Laoshan Green Oolong

Review:
Brewing Method: 4 oz Gaiwan
5 grams leaf
208 degree filtered water, 1 rinse
5-6 sec. each steep increasing by 2 seconds each round
(although 18 steeps can be done at 5-6 seconds, I’ll comment on 5)

Liquor Color: Consistantly very pale yellow-green

Wet Leaf: Vibrant varigated deep greens, small curled leaves which unfurled slowly with each steep. Salty, savory, sweet aroma becoming more spinach scented as it cooled.

I think it’s wiser to give an overall impression. The tasting wasn’t static, so I don’t want to approach it as though it was some sort of school project with an outline.

When nobody is around, I can slurp, spraying the tea to all the tastebuds even the top and way back.

I was at first nervous, which is pretty common with a new tea, nervous with excitment and nervous that I would miss something.
It’s odd that I judge myself that way…but I forge ahead until the tea takes over and my brain stops thinking so much.

Sweet, Summer white corn, lightness…and mountain water.
I began to think about the fresh ‘spring’ that blesses Laoshan Village’s farms. You can taste the freshness in these leaves.

The corn changed to pale green summer squash with butter as it cooled, coating my mouth.
The scent of stargazer lilies in a distant place caught on the thread of a light breeze was barely there, but I was aware of it coming back …like flickering light.

As soon as I thought the tea was clean and fresh, cool as cucumber and edgy, it rose up filling my mouth and nose with an intoxicating, dense aftertaste as though I had been injected with tea, rolled in tea leaves and eaten them!

Every pore was Laoshan Green Oolong!

There was a morphing from light to bright, thin to full, green to gold. And I loved the changes!

Tea that takes me to unexpected places, turns my head and surprises me is a rarity.

Teasing taste…wait for the punch at the end! The finish is lush, fat and savory.

The 5th steeping was the best at 30 seconds.

My lunch was an Italian chicken salad with lemon, fresh basil, olive oil, chopped spinach, grated parm and the Laoshan Green Oolong tea leaves (no salt). Oh yes, they can be eaten!

This is my favorite of the two new Oolongs!

Bonnie’s comments: OR Tips from Teama…Teagrandmother
I’ve always loved driving along country backroads, buying fresh eggs, fruit and vegetables from local farms.
Back in the 1970’s, I took my children strawberry picking in Watsonville, close to the Pacific Coast, where the fog would come in and mist the berries.
It was fun picking a few berries then popping some in our mouths. We did the same with raspberries and blackberries. We didn’t think about GMO’s or any other bad things on fruit back then! We just had fun!
On our many drives we bought brussel sprouts on the stalk, bags of artichokes, apricots and cherries. The bounty of fruit and produce in Northern California was outstanding.
We moved to Paradise, further North past the Delta rice fields to farms of walnut, pecan, peach, olive and apple groves. Salmon came from the Sacramento River or local lakes.

Half the fun was going home to fixing what we picked up at those farms.
Halved fresh brussel sprouts in olive oil and butter, mixed with garlic and bread crumbs (to make the garlic butter stick to the sprouts) is still a favorite of all the kids!

If you want to learn to ‘taste’, reduce sugar and salt, and eat fresh food! Everything that you eat, becomes relevant to tasting tea.

I’m convinced that my appreciation for tea was born from the appreciation for how things grow. Loving the Earth. It makes sense.

I was thrilled to see some of this in my package from MissB. I had wanted to try this but it was sold out when I did my last Verdant order. This is definitely interesting, and easy to see the Laoshan green tea bones in this tea. To me there is more of the dragonwell-style to this than the regular Laoshan green (more buttery, I think) but it’s been a while since I’ve had either. There is a hint of sweetness that lingers on the palate afterward. It isn’t really floral like a Tieguanyin, but it’s got a bit more heft to it than the regular Laoshan green tea. I do really enjoy this tea and I’m so glad I finally got to try it.

If it seems like I am drinking all samples these days, well, I am. I’m grateful for all the samples folks have sent me lately (including this one, a surprise from MissB!), but I’m trying to drink down all the samples before I embark on an epic journey in which I drink every tea in my cupboard (trying not to repeat any) from oldest to newest.

DELICIOUS! Like TGY crossed with Laoshan green.

Thank you so much inranger for the sample :)

1st steep: 174F for minute and a half. When I say that this tea is creamy, I want you to understand that it’s extremely decadent like drinkng heavy whipping cream. Even the mouth-feel is exceptionally thick and smooth, covering every part of my mouth with the creaminess.

It is delicately vegetal. I would call it asparagus, but I see how people could call it soy beans. In the scent, more than the taste I’m picking up florals- sweet and delicate. I’m so glad I chose this for languishing Sunday morning.

As it cools the greens get darker like spinach and I’m pickng up hints of minerals.

2nd Steep : 165F for a minute and a half. The green tea flavor is stronger in this steep, butt thankfully not fishy. Still creamy, but less so. The florals seem to have gotten stronger as well, reminding me of the scents of spring. The mineral aspects are also a little stronger. Mmmm, fresh dirt! :-D If I slurp this tea it gives the impression that I’m drinkng a freshly mixed matcha latte.

