Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: BigTeaHouse
Tea Description:
If you prefer the “Shou Mei” style of white loose tea with a bold flavor and aroma, this is the tea for you. Vanilla brings out the flavor while the flowery, dried fruit and spice round it out. It has a pleasant mouthfeel and is perfect for those days when you want to feel light.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Who says white tea is delicate?
Having tried Shou Mei white tea before, I was pretty sure what to expect from this tea. But this tea had a few surprises in store!
There is the sweet, slightly vegetative aroma and taste that I would typically experience with a Shou Mei, but, there is a sweet, creamy … almost vanilla-like tone to this tea. When I read the above description, I thought that maybe it was a mistake … this appears to be a pure Shou Mei, so I wasn’t really expecting the vanilla, the fruit notes, and the hint of spice in the flavor. But this tea has all of that!
The fruit notes are especially noticeable in the fragrance, but as I continue to sip, I notice a slightly raisin-y kind of flavor, sweet … almost candy-like! There are hints of spice, mostly pepper, but a soft peppery taste, like the peppery note you’d experience from basil. It’s a little bit warm, but at the same time, it’s quite crisp and cooling.
A really delightful cup that keeps me sipping to discover more about it.
I love shou mei so much; I think it is one of the most under-appreciated types of tea, as it is often viewed as a “low-grade” white tea.
I’ve definitely tried examples of shou mei that had hints of vanilla and spicy tones that you describe here. I find that this type of tea can be remarkably complex. Many naturally taste like caramel and autumn leaves to me.
It also tends to be quite inexpensive among white teas.