251 Tasting Notes
My first exposure to a quality white tea, this from the Steepster Select offer.
My first impression, upon opening the can was “What!, this can’t be tea, its grey”…and I thought it looked a bit moldy! Come to find out…it’s not moldy, it’s hairy; an important distinction :-P
I read the directions on the can… 1tsp, water at 170 for 5 minutes—and promptly ignored them. I used 1 tsp in a paper sleeve, water at boiling, for 1 minute. I took the leaves out of the water and gave them a squeeze (gasp!). The brew was such a pale yellow that I didn’t think I had anything in there! I was wrong. I thought this being white tea would equate to low caffeine—it doesn’t. note to self, don’t drink at 10pm.
The tea is a pale yellow, turning amber/brown as it cools and oxidizes. The taste is incredibly light but flavorful. Not grassy like some green teas, but definetly vegetal and wholly unlike a black tea. Nothing in the way of spicy, or earthy or any of the other descriptions I’d apply to black teas. This tea is in a world of its own and I highly recommend it. If I fix it “right”, it might get even better…have to try that sometime ;-)
Preparation
Got this in yesterday from the Steepster Select offer. I’ll echo everyone else’s description. Yes, they did pack a lot of tea in the tin. What I am most impressed by is the simple, but perfect packaging. A plain steel tin with a tight fitting, friction fit lid..all wrapped in their paper lable. Simple, elegant, infinitly reusable.
The tea is as the picture, small black/gold leaves. The smell is earthy, but clean—not musty or moldy. I did my tea a bit on the short side compared to others. 1tsp, 90 seconds, 205deg water. Got a nice rust colored brew. Medium boldness, no astringency as others have noted as well. Smooth, slightly earthy…a good black tea flavor with no grassy tastes.
Preparation
next to the last cup. I must be the only one with this on Steepster. Maybe I ought to save the last bit for a Traveling Tea Box. Is it acceptible to only have a 1 (generous) serving sample?
Did you know if you put things between less-than and greater-than signs, they don’t show up in the notes? I had a note about a picture of my tea shelf at work and if you could see it, you’d wonder how I get anything done, what with having to make a decision about what tea to drink in the morning. We need to get the next TTB moving along.
Backlogging this from this morning. WOW! a thousand mountains of Jasmine in this tea. The Jasmine was extremely strong, without the cloying sweetness that you get from the fresh flowers. The tea underneath was a good quality, but I think it’s flavor was largely drowned by the Jasmine. Still, good enough that the tea was excellent even after it had cooled to room temp. I think this would make a nice, light ice tea. Others have said sugar would help the Jasmine…I drank it without and didn’t think the Jasmine needed any help. In fact, the tea is kind of sweet on its own…probably the real Jasmine flowers they use to flavor it. I did use a bit more tea than the 1tsp recommended..about 1 1/2.
Preparation
doing this one as an Iced Tea this afternoon. Brewed it strong and poured over ice while hot. Wow, strong stuff, needs more ice. Ok, back again. Diluted it 50/50 with cold filtered water…that brought it down to the realm of drinkable. Incidently, my filtered water source comes out under pressure in a thin stream…it put a head on my tea! Not sure thats a good thing? Few minutes later, half a glass down and I’m thinking this isn’t such a good thing. Too strong? not sure, but I’m moving to something else.
I’ve been drinking this all week as a morning tea. Its good, strong, and has enough kick to kickstart me in the morning. And, its not an overly complex tea that I feel I have to savor…slurping it down is just fine with me. Everyone should have one of those teas that they can just drink…an not have to have more than half a braincell awake to enjoy.
Taking a clue from Earl Grey Bravo (Adagio), I tried a 30 second steep. That helps A LOT. This tea is strong and oversteeps super fast. As Earl Grey’s go, it’s still a loss…but it does produced a drinkable cuppa when handled right. bumping my rating a smidgin.
