Backlog from Christmas Eve:
The perfect Christmas Eve tea! Frankincense! And Verdant! Verdant teas are for special times. (And Verdant’s picture just looks very Christmasy!) I’m sipping this while reading the last pages of Bronte’s ‘Shirley’. The list of ingredients here is very special – Verdant puts so much thought into their blends. First of all, it’s an Earl Grey oolong. I don’t think I’ve tried one of those before! This looks to be half oolong and the other half is the other ingredients. I used closer to two teaspoons though Verdant says five grams.. which I think is one teaspoon?
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 min //10-15 min after boiling
(Verdant suggests 194 degrees for two minutes.)
The fragrance before I even taste is very lemony! Tasting it… just lovely stuff. I can’t say I notice a frankincense or saffron flavor. But the bergamot and oolong is a perfect pair. I’m not sure why they aren’t together more. It’s just bright, fresh, lemony. Would I think this was a holiday tea? Not really. It’s very sunny – but that’s what you need in the winter anyway (Tell me about it – I swear the sun hasn’t been out for a minute in weeks.) This might be the tea I need in the depths of winter.
Steep #2 // a few minutes after boiling // 3 min
This one is much more like a typical oolong, but it’s still bright, orange, bergamot. The other flavors aren’t noticeable… even less so in the second cup. But it’s a very enjoyable bergamot oolong! Very well done. So fresh and sunny! I’d love to try more of Verdant’s bergamot teas.
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I love this…here’s the deal about the incense though. Because the incense used true natural resin which melts (or releases) as it warms. I can smell it.
I took some to my Priest Fr. Evan (we drink Puer together too) and said “Tell me what this tea is?” Right away he said, “I smell Frankincense!” He surprised me…pretty good nose there.
As you resteep the tea, the frankincense will release more flavor and aroma…but you do have to let the steep go longer. (You can pick out the hard almost clear ‘stones’ of frankincense if you want to look at them).
It was awesome he could tell right away since it’s such an odd ingredient to have in tea!
I love this…here’s the deal about the incense though. Because the incense used true natural resin which melts (or releases) as it warms. I can smell it.
I took some to my Priest Fr. Evan (we drink Puer together too) and said “Tell me what this tea is?” Right away he said, “I smell Frankincense!” He surprised me…pretty good nose there.
As you resteep the tea, the frankincense will release more flavor and aroma…but you do have to let the steep go longer. (You can pick out the hard almost clear ‘stones’ of frankincense if you want to look at them).
It was awesome he could tell right away since it’s such an odd ingredient to have in tea!