Hooray for new tea! I finally got a chance to try this one from my order last week, I’ve had a terribly rough 5 days with taking my poor cat to the vet for bladder stones and a UTI..lots of stress and worry, and he’s still not 100% so the worrying will continue this week :( however he does appear to be on the mend, so I will focus on that, and on drinking good, relaxing teas to help us get through this rough time.
Anyways, onto this tea! Wow, I’m the first note on this one, and of course I babble about my cat in it lol..oh well. So when I saw this tea on Verdant’s site, as I was placing my order for my restock of Yunnan White Jasmine (a favorite of mine and the fiance’s), I saw this tea and was like WOAH. MUST TRY. Two of my favorite things, Verdant’s delicious jasmine, and Golden Fleece, which I haven’t had in ages, but the last time I had it, it was amazing! So I was pretty excited for this tea.
I used the recommended Western steeping parameters of just under boiling water (around 205 degrees?), and a short 25s steeping. This tea smells delicious when brewed, and is a nice golden color.
As for the flavor, I like how this is very similar to the Yunnan White, but with a twist! The forefront of the flavor is very jasmine, and it’s Verdant’s signature delicious jasmine that I love. At first it’s like oh okay, this is Yunnan White..but then in the aftertaste…the Golden Fleece emerges, with a delicious honeyed note and a mild maltiness. Mostly the pronounced honey is what hits, with some waffle! It lingers quite some time as well! The second steeping is quite similar, maybe I can get through one more tonight to see if the Golden Fleece comes out more, but I have to watch my caffeine intake. Oh, a note though, this tea has a calming effect for me, which is surprising for a black tea, and with all the stress I’ve been going through as of late! Must be the jasmine in there :)
Overall, I am very pleased that I have a bag of this to keep drinking! It is just different enough from Yunnan White Jasmine that I enjoy it, and similar enough that it’s comforting and delicious. A winner for me, and as close to a blend from Verdant as I can get (man, I miss their blends, Laoshan Village Chai, Ginger Sage Winter Spa Blend… :( bring those back!). Happy that I picked some of this up.
