Oolong love that’s what I have …. yes I do love Oolong! Verdant tea has stolen my heart with Gardens of Anxi! Hey in my book Oolong does not need improvement and Verdant recognizes this but why not make something so wonderful even better if and when you can!

Verdant tea has added some real gems to this Oolong blend with jasmine blossoms. Yes I know I’m not a floral tea lover but the more quality floral teas I have the more I find out how wrong I was! The saffron is so decadent in this blend giving a soft buttery appeal. They have used orange rind as well but left out the bitterness of the rind leaving behind only wonderful orange essential oils and just the right amount!

I brewed this as per the site’s instructions.

Steep one afforded me my first taste of Oolong bliss, succulent sweet tea with a divine floral aroma, just the right balance of buttery notes playing gently off the amazing Tieguanyin base.

The after taste is something like a sweet summer romance. You really want to swish this tea around in the mouth much like a wine taster would do to get its full flavors to shine, and to get the best appreciation for this heavenly blend! An interesting and unexpected apple note comes out but one more of an apple peel than apple itself with just a tinge of a tangy bitter like flavor but not a face puckering bitter more of a “oh this tastes like nature” bitter sweet sensation.

As the tea cools down some the honey flavors come toward the forefront. Jasmine is still the primary flavor but is so kind to allow the other flavors to come through without having to bully their way out of the floral arrangement provided thanks to the creativity of Verdant!

What Verdant tea says about Gardens of Anxi:

Tieguanyin is so full and floral that it doesn’t really need to blended with anything for full enjoyment, but we thought, why not be decadent and try to make it even more rich and floral?  We use our sweet and buttery autumn harvest Tieguanyin, and draw out the perfumed aftertaste with a touch of jasmine blossoms.  We brighten up the body with sweet orange rind, and accent the buttery qualities with saffron.  Why not?  This is one decadent tea, sweet enough for anyone to love, and great hot or iced.

I should also mention – the dry leaf is such a beautiful sight! This tea is amazing if you steep it in a clear glass teapot! The leaves are gorgeous and the jasmine is a sight to behold blooming in your teapot! Verdant says it is best if the leaves and blooms have plenty of space to unfurl but that Oolong is forgiving (haha don’t I know it) so even if you can’t allow it proper space you will still have a lovely cup of tea to enjoy!

Anxi is the tea capital of China for the famed Oolong tea and there is a beautiful garden called Anxi which I would so love to visit one day! I had to google to find out where the name of this delectable tea came from!

I would take you through more steeps as this is one you can steep and steep again, however I am going to be selfish and go sit down and enjoy this as it deserves to be enjoyed fully.

I find this to be a playful tea, light, and bright, yet the creamy mouthfeel beckons one to slow down, and sip slowly, smiling the whole time. This is not a palate cleansing tea even with its bright, light nature, it immerses you in a depth of flavor explosions tempting you to rush into that next sip. I keep having to remind myself not to gulp it down, “you have plenty more” I tell myself. It takes me back to childhood gobbling up as many cookies as I could before I am found out sneaking into the cookie jar! I am the grown up! I can drink as much of this as I want to and it’s not even bad for me! It seems such a sin almost to have something so delightful, so beckoning. I think if Romeo and Juliette had a favorite tea it would have to be this one!