Verdant Tea Qianjiazhai Sun Dried Black Tea Review

I had a great experience trying out Verdant Tea's 2023 Qianjiazhai Sun Dried Black Tea today. Not only was I excited for a new brew, I was absolutely desperate for caffeine. The perfect combo to motivate me to get up and make it happen!

This tea is unique for many reasons, one of the most interesting being the ancient methods used in processing it. It's a sun dried tea, which is allowed to heat up and dry out in a natural way under the rays of the sun. This means a higher moisture content (since it's not roasted after oxidizing in the sun). It also allows the leaves to continue changing as they age over time, like a traditional pu'er. This special technique is only possible in areas that get enough sunlight during the harvesting months.

The origin of this tea is is just as important. The tea leaves are harvested from wild tea trees on a rocky mountainside in Qianjiazhai, a region within the protected Mt. Ailao National Forest Preserve in China. The preserve is home to tea trees between one hundred and eight hundred years old, and those very trees are the origin of Verdant's Sun Dried Black Tea. Fascinating, right? You can read all about it on their website.

If I were to buy this awesome tea again I would definitely try aging it to see how it changes the flavor!

I have to admit I started kicking myself halfway through the brewing process because I had gone about it all wrong. I should have done a bit more research before diving in. Verdant Tea recommends brewing in the gongfu style, with multiple steeps, a small amount of boiling water, and for only 10 seconds per steep. I did steep it 3 different times for my review, and tried to keep close to 10 seconds, but I should have used less water in ratio with the tea leaves.

A close up of the tea leaves (from verdanttea.com)... I forgot to take one myself before brewing, and I only had a sample, but they did look just like this.

Luckily, although my mistake made for a lighter brew, it didn't compromise the flavor profile itself, only the strength of it. Still worth a disclaimer, though, since I probably missed some notes that I would have tasted had the brews been more concentrated.

Let's start with steep #1!

Steep #1

This tea was yellower than I expected, and the aroma was somewhat floral and very soothing. My first impression upon sipping it was a subtle earthiness.

I also noticed a toasty flavor, which is probably better described as... well, sun-dried! This sun-dried quality provided a sort of backdrop for the lighter, more aromatic and floral notes in the flavor profile, grounding it and giving it crispness.

I'm an absolute baby when it comes to bitterness, so I did squirm a little at the very slight sharpness on the back of the palate. I'm trying to get over it, trust me! In the meantime I'm searching for a flavorful tea that has zero bitterness whatsoever (which is a lot to ask since apparently I detect even the slightest bitterness that most people wouldn't notice). I was extremely pleased that the astringency of this brew was low. It was lovely.

My tea leaves after steep #1

The leaves after the first steep were already tender and beginning to plump. Beautiful!

Okay, on to steep #2.

I noticed a grassier flavor in this second brew, and it kept its earthy and toasty notes as well. At this point I was eating a shortbread cookie alongside my tea, which was super delightful and paired nicely although it probably wasn't best practice for me to compromise my palate thus. It was worth it!

The leaves after steep #2

The bitterness had also gone down a bit by the second steep.

My wet tea leaves were looking so lovely at this point, bigger and more delicate. It's amazing what 10 seconds in hot water can do!

Now for my last steep, #3!

It was while sipping this brew that I finally looked at the description of the flavor profile online, which helped me put a couple of notes I tasted into words. Have you ever eaten a fresh Concord grape off the vine? Along with the sweetness and juiciness there's a depth to it, maybe it's the seeds inside or the skin. If you were standing by a Concord grape vine and breathing in the aroma of the vine itself, that's the flavor I'm talking about. That twiggy flavor was present in this black tea. It's still a bit difficult to describe even with the grape comparison... I probably sound a little crazy! But it was ultra-satisfying once I identified where I knew that delightful flavor from.

The leaves after steep #3

There was a more floral quality to the 3rd steep as well. And to my satisfaction, almost no bitterness at all!

After this last 10-15 second steep the tea leaves were full and tender. You can see in the photo that some had fully opened. They smelled great too, although not strong, with fruity and floral notes.

Overall I was super happy with this and will definitely buy it again... And next time I'll brew it with less water and maybe I'll let it age to see how time affects the flavor. 10/10 recommend trying this tea!

~Evelyn

Evelyn Boyer

All content on this blog is the property of Always Time for Tea and is protected by international copyright laws. The content is intended for personal, non-commercial use only. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution is strictly prohibited.

This blog post may contain affiliate links. This means that (at no additional cost to you) if you click on a link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission. We only recommend products and services that we carefully research and genuinely trust. Thank you for your support!

"Thank you for visiting my blog!"

~Evelyn

Quick links