Autumn Laoshan Green

I am always a fan of loashan green teas, though i don’t typically buy them since it’s rare that i want to pull out a green for drinking. I’ve got a few in my cupboard that i need to try and drink up so here i am today trying to have a few. This is one of my favourite.

I have to say Laoshan greens are beginning to rival TGY as my favorite teas from Verdant. I was blown away by the spring harvest and waited with great anticipation for my autumn order to arrive.

I steeped a scant teaspoon of leaves in a 4 oz gaiwan at 165 F for 1 minute with the lid off. This is my usual method for brewing Chinese green teas. I feel lower temperatures bring out more of the sweetness of green tea and less of the swampy/brothy flavor it can sometimes have.

The flavor of the tea is marvelous. Creamy soymilk, fresh, very clean and crisp from start to finish. There is a nutty undertone that I can’t quite put my finger on. Verdant describes it as oats and wild rice but to me it evokes the flavor of coriander or sesame seeds. The mouthfeel is dry and extremely smooth. I was struck by the distinct soymilk flavor which I haven’t encountered before with other green teas. It dominates the early steeps before transitioning to a more vegetal taste.

Compared to last spring’s tea, this one is more on the savory side. Spring laoshan was sweeter and full of bright spring vegetables. I preferred the spring picking but the autumn is a wonderful tea in its own right. It gets you a lot more mileage. It keeps going strong for several steepings and perfect for grandpa brewing.

Sweet. Butter. Green beans. More butter. Buttered corn.

Tastes like a hopeful spring.

At the beginning of January.

I should caveat all my reviews with the statement that green teas are pretty much all I want to drink these days, with very few exceptions. So when I say “tea,” I mean green tea. Some teas are bright and fresh. This tea is darker and sweeter, containing qualities I normally associate with a high quality black tea but still maintaining its green-ness (is that a word?).

I can’t get into the finicky steepings because I drink this throughout the day during work, so I fill the basket of my double walled glass tumbler, heat the water to around 170, pour it over the leaves and let them sit for just a few seconds…maybe 20? I add 30 or so seconds for each subsequent steeping. You’ll get four good steepings and the first two are the best. The key for me is not letting the first two sit too long…just kiss them with water.

Normally, I think it would be too rich for summer, but my office is so cold…I’ve ordered as much of the final stock as I think I can reasonably store. I know good teas will come this year and for years to come, but I will be very sad when last season’s Laoshan green is no more. 2014’s final harvest will be one to remember.

It has a pleasant grassy flavor that is overall mild and smooth. Unfortunately is also has a somewhat astringent aftertaste.

This is without doubt one of the loveliest green teas I have ever tasted.

Using the outside part of one of Verdant’s testtube brewers, I poured out some water, and then decanted into another, this one containing a fairly generous mound of these lovely leaves. Dry, they have this lovely, sweet, grassy scent.

Within a couple of seconds, the water had become a genuine pale-green/yellow colour and smelled absolutely wonderful – so fresh, sweet and vegetal.

I decanted into a pitcher and poured some into one of those lovely Jingdezhen cups I have. The smell was really mouthwatering – vegetal, but still so sweet. On the palette, it really is like the description – so sweet and fresh, with those notes of peas and fresh greens.

This really is a lovely green tea, and its left a really delicious sweet taste in my mouth. After three brewers’ full, I’ve taken a break, but I’ll probably give these leaves another couple of infusions after my dinner. I imagine it would clear the palette perfectly!

I got my 5 for 5 sample pack in from Verdant Tea the other day. Steepster was down so couldn’t post about it but it really took me by surprise. I had forgotten all about it.

Of course the laoshan green was the first one I’ve tried . I had it yesterday and having the remainder today. It’s that good. I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. I’ve had this tea before from a travelling tea box and thought it was decent but not amazing. It probably all depends on how old the tea is and the harvest.

So anyway, this tea is so good, I’ve got to have more. Yes, it got the nuttiness and a bit of green pea taste. I’m not really good at describing what I taste. I think the chestnut flavor is really pronounced compared to some other green teas. There’s a bit of sweetness too. The way it all comes together is amazing. So I’m giving this a 95. I’d like to give a 100 but just don’t know if the next batch will be as great as this sample so holding off a bit on my rating.

I suppose a Verdant tea order is in the future for me…..

2021 Sipdown 40/365!

A is for… Autumn Harvest Laoshan Green!

Ok, so this feels like a slight amount of cheating, but this is actually what the label on this tea says, and I’m going by the first letter. Also, I was too lazy to look for the other DTs I have that start with A, and wanted one more. Ideally, containing caffeine.

This was showing its age a little, but still quite savoury and good. I do look forward to future orders of this and others from Verdant, but it’s easier to put off buying straight teas than it is to put off buying limited-time flavoured ones. (And it’s not like I’m lacking in variety of straight teas, either. I may even have another bag of this somewhere. I believe this one was from the sub box from when I was subscribed years ago.)

Decided to drink some non-Japanese green today and pick this up. First thing I notice is how ugly this tea is… it looks more like grey tea than green tea. I guess looks don’t matter because my tongue and brain are what I want to be stimulated, not my eyes.
It’s got a nice bitterness to it( that astringent taste is well with this one).
I wish I knew who put up the tasting note of “autumn leaf pile” because now that thought is stuck in my mind. With that stuck in my mind it does taste like some dried out autumn leaf pile that decided to try and evolve into something drinkable- I’d say it passes. For what this tea tries to accomplish, it does just thought. My taste in green teas just do not fully line up with this one’s astringent notes and mild dryness. Good cup regardless if I would want to drink it more than what I will.

A pretty good green tea, but I didn’t feel like it was anything special or different from a lot of other greens. It kinda tastes like a clouds and mist tea, but a little nuttier. I probably wouldn’t buy this, but it was fun to try!