3rd Steep: 161F for 2 minutes. The florals have definitely come into their own on this steep. I’m picking up faint citrus notes now. Back to asparagus, not spinach. The creaminess seems to go hand in hand with the dirt now, which is an interesting taste.

sipdown! Another tea for my tea friend down under (well all these verdant ones are…) I quite like this one. I think i need some puerh though shortly just to kick things off again. I am digging this one quite a bit. This is more my cup of tea versus the dragon well. There’s a freshness here that i really like, and although it is a green oolong, it doesn’t quite have that familiar taste that i don’t like going on. I have enjoyed the few steepings of this one that i’ve had, and here’s hoping that my tea swap partner will also enjoy this one from verdant! yay for sharing tea!

This is a sipdown of last year’s version, from the TOMC in June.
It really reminds me a lot of a cup of thin matcha, but with a creamier texture, & a cream & floral taste to it. I went with western steeps for this final cup, 5 Grams in 8oz, 1 min/1.5/2min
I’m on the 2 min steep now. There is a lovely clarity to it, whatever that might mean to anyone, LOL.
315

This one is a sample from Nicole a long ways back! thanks so much! I love the different colored greens in the dry twisty leaves. Verdant’s instructions:
two teaspoons – rinse at 208 degrees – one minute steep

Steep #1 // few minutes after boiling // one minute
I went with a teaspoon and a half so I could have a teaspoon for next time. I was worried the water was too hot for this one and it kind of is. There is a tinge of bitterness… but otherwise it’s tasty & unique: a bit creamy, nutty, vegetal, kind of reminds me of pistachio ice cream. I can imagine this one being a nice dessert blend somehow. Verdant needs to get on that. Or even, oddly enough, a little bit mixed with a black tea since it can be close to boiled! I never had an oolong/black tea blend before.

Steep #2 // a few minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 min
This cup was more astringent that kind of ruined the lovely flavors. I should have went for a lower temp and just one minute again. Not undrinkable though! It’s more like a typical oolong now. But of course, this is Verdant so it’s still delicious.

Steep #3 // cooled a few minutes longer than last time // 1 1/2 min
This cup had less astringency, but also less of the awesome flavors from the first cup. If only I had steeped it perfectly! So… the first cup was the best one.

I can’t find my gaiwan at the moment and I also know that I have better luck with western brewing as far as Verdant’s teas are concerned. Not sure why that is, but I am able to pick up on so many more flavors with that method.

First Infusion: this reminds me very much of the Laoshan Green tea that Verdant offers. Buttery green beans, lettuce and a bit of milk. It’s smooth, very vegetal and tasty! I am not actually detecting much of a difference between this and the Laoshan Green — which is fine with me as I love Laoshan Green!

Second Infusion: A bit more astringent this time around, but the same green, leafy flavors remain. It’s still got that milky & buttery quality about it — and I like that it hides in the background instead of being strongly present. I’m also getting more Brussels sprouts with grass than green beans.

This is a very tasty tea & I love that there are Laoshan oolongs available now! I think that I prefer the roasted oolong more as this one is just like the staple green tea I have in my collection. It’s definitely worth a try, though!

5/5, definitely one of the best oolongs I’ve tried

This sample’s courtesy the generous Nicole—thank you so much! :D

I swear, the He family/Laoshan village can do no wrong. I’ve never had a bad tea from Verdant, and the very few that haven’t completely amazed me (but were fine, mind) have always been from a different source than the Hes. No matter when or what context I try something with “Laoshan” in the title I end up stilling in wonder. Not an exaggeration.

At first this tea is unbelievably creamy, but then there’s this clean, almost marine-y plant edge to it—fresh cucumber is the closest approximation—and the two together might sound like they’d be weird but it’s great. I’ve been vaguely aware of the notion of categories of oolongs for a while now, particularly green vs. roasted, but this is the first green oolong where the lightbulb just goes off in my head and I’m all “A-HA! It really is the qualities of an oolong, ones I’ve only just begun to grasp (that hard to describe steamy floral aspect and minerality), artfully paired with the qualities of a green tea (that vegetal, planty freshness and bitter-crisp bite)”. I can see why the site description mentions matcha ice cream, the way it has the snap of green tea flavor but the creaminess at the front softens it, makes it very palatable. As the tea cools and the steepings continue, more minerality comes into play but it’s tempered by that sweet, creamy aroma. The soybean aspect floats along for the entire journey, lingering in the wings.

a green oolong? and a roasted oolong in my verdant tea of the month package? it seems that lily and david like to start new loose leafers out with challenge and intrigue! i was just getting used to oolongs nevermind these lovely roasty things… or this very elegant green. (what a lovely week with verdant i’ve had!)

dry it smells very marine. almost to a point where i was uneasy… i was getting a strong seaweed vibe which is grand for sushi, but i am reluctant with tea. my concerns, however, were overblown. as soon as hot water was added to the complicated knots the scent became ‘other’.

i frequently find myself trying to define verdant phenomenon, lol. under the influence of heat and water there were still marine tones but it had become a more familiar aqueous reflection: i tasted bamboo! light, sweet, with an oolong curl which drew my attention more than any conventional green could.

no cream. a bit of simple syrup (which i find much less acid than stirring in straight granulated) and my tea was excellent! an excellent week indeed!