Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
The natural friendship of “East meets West” is portrayed when we look at the flavor composition mango and pear in this organic blend. Any possible early shyness as to whether this is really the perfect match was gone the minute these two fruits met on the delicate white peony tea. A must have organic creation!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mango isn’t always a flavour that appeals to me, but I’ve tried a few paired with a white base and they’ve all been pretty enjoyable. On top of that, I really like pear though honestly I’m unsure how the pairing will do. It’s not one I’ve seen done often, and I’m worried that the mango may mask the pear if it’s not over the top.
I made this one as a cold brew, and honestly I’m not loving it though I don’t hate it either. The white base is acting as a very good blank canvas for the flavour; you can hardly taste any contributions from it except for maybe some lighter honeysuckle notes. Whether that’s good or bad would I guess depend on your personal tastes. The main reason I’m not all over this is that it might as well just be a mango tea; I can’t taste the pear at all. The mango is nice though; it’s got a light ‘spritzer’ kind of vibe to it, and is tropical but almost in a citrusy tangerine sort of way. I’m enjoying what I’m tasting, it’s just totally not what I was hoping for.
That’s alright though; you can’t love every tea and somewhere out there someone’s looking for an organic mango tea on a white base and this is probably perfect for them.
Toffee Dream White Tea from Zen Tea Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: Zen Tea Life
Tea Description:
The nutty toasty flavor from the toffee. It smells lovely toffee and looks pretty with lots of yellowish green soft buds mixed with blue corn flower. Recommend for someone that loves a light, sweet, and nutty tea. Must try teas for white tea lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Zen Tea Life is an excellent company. Funny enough, I have yet to try any tea from them. I usually go with their teaware, which are really cute and cheap! Their slabs of Korean cedar are a fixture on my tea tray.
This tea hails from a friend on Steepster who did a mystery box sale a while back. The box took a detour to another user’s place before making it back to me. Luckily, there was no problem fixing the problem and in no time I had a perfectly packed cube filled with tea treasures at my door. The only thing is, I had forgotten that I had asked for a box in the first place. It took me a hot minute to noodle out where the box of insane samples came from. Thank goodness I love surprises!
White Toffee Dream was the first sample I tried out of the box. I was very intrigued, I have never had a toffee tea with a white base before. I picked it out because of it’s visual appeal; the cornflower and the big chunks of caramel substance looked awesome against the backdrop of the Bai Mu Dan.
Brewing the tea made the toffee pieces melt in slow motion. The aroma really filled the room. Who needs scented candles or air fresheners when you can just brew a cup of tea? Using 4g in a 16oz mug with 90c water produced a unique cup. The toffee was not doubt there, and an interesting floral and hay rounding out the notes. I do get a candy sequence I get strong notes of graham cracker that follows the toffee. Like a toffee cheesecake almost?
While I agree that black tea may have mad a better choice for this flavor, it’s just so… pedestrian. Zen tea life made a good choice going with a white tea base. It’s different, and worth a try, even if I wouldn’t think about stocking it any time soon.
Lime Marshmallow White Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Lime Marshmallow pairs our Organic Bai Mu Dan with gentle lime and creamy marshmallow. The sweet lime flavor is immediately noticeable followed by a marshmallow flavor that lingers. Adding some sugar will create a gooey marshmallow flavor with hints of sweet lime.
Read more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
OK, this was the tea that got me. I wasn’t going to order more teas from Butiki Teas since they did announce that they were going to close. I was sad to hear of their closing, but I figured that I had enough teas that I need to review that I didn’t really need more tea. That is until I saw “Lime Marshmallow.” How do I pass that up?
Answer: I don’t!
And this is delicious. This cup that I’m drinking at the moment is actually the second time that I’ve had the tea. The first cup was a little less flavorful than this one. I steeped that in my Breville One-Touch and I have often stated that white teas shouldn’t be steeped in the tea maker because the leaves just aren’t conducive to the way the tea maker operates. Or something like that.
I’ve found that when I steep white teas in the Breville, not all of the leaves that I’ve put into the basket get submerged into the water. For a white tea, I recommend using a teapot and allowing the leaves to steep loose, or if you’ve just gotta use an infuser basket, try a Kati Tumbler.
This time when I steeped it, I got my ceramic teapot and I measured out 3 bamboo scoops of leaf into the teapot. Then I poured in water heated to 170°F and let the tea steep for 4 minutes. Now we’re talking some tasty tea!
