Many of my tea drinking friends tend to have preferences for black teas. Black teas are usually bolder and richer than other types of teas. In contrast, white teas and green teas are among the least preferred of the tea drinkers I know. These kinds of teas tend to be lighter and more delicate. They are the teas that need to be brewed at cooler temperatures or they risk being burned and bitter. There is an exception to these teas though, the White Rhino.
White Rhino is a type of white tea that is more akin to a black tea. It is more robust and can be brewed more harshly without risk of bitterness. It is richer and more malty than most white teas. What-Cha’s Kenya ‘Rhino’ Premium White Tea is no different.
What-Cha’s Kenya ‘Rhino’ Premium White Tea is brewed in 90C water for 2-3 minutes. The end result is a delicious hybrid between typical white tea and black tea flavor profiles. Zero bitterness or astringency. Slightly caramel, slightly hay, slight stone fruit, slightly melon. A whole lot of natural sweetness and freshness. It truly is the best of both worlds.
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Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: What-Cha
Description
A white tea unique to Kenya which attains its gold and white appearance through a hand-rolling process. It is fuller than typical white teas with smooth sweet stone fruit and melon notes with caramel hints and no trace of bitterness or astringency.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Thailand ‘Red Tiger’ Oolong Tea/What Cha. . .
Sometimes I just have an oolong sort of day. When I first started drinking teas, oolongs were definitely not high up on my favorites list and still today I prefer other types of tea more often than not. Yet somedays nothing quite satisfies like an oolong and sometimes if I am shopping for teas and having one of those days, I tend to buy all the oolongs. This tea, What Cha’s Thailand ‘Red Tiger’ Oolong, is one that I bought the last time I stocked up on oolong teas.
What Cha claims this tea has a smooth sweet taste with notes of honey and baked cherry. With that in mind, I was pretty surprised when I started drinking this tea and it tasted more like a brisk black tea than an oolong. Maybe not brisk per se but definitely metallic. It is sweet but I am not picking up the cherry notes promised. Perhaps there is a roastiness that combines with a bit of honey. Also, to me, it has a bit of a wet leaf flavor. Not the oolong I was hoping for when I pulled this out of my stash.
Personally, I don’t love this one. I think part of the reason why is when I went on my oolong shopping spree, I was inspired by a tasty milk oolong I recently had. This lacks the flavor qualities that I loved in that and so it falls a bit short of what I hoped for. However, I know many others who have had this tea and loved it so though it is not for everyone, it is by no means a bad oolong and one worth trying.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: What Cha
Description
Another brilliant red oolong from south-east asia with a smooth sweet honey taste coupled with baked cherry notes.