Thursday, April 10, 2014

Verdant Tea, Yu Lu Yan Cha

Verdant Tea Description:
Fresh young Xinyang Maojian leaves are traditionally oxidized over three days and hand roasted in Laoshan Village as a black tea.  The Spring harvest of this ingenious tea finds the perfect balance of sweet potato, chocolate notes, honey, and silky smooth texture. Closest to a fine Jin Jun Mei in profile, this collaborative tea continues to prove that the world of tea is still young with room for innovation everywhere.

The name Yu Lu Yan Cha Black comes from the ancient names of Henan and Shandong province. Yu is Henan, and Lu is Shandong. To commemorate this landmark cooperative tea producing effort, Yu Lu is added to the tea name. Yan is the first part of Wang Yanxin’s name, honoring her innovation in creating this new tea.

My Review:
I cut open the brown sample bag and poked my nose in... WOW! is all I could think to describe the aroma. It is deep smooth creamy chocolate, with some roasting, and another scent of a particular type tree that my brain won't associate a name with. But just WOW! should suffice.

The dry leaf looks like Dian Hong or a Jin Jun Mei. Beautiful, and my favorite types of straight black tea. I took out about a 5 g scoop and placed it in my press with 10 oz of 202 F water. The steep was 2 1/2 minutes. The brew is a deep caramelly orange. The wet leaf is roasted and brownies in scent.

The sip is different from the dry or steep aroma. It hints at malt and chocolate but only hints. This kind of suggests sweet potato.  It sounds like I am saying this has very little flavor but that is not true at all. I am just having trouble finding the right words. What I can put into words is the roasty taste is very present and it is honey and grain flavored. Underneath and very late in the sip I am getting floral notes that say rose to me senses. I've not read that in any one else's description. The liquor is kind of thick and almost creamy, or silky, as it glides across the tongue.

I have to say I quite like this one.

Visit Verdant Tea online.

No comments:

Post a Comment