Yu Lu Yan Cha Black

So, I have to admit I went to Starbucks this morning for a white mocha. With all my fabulous tea, I haven’t been there in ages, but I was really groggy this morning and needed something STRONG, so there you go. The white mocha was super sweet…either the barista put lots of syrup in it, or I’m used to less sweet drinks now. Hmmm.

So, after my distraction from tea, I made this one! This tea wasn’t bad. Interesting, with malty and sweet potato notes, and a little sweet. I enjoyed three steeps of it, but I’m not sure I’m in love. I’m starting to think that I’m not fond of black teas with potato notes. Plus, I want them to be good with milk and sugar, and I think that would have ruined this one. Probably not one I’d reach for on a regular basis, but fun to try!!

My Black Friday order just came in, nad I’m very excited to finally taste this tea. When I opened the bag, I was greeted by a pleasant aroma of a well-roated blak tea. It’s actually not as strong as I thought it would be, but I’m no expert on roasting. The leaves themselves are a lot like the Zhu Rong balck tea, small and curly. I was a bit generous with the ammount of leaves that I used, and I used near-boiling water to steep them for 15 seconds. The resulting tea smells like chocolate, yet is actually surprisingly light colored and clear. The finitial taste is a very smooth and clear chocolate flavor, which fades rather quickly into a lingering sweet aftertaste. Teh aftertaste lasts for at least two minutes, but I’m not good at restraining myself for much more than that, so who knows how long it actually lasts.

Second cup, 10 second steep. The tea is already beginning to trasition, and a malty flavor has begun to assert itself, contrasting nicely with the chocolate flavor that was then main flavor. The aftertaste also greatly changed, having become less sweet and also fading after about 45 seconds. These developments were interesting, and I can’t wait to see how they continue for the next cup.

Third cup, 15 seconds. The tea continues to change, but it went in a bit of an unexpected direction. First of all, the chocolate is mostly gone from the flavor profile, and the tea actually sweetened a bit since the previous cup. Also, there is bit of somthing akin to really really weak citrus begining to make itself known, which is a bit confusing. Also, the malt flavor is getting very muddled, and I’m not sure where that is going either. So far, this tea has been very different than I expected, which is actually really nice. It’s fun to have a tea that keeps you guessing.

Music of the Day – Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, performed by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, the University Chorus and Alumni Chorus, and the Pacific Boychoir.
Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEllLECo4OM

I am really enjoying my new blacks from Verdant. This one is very comforting and delicious to stay in on this very cold day.

Sweet potato and chocolate notes dominate this first steeping. Honey notes weave into the steep as well. I am not sure that the one minute steep was enough for the complex notes to develop as much as I would like. Maybe I will try a longer steep next cup!

I used 2 tsp of leaf.

The second steep for 2 minutes was just as delicious, but maybe a little less chocolate than the first steep.

Quick Notes Thanks to Bonnie for sharing this one with me.

Dry – Chocolate, cream, vanilla, lightly malty.
Wet – Chocolate/cacao, creamy, vanilla, thick sweetness.
Liquor – Golden Bronze.

Gong fu in Porcelain Gaiwan 4-5g/4.5oz

1st 6secs – Deep chocolate taste with some tart notes and creaminess up front. As it washes down, it is creamier sweet with deeper chocolate notes, that turns slightly tasting and sweet. The aftertaste is cleaner but still has a creamy chocolate taste.

2nd 5secs – Thicker and deeper chocolate notes with tart notes and some creaminess up front. As it washes down, it is creamy, thick with strong chocolate notes, with sweet vanilla notes. The aftertaste is creamy, thick and chocolaty.

3rd 8secs – Thick, deep chocolate notes with some tartness and creaminess up front. As it washes down, it becomes creamy deep and thicker chocolate with sweet vanilla notes. The aftertaste is chocolaty and creamy.

4th 12secs – Deep chocolate notes with more tart-tangy notes up front. As it washes down, it isn’t as creamy but is smooth and turns vanilla sweet. The aftertaste is thick and creamy chocolate notes.

5th 17secs – Chocolate notes with some tart notes and some sweetness up front. As it washes down, it is smooth with prescent but weaker chocolate notes and vanilla sweetness. The aftertaste is sweet with chocolate notes and slight thickness.

Final Notes
This is a great black tea, is is a deeper and more complex Laoshan Black. Laoshan is mostly sweet while this one has deeper complexity with tart (slightly bitter but not astringent) notes. I feel like it balances itself very well and makes it a very pleasant experience. Thanks Bonnie!

