1705 Tasting Notes
Finally got to try my first white cockscomb tea! It’s very, very, very nutty. It reminds me of almond butter and cashew milk…I’m getting a salty aftertaste too. As for the florals, it’s like eating flowers and salted peanuts together, but more blended in the nuttier profiles I’m getting.
Verdant’s description is kinda odd to me, but I see it. I do get the vanilla and in some ways jasmine, but again, it’s more floral in texture than in aroma or flavor for me. Cockscomb is probably the floral I’m tasting. Salted nuts is what I get continually, however. Maybe aloeswood describes the weird incense taste that I do partially detect… Overall savory for me with floral following. More floral in the later steeps.
Brewing Parameters: 3 ounces, 185 F, 20 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1 min 45, 2 min 30, and five minutes.
So glad to try it, but I’m not sure if I would get a lot of this tea. Maybe a little bit to savor. Rasseru, this is definitely up your alley.
Flavors: Almond, Floral, Nuts, Salt
Thank you Andrew! This was quite lovely. And I got it right after I ranted about how particular I am with Dark Roast Tie Guan Yins. Lemon pie is what I smell. Like a fairly cooked and crispy lemon pie.
That’s also how I can approximately describe it. Lemon really takes a balanced control of the taste being simultaneously tart and sweet. The body is on the lighter side, but the mouth feel was a little bit thick. At least for me. I get bits of roast and char in the background. Again, the more cooked aspects of this tea reminded me of a pie a little bit. In some ways it reminded me of a fattier lemon tort or cookie. It really has a more savory quality that I can’t quite accurately describe, so I’m just calling it savory for now until I can think of a more precise adjective. I over-describe with sensualist language anyway.
I definitely think it is worth a try and it certainly made me like dark roast Tie Guan Yins a little more. But like Andrew writes in the description, it really is for more experienced drinkers. At the same time, the lemony quality might convert a curious few.
I hope that this review is somewhat helpful. That said, I brewed it at 190 F, steeped it five times, and started off at 50 seconds in three ounces.
I really don’t need to write more on this one, but I’m going to anyway. There’s a reason why this is one of my favorites. Darker roasted oolongs have really been hit or miss for me. I do like some Yancha’s, but even with those, I’m a little bit particular. I’ve been more so particular with any roasted oolong resembling a Ruby or a Brandy Oolong, or a darker Tie Guan Yin. But this tea does not have a weird company of ripe fruit and char that I get from those. Here, I get the tasting notes that I wrote prior but all cohesively. Honey, fruity, sweet, caramel like, close to toffee, and an overall creamy texture blend together in a nice cup. I usually don’t get the same balance with other dark roasts. This is officially a favorite for that very reason. Although I know there are similar teas out there, for the price this sells at, I’m pretty content with this one.
Some Tie Guan Yin at noon for some mental clarity…and I got it. It’s been hidden in my stash for a while. I’m glad I saved it for now. Spring is itching at Michigan’s surface, but the cold subsides any warmth on the day after. As the first bloom perks on the branches, I drink this tea for the struggling spring.
I’ve had this tea before and I typically have problems with it either being overly light or overly bitter. That’s my problem with Assams in general.
But this morning, my snobbish tendencies did not deter me. Numi has a chocolate version of this tea and I’ve been hesitating to try it. And I’ve been an Earl Grey fiend lately. So I took the opportunity to try some with my breakfast out this morning after voting. It was served in a teapot that I guessed to be at least 14 but at most 16 ounces. Water was around 190-200 degrees F, and after about two minutes and 35 seconds poured some. I made it intentionally lighter, and as others have said on here, neither the bergamot or the Assam is overpowering. It’s actually pleasant. Really pleasant. A doubtless Earl Grey, but a lighter smoother one with the weird chocolate-cocoa-sweet potato tones that I normally get from a Yunnan black tea. Those are tastes you get from an Assam too, but normally not in the same subtle way. Normally, I get MALT and brisk astringency. That’s also what I usually get from this tea. But not today. It was like a lighter version of the Wild Grey…which has become one of my favorite teas from Whispering Pines. In short, it impressed me and I actually wanted more. That, or my hyperglycemia is making me so high that ANY tea tastes good right now. High blood sugars do screw with my cravings.
It was a little bit maltier, but also more chocolate orange-er after 4 minutes. I got three pots out of the one bag still being just as good. I normally don’t like this tea. I also am not a huge fan of Numi. But after the way it was brewed this morning, I think I changed my mind on it. So I should probably brew it for no more than a minute with one bag in a regular cup. I can now officially say that I want to try the Indulgent chocolate version of this. Or, I could officially say that my cravings were really mind altering.
Sip down of the little I had of this. The cocoa nibs fell to the bottom of the bag and dominated the cup. It was quite lovely. I also really like it cooler. My earlier reviews pretty much some up what I think of this tea.
Not sure ive ever had a salted peanut tea yet. Ive stuck it on my wants list, not sure if there is anything else from verdant I would like to order
Verdant IS expensive. The Laoshan Roasted Oolong is interesting and carob like. Their Qilan is not bad either-it’s actually kinda jasmine tasting. But very mildly, and I can’t remember which one it specifically was. I do know it was the less expensive one.