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“It’s been a long & busy day. Lots of black teas in the morning, lots of running around in the afternoon, & then I played for a wedding this evening. I just got home, unloaded my harp &...” Read full tasting note
“I have been considering a verdant order lately… There’s just so many new teas out by them that I am soooo tempted. In preparation, i was going to have the laoshan black chocolate Genmaicha tonight...” Read full tasting note
“Good golly Miss Molly, this is delicious! That was my first thought upon the initial sip, and it hasn’t changed much. The appearance of this tea is very pleasing to the eye. There are the big...” Read full tasting note
“I’ve had my eye on this tea for ages—in fact, it was the first Verdant product to make me go “OH GOD I need to order from here immediately.” Sadly, the second tea that almost pushed me over the...” Read full tasting note
“A rich, velvety blend inspired by traditional ‘Eight Treasures’ tea, incorporating the cooling qualities of yabao with creamy vanilla bean, and sweet goji berry…”
Yabao is an incredibly intriguing tea, evoking marshmallow sweetness, spice, and even cooling cedar notes. By combining it with a light sun dried green jasmine from Yunnan, and whole vanilla bean, this brew steeps up perfectly smooth, thick and velvety. The floral elements of the vanilla and honeysuckle are extended to the aftertaste with marigold and rose petals, and the spice of the yabao is sharpened with goji berry. This well-integrated take on the traditional “Eight Treasures” is sweet but nuanced, and great hot or iced.
Ingredients: Yunnan Green Jasmine, Silver Buds Yabao, Organic Goji Berry, Organic Marigold, Organic Whole Vanilla Bean, Organic Honeysuckle, Organic Rose Petal, Organic Elderberry.
ICED: Notes of strawberry and kiwi. Shaved ice. Soft, round, smooth texture. Super refreshing!
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A while ago Fuzzy_Peachkin sent this off to me, and I have had it on my counter, in my sample bowl, being vaugly intimidated by it.
What was Yabao, exactly? I am ashamed to say that I am still not sure, but I decided that today was the day to be brave, and I brewed it up.
Its intrguing, that much I’ll say. And good! Light, floral, with a touch of cream and a wonderous spring-like quality. (So a perfect tea for October, eh?)
Its still a bit mysterious to me, and this is all I have, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
OMG! IT’S BACK, IT’S BACK, IT’S BACK!!! I just finished off my last bit from last summer that I had been hording. But now that it is back I can get more…….. when my budget is back.
The smell of the dry leaf is like smelling a bunch of hand picked sweet flowers and nectar; sweet and airy. The wet leaf becomes deeper with damp cedar notes backed with warm vanilla. The taste of the tea is’t self is simply divine. It is like drinking the nectar of sweet flowers drizzled with vanilla and a tinge of tingly spice left on the tongue When it is iced the vanilla becomes more of a creamy texture with the jasmine and Yabao more present making it tasted like flowers that have been plucked from a cedar forest that still have morning dew on them.
Overall this is a great crisp, light, and floral tea that is sweet enough on it’s own and in my opinion embodies spring time.
NOTE: While this tea has green jasmine tea it isn’t over the top or dominating in flavor. It is more of a sweet jasmine then a dry floral one. So jasmine wienies (like me) don’t need to worry.
You can read my full review here: http://tunesntea.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/tea-eight-treasures-yabao/
Specifics
leaf: 2tsp
Pot: Glass
Water: 8oz
This is a beautiful tea to look at, but because of the smell of the dryleaf I was afraid that it would taste like soapy potpourri from the smell. It definitely didn’t taste soapy, probably due to the grapefruit peel, which gave it a little zing and the berry which added a little depth.I can taste that the tea base is a green tea and there is no dryness or over-the-top grassiness, but it is easily overwhelmed by the rose and vanilla. The floral aspects are a little too strong for my tastes, but it is definitely a good quality tea and I’m very happy it’s NOT soapy!
This is really good! Floral, fruity, creamy, sweet. I think this would be pretty good iced. It took me some time to finish my first cup (easily distracted :P ) and the last few swallows were cold. When it’s cold it seems especially creamy.
2nd steep was tasty as well, the sweetness toned down a bit and I could taste more of the berries.
Overall, I can see this one being addictive. Very pleasant!
I like this more than the Silver Buds Yabao, although I’m still not crazy about it. I just want something stronger – this is too mild for me and I can’t coax out enough flavours.
Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but this was a sipdown. Maybe I’ll try another sample once I get a greater appreciation for non-black teas.
Additional notes: Well, that’s the end for this tea! Surprisingly, this didn’t taste too old, even though it has been stored terribly. It’s such a menagerie of odd flavors… it’s hard to pick them apart, but it’s tasty – it’s like a very light bubblegum fruit punch. What I thought was old yabao before is probably just oversteeped yabao – it has that cedar flavor I don’t really love (kind of like a raw pu-erh). The second cup was steeped for four minutes (too long) so it was mostly cedar. I love Verdant’s blends but I don’t think yabao is my favorite. Lowering the rating a few points.
Rose and marshmallows! What a strange tea, but I like it so far. Since I can’t try this in a gaiwan right now, I put 3 tsps in my Perfect Mug steeper and steeped for 2 mins initially. This is REALLLY floral in scent, even for my tastes, but the florality (is that a word?) backs off a bit in taste. I am curious as to how the next couple steeps are going to be. However, I won’t rate this tea until I’ve tried it in a gaiwan and with a cold steep. Those seem to be the most popular and best methods for bringing out the nuances of this tea.
