to many others as it’s not one that they decided to make permanent. Ah well, I will savor what I have.

Yay getting to all of my Verdant blends in a timely fashion. I was excited about this one since I do love tieguanyin, and am really getting more into the traditional varieties lately. I’ve never been too big on genmaicha, but I can be persuaded.

MMmmm. Ok, to me, THIS tea is the one that really smells like a cookie. A snickerdoodle even! The cinnamon, the doughiness, the toastiness of a fresh baked cookie. Wow I really love this one. To me this is sweet, not savory. This blend speaks to me, haha. I want more!

Finishing off this one as well. I thought I was doing better, and I guess I am, but today I have felt overall sluggish and sickly. Teaching for 3 hrs yesterday (and going out in the sub-freezing weather) probably set me back a bit as far as health goes. Sigh. And I get to do it tomorrow too!

Anyway, this tea. Honestly I am enjoying that it is gingery and spicy this afternoon. Snickerdoodle, maybe not so much. But I enjoy it pretty well nonetheless.

I was intrigued by this one. I have enjoyed the yabao blends that I’ve tried before, and I am in love with a reserve yabao. The dry leaf of this, to me, smells powerfully like root beer. I mean, I guess it makes sense with birch root and sarsparilla in it.

Brewed up I definitely get more cookie-ish scents from this. I am surprised that there isn’t cinnamon added to this since I really associate cinnamon with snickerdoodles. The tea is smooth and creamy, and I get a kick of ginger. Otherwise all the flavors do some nice melding together. I did my first cup at Verdant’s parameters (1 minute) but left the infuser in the pot for two more minutes (for a total of 3 minutes) for the second cup. Mostly it made the ginger spicier, haha. I like the yabao, I like the spices, but I’m not in love with this blend. But I will happily drink up the rest of it.

Gah! I lost my tasting note. I was saying this was mild but yummy. I don’t feel like retyping the whole thing. I used 1 tablespoon, boiling water, 3 minute steep, 7 minute second steep.

I’ve been trying to avoid caffeine in the evening, so I pulled out this herbal. I had enough left for one more steeping- a sipdown! I’ve been doing a lot of sipdowns lately, which means I finally get to do a tea order! I have been enduring a long, self-inflicted hiatus from buying tea.

I tried this with milk and it was nummy! Very minty!

This is the first of the three December teas I’m trying. They all sound and smell fantastic! I couldn’t help opening them all and smelling them. Looks like these blends have healthy doses of my favorite spice- cinnamon!

3 min first steep. Dry ‘leaf’ smells like mint and cinnamon, whereas wet it smells like mint and cacao. I wasn’t sure how much of this to use- I used 2 tsp, but perhaps I should have gone for a full tablespoon because first sip doesn’t taste like much. The flavor reveals itself in further sipping however. It really does remind me of peppermint bark- very minty, especially. It isn’t super chocolatey but the undertone of cacao is enough for me. I think sweetened this tea would be positively decadent. In any case I enjoyed this first steep.

7 minute 2nd steep. This steep has much more cinnamon, and just more flavor in general. Nom nom nummy. Both if these steeps were delicious, and I think next time I will go a full tablespoon. I think it would probably be really good with a tea like Laoshan black added as well.

I drank some of this last night, and it was pretty tasty. I meant to have the rest of it tonight and drink a different tea right now, but I accidentally dumped it into my already-damp infuser basket, and so was pretty much forced to have it now. I didn’t really want an herbal, though. I thought I didn’t have any plain black tea at home, but then remembered that I had a sample of Kenyan Black from JusTea, so I threw that in as well.

Of course, I don’t think there was enough Kenyan black in that sample for the amount of this tea, so I didn’t really taste it anyway. Oh well, this is a pretty tasty herbal blend overall. Probably should have mixed it with Laoshan black for maximum chocolate factor.