mrs. li's shi feng dragonwell from verdant tea.

Today I am drinking Mrs. Li's Shi Feng Dragonwell from Verdant Tea! I opted to pick up an ounce when I placed an order for  my favorite handpicked Autumn Tieguanyin -- I had heard many wonderful things about this tea. Now I wish I had bought even more! It's absolutely fantastic, and lives up to all the positive reviews!

The leaves are a pale green and are flat. The size of the pressed leaves is deceiving, as they bloom open wonderfully in my gaiwan. I opted to do my "when in doubt" gaiwan method and filled the lid with leaves. It turned out to be the perfect amount! I followed the instructions on Verdant's website. 175 degree water with a 3 second steeping. The color of the tea is a lovely pale yellow -- it absolutely glows in the teacup Ryan gave me!

The aroma is sweet and nutty ... to me it almost smells like a roasted chestnut. The initial sip is sweet and vegetal, like a blanched bok choy leaf. The taste of the back of my tongue is tangy and lightly citrusy. It makes me think of a very ripe but not tart kiwi flavor. It is enjoyable and refreshing (I am writing this review in a 90 degree heatwave.) The aftertaste is slightly floral -- almost like I sipped on a bit of orange blossom water, or added some orange blossom honey to the cup. Absolutely delightful!

This is the first time I've gotten the chance to sip on a very fine quality Dragonwell, and my experience was perfect. I even went on a limb, let a cup cool, and added an icecube. It translates perfectly into iced tea, and the coolness allows more of the kiwi and orange blossom notes I enjoyed to come out!

I enjoyed 7 steepings of this tea, and am so glad the integrity of the tea remained strong with multiple infusions. I thought I could steep it once more, but I had my fill of tea at that point. It was such a treat!