Ok, so I'm finally back.....for the day anyway. And wow what a way to come back than with a blockbuster tea from Verdant. This is a black tea that doesn't look very black. Its called Golden Fleece. Its a very complex brew with a ton of sweet potato flavors. But there is a hint of dried mushroom and a tiny hint of smoke. As you drink it, there are flavors that pop in and out of range - fruit, spice, and something else that passes by so fast I can't nail what I identify it with.
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From the Verdant website,
This wild-picked Golden Fleece is an exquisite lesson in texture, and one of the truest flavor embodiments of Yunnan itself. . . .
Golden Fleece is the richest, deepest and most subtle Dian Hong black tea we have had the privilege of trying. Wild-picked buds normally reserved for fine pu’er pressings are set aside for a very small crafting of black tea to show off the pure, silky, spice-laden profile of deep forest Yunnan.
This black tea is as pure as they come, without a hint of the astringency that defines so many black teas. It is soft, yielding and complex in the aftertaste, appealing to admirers of fine oolong or pu’ers for the thick mouthfeel and sweet even floral taste that lingers on the tongue.
The taste unfolds slowly, confident in itself. Bright candied citrus sweetness reels us in, and then expands to a thrilling cinnamon spice flavor and lingers like marshmallow-baked sweet potato casserole. Citrus flavors and woody Yunnan texture meld together to evoke violet liqueur.
In later steepings a satisfying thickness like incense and sweet morel mushrooms begins to express itself, showing off the way that wild-picked tea truly evokes the unique landscape.