Imperial Breakfast

I brewed this for some afternoon tea. Rich and complex with every sip. I can make out the Laoshan Black, and the Golden Buds perfectly. There is a hint of mustiness in the background from the Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er. Its nicely balanced and a vacation from other normal “Breakfast Blends” one may drink.

The Alchemy Blend Adventure continues…:)

I wish I liked more tea.

I wish I could be like many of you here who seem to like pretty much any quality tea, no matter what type it is-but it is not to be. I’ve been expanding a bit more beyond the teas that I am used to and I have found that I have definite preferences-new things I like and new things I don’t. I enter the process open-minded, but there are just some things my senses don’t care for and Laoshan black is one of them. It’s kinda disheartening to hear people rave about a tea that I just don’t care for. I’d like to join the club exalting various great teas and have people think I know a lot about tea because I agree with them. But no words-no matter how cogent-can convince my senses that they enjoy something when they just don’t.

I KNEW this was not your typical breakfast tea when I ordered it. Still, it seemed worth a shot. However, by the time I got around to trying this tea, I have already discovered that I was less than enthralled with 2 of its components (Laoshan Black and Big Red Robe). So this puts a lot of pressure on Yunnan Golden Buds and Xingyang 2007 Imperial Pu’er. Considering I’ve never had Pu’er before (and that there’s probably not much in it), it’s mostly up to the Golden Buds-those poor buds never stood a chance.

The best thing about this tea is how striking all those golden buds look mixed in with the Laoshan Black leaves-very nice. Sadly, the black overwhelms those buds and I can’t really taste them. I taste the chocolate notes in the black, but it’s not remotely sweet. I eat 72% dark chocolate (not sweet enough for most) and I taste enough sweetness. The chocolate notes in the black are bland. Thick, heavy and bland. At least they are NOT bitter, like unsweetened chocolate. Not sure whether I can taste the pu-er. I catch a glimpse of mineral now and then from the oolong. Even if I enjoyed this more, I can’t imagine wanting this as my first cup in the morning. For that, I guess I prefer your typical Assam/Yunnans straight or in blends. But, even as an afternoon tea, this just doesn’t work for me.

Hellooooo Steepster! I’ve been absent for a long while due to a nasty illness and needing to nurse a family member back to health after major surgery. I just haven’t had the energy to log teas until now, but I’ve been thinking about the community and missing my fellow Steepsterites!

This tea seems like a good way to ease myself back into reviewing teas. My curiosity was piqued by this blend so I ordered a small sample size with my last Verdant shipment. The blend sounds like it wouldn’t work, but this is Verdant we’re talking about so I have lots of faith. The scent and flavor I’m getting most of is the summery Bai Mu Dan, which always pleasantly reminds me of hay. As I sip I’m getting undertones of pu’erh and oolong. Such an interesting blend! It is making me feel more awake, too. I’m sure more refined palettes would pick up on other flavors, but all my brain is giving me is, “Mmm, yum. More, please!”

Verdant, I think you’ve done it again! I might have to add this to my next order. Thank you!

Edited to add: This resteeps like a dream. Great stuff!

I never added this to any of my Verdant orders as, well, I have enough breakfast teas. So I thought. But it showed up in one of my tea of the month packages (I’ve fallen so far behind!) and I finally tried it this morning. We had it along with a pretty decadent breakfast of some bacon and avocado followed by some homemade raspberry-lemon muffins and, why not, coconut cream chocolate fudge.

Well, Imperial Breakfast was amazing with all of these rich flavours. It really accomplishes what the write-up describes; it’s bold and rich but not bitter or too astringent. It’s perfect. Roasty, malty, cocoa-y, and smooth. I could really pick out the Big Red Robe and the Laoshan Black, which was awesome as they’re two of my favourites. The Yunnan also contributes to the sweetness and great body, I think, but it’s balanced with the others so well that I don’t notice the Yunnan spiciness so much. Once I make it through some of my Laoshan Black, I think I’ll need to grab some of this.

Interesting. When brewed does not even smell like tea – more like liqeur/confectionary stuff.

The taste is interesting as well – for the first 3 steepigns it is so perfectly merged that I cannot even say it’s a blend – it is that self-sufficient . Astringency is almost non-existent in this too – where other teas cover your taste buds on the tongue’s sides like a thick layer of snow this one rolls like a snowball through the middle only affecting the sides a miniscule amount.

Starting from 4th, maybe 5th steeping yunnan black seems to come to the front, then … I still have to see :) Won’t rate it just yet, but I think I like it.

P.S. Steepster really needs to allow steeping time slider to start from 1-3s :)

I put off writing a review of this blend until every leaf was sadly gone. My wife and I have nearly swapped tastes as I am leaning more toward tea after years of coffee and she is doing the opposite. (I guess working 12hr nursing shifts in the emergency department overnights can quite reasonably do that to a person!) This is absolutely one of those brews that went from a full bag to completely gone in less than a week even with us both trying to pull 4 and 5 steeps out of it throughout the days we enjoyed it together!!

small plug for a company I have no affiliation with other than loving their product – Ambrosia Honey Company’s raw honey from Longmont, CO blends AMAZINGLY well with this tea for breakfast, especially when it’s already on your biscuit with a smidge of butter..

I started out on my tea experience as an exclusively black tea drinker, so I am admittedly partial to the noir. This one warms my heart as it brings in a bawdy and rounded zing that really delivered on setting things in motion on days when I had a full plate or buzzing my head soft to enjoy the WSJ on my day off. It’s like it knew what I needed it to be. That’s weird, and creepy, and crazy, and true. Try it if you are looking for another diversion for black breakfast, but be warned – you may end up with pounds of it in your cupboard!

This is a very rich and deep blend with many dimensions to it. I was impressed.

Today I visited Met and after that went to La Maison du Chocolat to get some ice cream. Turns out they have a cafe in the back selling among other things some tea. It was $8 per cup. Wow … That’s some price even for Manhattan.

I’m going to be honest, the main reason I went with Imperial Breakfast is because I saw that even though this blend has many different ingredients which all have different prices, the blend costs the same as it’s lowest priced ingredient (I think). I like to feel like I found a discount, as tiny as it is.

I’d say this is a solid blend. There is a mild chocolate taste and smell to it. That’s all I can really say about specific taste. With Verdant tea, I’m always tempted to keep steeping the tea past its limit. I think I can safely say with this particular tea, if you use 3 grams of leaves and a 1/2 litre of water for each steep, by steep 8 you are going to have some gross tasting tea. It’s good stuff, but don’t be greedy like me.

Best breakfast tea ever, and now I’ve finished it for the last time. :( Even though it was very nice of Verdant to share their recipe to make this, I just don’t realistically see myself blending this tea myself. Sigh…maybe one day when I get desperate enough.

Tiny order from Verdant came in the other day, can’t resist their cheap samples, PLUS free shipping. Mainly the free shipping bit to be honest :P
Anyway, was expecting to reallyy like this tea, but wow, it was super smokey.
Smokey is the only flavor I could pick out :(
Oy! Definitely not for me!