early spring tieguanyin from verdant tea.

I ordered some of Verdant Tea's Handpicked Early Spring Tieguanyin and was not disappointed. I am always drinking their autumn harvest and can only say positive things about it. This tea is like a gentler, sweeter version of their autumn offering, and I enjoy it immensely.

The leaves are a lovely pale green, and are tightly rolled. Yet again I found that a surprisingly small looking amount of tea filled my yixing pot to the brim after steeping! The color is a lovely light green, and has a sigh-inducing fragrance of orchid and orange blossom.

It feels smooth and refreshing upon sipping, and you're hit with a very sweet grass flavor. Following that you have the faintest hint of sugared vanilla, and a snap of red grape. The red grape sweetness stays on the back of the tongue for a refreshing aftertaste that layers well with every new sip.

After drinking several infusions I found a lovely hyacinth flavor and fragrance came through once the snap of the red grape faded. It was an incredible new floral note to experience on the tail end of my tea time.

The spring harvest was much lighter on the palette than the autumn Tieguanyins I usually brew, and I found that to be very refreshing and appropriate for the weather. I even brewed a small amount and chilled it in order to combat the sweltering heat the Northeast is getting. The flavors translated well to a colder cup of tea -- the florals came out to play with a bit more strength! Yesterday the thermostats hit 92°F and the channels said the humidity made it feel like 98°. The iced tea helped keep me cool, but it was fighting a losing battle. It was absolutely muggy in the loft yesterday, but my mom rescued us with tickets to go see a movie in a gloriously air conditioned theater. :) If only I had thought to put some of the iced tea in a bottle to sneak inside!