When I saw this new offering on Verdant’s website I just HAD to try it. I’ve really enjoyed their Laoshan Green, and Tieguanyin, and this I expected to be a combination of the two.
To my delight, it landed right on the mark. The only thing I’d fault it on, is I wouldn’t mind it being a bit more floral. What I think I’m going to try next is mixing it with the Early Spring Tieguanyin. To be honest, I found this year’s Tieguanyin to be a little too light for my tastes. It’s a bit closer to white tea. Mixing the two together should produce a near perfect combination.
On the taste, I found this to be remarkably similar to a cross between Longjing and Tamaryokucha, but more nutty, and less grassy. A worthy alternative to those who’d prefer a less grassy tea liquor. It tastes more like a green tea than a Oolong. And, I definitely recommend using more leaf than usual.
My brewing method was simple. I used 8 oz leaf to 4 oz of boiling filtered water, 1 quick rinse, and 3 seconds steep in a gaiwan.
The flavor is quite juicy, and enjoyable. I could easily see this being a regular tea for me, as it captures all of the qualities I like in my daily sipping.
Yum!
Edit: OK… So, I tried mixing it, TWICE, and found that the TGY totally overpowers the Laoshan Green, unless adding very very little TGY. Just think of this as more of a green tea, but with a slight oolong quality to it. Easy does it on adding florals. Next time, I think I’ll add some Yabao, and see how that compares to the TGY. So much fun to experiment.
Flavors: Asparagus, Berries, Cream, Cucumber, Cut Grass, Green Beans, Lettuce, Nutty, Soybean, Spinach, Zucchini
