I’m on steep 9 of this now I think, and I have mo idea what to rate this. I just broke into the bag, the very last of my Verdant Tea $5 sampler. The instructions said either use a clay teapot, a gaiwan, or a small cup and a brew basket, so I forwent a pot and just brewed it in a basket in a half-full covered mug.
The dry leaf smells like nothing I can accurately describe, and not necessarily in a pleasant way, though I may have had some laytex powder on my hands at the time messing up the aroma. I used about 2-ish teaspoons and brewed with boiling water 10 seconds the first steep.
Early on, a burnt toast sort of flavor pretty much dominated and halfway through I got some orange notes, but the more I steep it, the more pronounced the what-I-guess-is-elderflower scent comes through. I think? It smells like a distinct flower I cannot put my finger on, lightly spiced and somehow exotic in a way totally opposite my beloved jasmine, and definitely not native to my area. In the same way some things just smell or taste light or dark, this smells gray, with all the wicked force of the thunderstorm that is sweeping up the valley as I brew it.
It’s weird. It’s pretty good. I think it’s getting washed out. Give it a shot.
