Sunday, February 2, 2014

Verdant Tea, Autumn Harvest Dragonwell Style Laoshan Green

Verdant Tea Description:
Steeped up, the beautiful fresh leaves dance in the cup, and release a rich, potent citrus sweetness. The texture is crisp like the mineral notes of Dragonwell, but moves quickly into grassy green bean flavor and mouth watering texture. This innovative tea from the He family is absolutely worth picking up to compare to traditional Shi Feng Dragonwell.

My Review:
I see this tea has been archived on Verdant's website. That means they have no plans to offer it again in the near future. I have it, so I am reviewing it anyway. I believe this to be from the autumn harvest of 2012.

This laoshan green has been flat pressed which alters the flavor profile from standard laoshan green. It really is one of the many amazing things about tea. How the master presses, rolls,or twists the leaf in processing really does affect the flavor in the cup.

I steeped this for 1 1/2 minutes in 175 F water in my clear glass press. The resulting liquor is sparkling clear and very light yellow/green tinted. It almost looks like white wine in the cup. The wet leaf has a spinach and potato aroma - hey, I just call them as I smell them.

The sip is crisp. It is also slightly bitter. It reminds me of dandelion greens but not nearly as bitter. Not meaning to mislead, this is exceptionally easy to sip. This really doesn't evoke images of dragonwell with me. It more closely reminds me of Tai Ping Hou Kui. Beyond this comparison, I think beans and nutty also fit the taste.

This was different. It disappeared quickly. I am not sure why this is no longer offered but I am glad I got to try it before it is gone forever.

Visit Verdant Tea online.


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