I tasted it first before adding any sweetener. It’s nice with a bright, vibrant lime flavor. But I didn’t get a lot of creamy, marshmallow-y flavor. So I took Butiki’s advice and added a little bit of turbinado sugar to the cup and now I can taste that “gooey” marshmallow flavor. It tastes sweet and fluffy.
The white tea is a good base for these flavors too. It’s light and has a subtle hay-like flavor. It’s delicate enough for the flavors of lime and marshmallow to emerge fully without it becoming a really cloying taste, and I am still tasting tea. The tea doesn’t hide behind the flavoring.
I’m glad that I placed that order!
Wedding Tea Blend from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
This elegant tea is a special tea for that special event. Mutan White tea with a touch of lemon-vanilla to taste, nicely offset with pink rose petals.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
A really nice blend from Harney & Sons. The delicate white tea is flavored with just a hint of lemon and vanilla and rose, creating a soft, sweet, and brightly flavored cup.
The white tea is a sweet and smooth tasting tea and these characteristics are enhanced by the addition of vanilla. The light touch of vanilla makes the tea taste just a little sweeter, a little smoother and a little softer. It adds a pleasant creaminess to the cup.
And I like the way the creaminess plays with the notes of lemon. The lemon is bright and tart, but not pucker-y tart. The sweetness of the vanilla curbs the lemon so that it doesn’t come off as sour. Instead, it tastes a little bit like someone may have dissolved a little bit of lemon curd into my tea! YUM!
To brew this, I used a lower temperature (as is usually the case when it comes to white teas. I almost always go with a temperature that is 170°F or lower, this time, I used the 170°F) and steeped the sachet for 3 1/2 minutes.
Something else that’s kind of neat about this blend is that because it is the “Wedding Blend,” it can also serve as a wedding favor! You can even special order it with the name of the bride and groom and the wedding date imprinted on the lid of the little “tagalong tins” (these tins really are adorable). How awesome is that? Can you think of a cooler wedding favor to give to your guests on your special day?
Just Perfect Peony White Tea from Just.Organic.Tea.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Just.Organic.Tea
Tea Description:
Find your “Zen Moment” with this perfect cup of premium organic white tea.
Taster’s Review:
It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve had a pure, unadulterated White Peony tea. It’s such a lovely tea to enjoy in the evening, because it tastes lighter and it doesn’t leave me feeling overstimulated the way a black tea does. I know that there has been a lot of debate over the caffeine content in the different types of tea, but what I know from the years of experience I’ve had drinking the tea is this: most black teas are much more invigorating than most white teas.
I find that this is true with just about any other tea. You can replace “black tea” with Oolong or Green tea and these two tea types are more invigorating for me than most whites. And you can keep the black tea in it’s place in the original statement and interchange “white teas” with just about any other tea type and the statement would still be ringing true for me.
And that’s why I generally enjoy my black teas earlier in the day when I don’t mind the stimulation, and then I drink less stimulating teas later in the day. White teas I generally keep for evening because they are gentle and calming.
And this White Peony from Just.Organic.Tea. is quite lovely. It’s smooth, sweet and refreshing. I’m picking up on flavors that I don’t always pick up on with Bai Mu Dan teas like this. I’m picking up on the familiar flavors like a light vegetal tone and a pleasing fruit note (a delicate melon note) and the crisp, airy note that reminds me of the air after a cooling rain. How the air is still moist and sweet from the rain.
But I’m also tasting lettuce. I don’t always pick up on a lettuce note, but this Organic White Peony definitely has a crisp lettuce note that is really rather refreshing. As I sip it, it evokes thoughts of summertime and eating a fresh, crisp salad on a hot summer day. I’m thinking of how refreshing that salad is on a day like that and this tea is very much like that. But without the tomatoes, croutons and salad dressing. Just the refreshing, crisp, replenishing sort of taste.
You get what I’m saying, right?
A really excellent pure white tea from Just.Organic.Tea. At the moment, I don’t see this tea on their website. I don’t know if this one has been permanently removed from their collection or if it’s temporarily sold out. If you’re interested in getting some of this tea to try for yourself, try contacting the company to find out what the status is of this tea. I’ve found this company to be very prompt with their responses and very friendly too! The kind of company I like to deal with!