Sunday Afternoon with Sun Dried Jingshan Green

Happy Sunday everyone!  I hope it finds you in great health and spirit.

This morning I decided to break open the sample package of Sun Dried Jingshan Green from Verdant Tea.  I've had it in the past and remember how great this green tea was.  Once again I wasn't disappointed.

The dry tea leaves are gorgerous.  Small, delicate and beautifully curved.  The aroma of the dry leaves is flowery and vegetal.

For my first steep I placed about 3.5 grams in 79°C water for about 1 minute.  The tea turned out light cool green colour with a wonderful vegetal aroma and a smooth sweet complex taste.  Although it was not astringent, there was a hint of it in the back of my tongue, something that I'm always happy to experience. This tea has a lot of body and it's one of my favourite green teas after Dragonwell.  It is somehow very different from Dragonwell and I'm not sure what makes it so, but it is all in a good way.

Currently I'm on my second steep and it is just as delicious as the first.  It took a bit longer to get the desired effect, about 3 minutes to be exact but that's expected since I did not use a lot of tea leaves.  The tea lost most of its vegetal aroma but held up the complex taste and the ever so slight astringency which once again tickled the back of my tongue.

I only have enough in the sample for one more fresh steep which I find a little sad especially that I checked the Verdant Tea website and this is out of stock temporarily.  Hopefully they'll get some more soon and I'll be able to restock.

It's sunny but cold outside and I'm having a pyjama day.  Together with the buzzing fireplace and the hot tea in my hand, there is nothing else I would rather be.  Except maybe in the little hut in the woods... but still with the hot tea and the buzzing fireplace for company... and my cat.

Cheers my friends.

Dark Roast 10 Year Aged Tieguanyin

My love affair with roasted oolong tea began a year ago when I tried Dark Roast 10 year aged tieguanyin from Verdant Tea for the first time.  I enjoyed oolong tea before that but roasted oolong is definitely a tea in its own category.  The strong floral notes of regular oolong take a back seat to the bold, full bodied flavour of the roasted kind.  It is a very different tea indeed.

This roasted oolong I like to prepare by a gong fu method in part because I'm never satisfied with just one or two steeps.  I like to have it over and over again.

I use boiling water and 7 grams per 6 ounces of tea leaves.

I steep it many times starting with very short steeps of 3, 6 and 10 seconds each.  At this point the liquid is light brown and the taste is roasty, fruity with a hint of floral notes.  Afterwards I continue increasing the steep times until I get bored or there is little flavour left.  At the 30 second mark the tea is dark brown with rich, roasty, full body flavour and a hint of caramel.

Currently my stash is at dangerously low level.  Fortunately, after checking Verdant Tea website I was able to confirm that this incredible tea is in stock. Let me tell you how much my heart jumped for joy when I saw it listed.  I will have to re-order soon.  Dark Roast 10 year aged Tieguanyin has become a staple in my tea cupboard.

Of Personal Notes and 2004 Willow Grove Shu

Today I received a much anticipated delivery from Verdant Tea.  About two weeks ago I've ordered my very first pu'erh tea.  Never had it before, never tasted it, I couldn't wait to try it out.  I've read so many different reviews of various pu'erhs, the good and the bad and the more I read the more I wanted to get in the club.  You know, the club of people who know what pu'erh is all about.

For those of you who don't know what pu'erh tea is, there is an awesome Wikipedia article on pu'erh tea with all the details one can handle.

Verdant Tea's selection was not the largest at the moment. I don't know all the ins and outs of the pu'erh tea but apparently they are waiting for the new stock to come in.  Never the less, I've ordered Tea Trail 2004: Willow Grove Shu 50g, and a sample of Mt. Banzgang Farmer's Cooperative '03 Sheng.  I also received a complimentary sample of Flowering Green Jasmine tea.  I have never brewed flowers before and I just can't wait to do it.  Thank you Verdant Team!

The box was neatly packaged and included a personal note from the staff.  I thought that was such a nice touch! :)

I waited until after dinner to open the shu and steep a pot of it.  I didn't want to be rushed.  I wanted to savor and enjoy the moment.

The aroma of the tea was very delicate, mild, a bit musky and sweet.  The leaves were clumped in chunks and very dark in appearance.  Definitely did not look like any other tea that I've seen.

I wanted to make sure I steep this one correctly so I followed the Western brewing instructions from Verdant Tea website.  I rinsed the leaves first at 208F and then steeped the tea at 205F for 3 minutes.  I steeped in the glass teapot because I don't have a dedicated yixing teapot yet.

While brewing, this pu'erh was almost trying to tell a story.

The aroma of the steeped tea was very woody.  Actually, the moment I smelled this pu'erh and took a sip, I was thrown back in memory lane to the mushroom picking trips I used to take with my grandpa when I was little.  Every time I took a sip I had this flashback.  All of a sudden I was seeing myself in the deep forest, picking mushrooms and being surrounded by pine trees.  That was quite a time travel! :D

Back to the tea.  The liquid color was gorgeous deep reddish brown and it was crystal clear.  The taste was full bodied, mild, delicate and pleasant.  I could smell and taste the woods and the pine and there was this ever slight astringency that started developing towards the end of every sip but which disappeared before the sip was over.  I can say with confidence that I very much enjoyed this delicious and special tea.

You might think, this is it but this shu wasn't done with me yet.  As I was sitting and sipping my tea, all of a sudden I was hit by a head rush.  I heard about this before but totally forgot and it took me by a surprise.  It was not bothersome but I definitely felt different.  This is some tea!

I gave the tea two steeps, second time I brewed it for 3 minutes as well.  To my surprise, after the second steep, the tea was darker and stronger.  Still very earthy, woody and full body.  I have never seen a tea getting stronger with subsequent steeps, this was the first.  Unfortunately, it was getting late in the evening and I couldn't continue with steeps.  Next time I will steep it earlier in the day and continue steeping until the flavor is gone.  This is definitely a lot of tea... It packs a punch.

Steeping temperature: 205F

Steeping time: 3 min

Steeped in: glass teapot

Cheers!!!