Here is one that Terri Harplady included in the Here’s Hoping teabox, I’m just now trying. I’m starting to think that many of Verdant’s black teas are similar – like Laoshan Black…but I’m not sure why I’m comparing it to that one, since it’s my least favorite. This one is much better, while still having a similar flavor profile. Maybe I’m oversteeping the Laoshan, since they suggest four minutes. I used two teaspoons of these lovely leaves.

Steep #1 // 2 min // around 15 minutes after boiling
Already, I can notice the difference. With Laoshan, I used just boiled water and steeped for four minutes. This tea has a comparable flavor with half the time and 15 minutes after boiling. The flavor is that dark without being dark sort of thing. Sweet potato, honey, a bit of chocolate. Very nice. It seems to be closer in flavor to the Zhu Rong than the Laoshan black… but of course steeping times/temps would affect that.

Steep #2 // 3 min // just after boiling
This cup is much like the first. By now my cup of Laoshan Black was terrible… just had that oaky oversteeped leaves flavor. But this one is very nice. It’s almost chewy/bakey… fuller than the Laoshan Black. There are hints of the oakiness in the aftertaste. But these leaves also have something different to them that is hard to describe.. maybe what Yezi described their one tea as scotch-like. A very nice cup but I’m beginning to be surprised that so many of Verdant’s teas are the same. I just don’t see anyone who has tried a few of Verdant’s black teas thinking that Laoshan is the best one. But this tea is lovely on a snowy winter morning with my breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and a hideously decorated Christmas cookie I made. :D (Side note: Anyone else notice the club on the show Arrow’s name is Verdant? Of course I can’t help but think of the teas.)

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this lovely tea all day today.
I find it lays somewhere in between the two Xinyang Hong Chas I have. Appearance wise it is closer to the Yixiang tea version with black straighter leave an with some golden tips, but it’ s flavour is closest to The Old Tea’ s tea. Perhaps if I steep the Yixiang tea Gongfu tea it will display more sweetness.

I brewed 1.5tsp of tea in a 150 ml gaiwan and chose to do short steeps at boiling. As of now I steeped for 5,10,15,25,35,50,75,96,120s on top of am initial rinse. I am still getting a rich and dense flavour. Even the rinse was flavourful.

Over the course of steeping this tea I have tasted chocolate ( cocoa in the last couple steeps), caramel/honey, malt, citrus, longan, citrus zest, cinnamon, cream, and jasmine. Malt and chocolate, fight between each other for dominance depending on the steep, by later steeps the Malt is prominent with cocoa underneath, the caramel/honey lies underneath and intensifies as it cools.

This tea has been lovely company throughout the day and I may have a cup or two before I go to bed.

I’m trying this tea thanks to TastyBrew and our fabulous swap. Thanks, I love it!

Received a sample of this with my latest Verdant order. I brewed it Western style on 2 separate occasions, using about 1 1/2 tsp per 8 oz, 3 1/2 min. on 1st infusion, 5 min. on 2nd. I realize this is totally different than most of you would probably do it, but for me, it worked very nicely. I picked up the roasty, malty, earthy flavors that others have mentioned, and yes a bit of chocolate. Very flavorful, but would agree with someone who said Laoshan black “light”, which for me is a good thing. My favorite Verdant black of the moment is Zhu Rong Yunnan, which I’m glad I just re-stocked on, because now they are out. Yu Lu Yan Cha is unique- its something I’d have for an occasional change of pace when I’m in the mood for something different.

I think I might like this one better than Laoshan Black these days. Enough said.

EDIT: I just noticed that this tea has thousands of tiny sparkling hairs suspended in it. This is something I have not seen in a black tea before. It looked beautiful glittering in the afternoon sunlight!

This is one I picked up a month or two ago but somehow never logged. Then last night my computer shut down and I lost my note in progress. Clearly it’s not meant to be.

In the bag, this has a very strong pungent smell that for me almost borders on unpleasant but never quite makes it there. It is cocoa and malt with something sharp that tickles your nose. Steeped, it is definitely bold but not quite as IN YO’ FACE as the initial aroma leads you to.

Instead, it is cocoa-y and smooth, with a lot of malt or wheat flavour that makes it easy drinking. No bitterness, no astringency, nothing to make me wince while I sip. It reminds me of other bold black teas I have (Laoshan Black, Golden Monkey) but there is a something that makes it different. I like it, but I can probably live without it once it’s gone. Very nice offering though and won’t be a struggle to drink it down.

Drank a to go mug of this yesterday while I was waiting for my car’s oil change to be completed. I hadn’t had this one in a while and forgot how good it is! Predominantly sweet potato notes with a hint of toasty malt. YUM!

Special thanks to Sarsonator who gave me her tea cash before it expired and made this tea happen :D