Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Now, as for this week’s tea of the week: Here is a truly spectacular blend of our premium bai mu dan white tea, freeze-dried strawberries, and natural cucumber and strawberry flavors. If you are not refreshed by a cuppa this, I just don’t know what to tell you.
Taster’s Review:
This is awesome! White tea is considered a very delicate tea, and this tea is delicate … and yet it is so crisp, flavorful and incredibly refreshing.
The flavor of the Bai Mu Dan is light and sweet. It has a fresh, airy quality to it, like a cooling breeze wafting over a grassy meadow. That is to say, it doesn’t taste strongly of grass or vegetation … rather it tastes a bit like the fresh air smells when it rides across a grassy hillside. Clean and exhilarating without being too overstated.
It is the perfect base for the gentle flavor of cucumber. The cucumber here is rather subdued … but then, cucumber has never struck me as a strongly flavored vegetable. In this blend, it brings out the softer side of the strawberry – giving the sometimes tart and sassy berry a mellowness, allowing this taster to enjoy the savory notes that the strawberry has to offer.
I sipped my first cup of this hot and it’s really good that way, but I prefer it iced. The natural cooling properties of the white tea and the cucumber, together with the sweetness of the strawberry and cold temperature of the iced tea makes for a truly tantalizing summertime treat!
This is a fantastic union of flavors – what else can I say? 52Teas has done it again!
Strawberry Cascade from WhiteAugust Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: WhiteAugust Tea Company
Product Description:
Awe-inspiring bai mu dan white tea, overflowing with strawberries, rose petals and creamy coconut. The perfect compliment to the perfect day.
Taster’s Review:
Today was a very busy day, and there are few things that I find more relaxing on days like this than settling down at the end of the day with a cup of tea. This tea is just the right tea for today.
The Bai Mu Dan offers a fresh, delicate taste that is so soft and calming. The combination of the white tea and the hint of coconut gives this tea a sweet, creamy note that rests in the background.
While the strawberry is the strongest flavor of this cup, it is a rather soft flavor – keeping in step with the lightness of the white tea flavor. The strawberry tastes like a sweet, ripe berry, and while this is a little less tart than I expected it to be, I don’t mind it one bit. There is a slight berry “tang” right at the tail of the sip which lingers in the aftertaste. Tangy – but not what I would consider sour or even a strong tartness.
The rose offers quite a bit of its essence to the aroma of the tea but starts off almost non-existent in the flavor. As I make my way to the end of the cup, though, I find that the flavor of the rose builds gradually, and now I experience a lovely, floral note just before the finish. It’s quite nice.
This tea is remarkably refreshing. When I first started sipping this tea, I was kind of on the fence about it, not really sure if I liked it or not, but now as I am almost finished with the cup, I am realizing how much I am going to miss it when it’s gone! I really do like this one a lot! WhiteAugust Tea has a BIG winner on their hands with this one.
Raspberry Ginger from Element Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White & Green
Where to Buy: Element Tea
Product Description:
Support your health with this popular blend of Pai Mu Tan White tea, Chinese Sencha Green tea, whole raspberries, and an array of healthful spices. Throw in the crisp taste of ginger, and you’ve got the perfect balance of delicious and palate pleasing flavors!
Brew Time: 3 – 4 minutesIngredients: Pai Mu Tan White Tea, China Green Tea Sencha, Jasmine, Ginger, Cardamom, Cloves, Raspberries, Black Pepper, Star-of-Anise
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This is really good. Very different. It is unlike any tea I’ve ever tasted … but then, it is very familiar too. Not familiar as in I’ve tried a blend like this before (because I haven’t!), but familiar as in each of the ingredients are ones that I enjoy when it comes to tea. But I would have never imagined them all put together like this!
The white tea is surprisingly strong in the midst of all these ingredients. It lends a fresh, sweet and creamy taste to the cup, while the green tea is more of an understated flavor – providing a solid base but without interfering with the other flavors.
The ginger is the strongest note, followed by the cardamom, cloves and star anise. The black pepper isn’t very prevalent in the sip but reveals itself in the aftertaste which is lightly peppery with a whisper of jasmine sweetness.
While the raspberry is not as strong a flavor – or perhaps “not as aggressive a flavor” would be the right terminology here – it still seems to be the star of the show. It’s the scene-stealer! The sweet yet tart berry weaves its way throughout the sip, never letting this taster forget that this is a raspberry flavored tea. It even has that pleasing tingle of tartness in the finish.
If you’re looking for something very out of the ordinary – try this blend! It blew me away!
Tangerine White Tea from Tea Licious
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Product Description:
Pai Mu Tan with tangerine.
Taster’s Review:
Flavored white teas are often “hit and miss” for me. That’s because quite often the delicate flavor of the white tea is overpowered by the flavoring. Careful use of flavoring is needed to keep a balance of flavor.
This Tangerine White Tea from Tea Licious hits the nail on the head for me. The flavoring is strong here, and it tastes sweet and sunny like a blend of tangerine and orange. But it is not so strong that I cannot taste white tea.
The white tea base is a Pai Mu Tan (which is also known as Bai Mu Dan), and these leaves are of good quality – evidenced by the softness of the leaves and the fluffy white down that covers them. The flavor is sweet, fresh and light with hints of grassy tones and hay-like flavor in the background.
This tea has an surprisingly bright flavor to it for such a delicate composition. It is delicious served hot but even better when iced. It is so refreshing and cooling, even on the warmest of days.
I do recommend trying it at least once hot so that you can get the best definition of flavor from it. As it cools, the flavors do mute just a little, so when chilling it, I do recommend a pinch of sweetener to it to enhance the flavors a little bit. Not much, just a pinch will do the trick. This one should be a real hit during the warm weather months!
Apple-Vanilla White Chai from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Premium Shou Mei and Bai Mu Dan white teas blended with fresh chai spices, freeze-dried apple pieces and natural flavors.
Taster’s Review:
This blend got mixed reviews on Steepster. Some people really liked it, while others were somewhat blasé. I was one of the latter group, and I was actually a little surprised that I didn’t like it better than I do, especially since 52Teas rarely disappoints me. Just the opposite, usually I’m quite impressed with the teas produced by 52Teas, and if it isn’t my favorite tea company, it certainly is in the top three.
I mean, I kind of expected to love this tea. I love chai. I love white tea. I love apple. I love vanilla. So, I should love this tea, right? But I don’t know what it is… it just tastes a little off for me. Maybe the spices are not balanced quite right for my palate. Maybe it just has too much going on. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate this tea; I’m just not as enthused about it as I thought I would be.
The white tea is delicate, but with the Shou Mei/Bai Mu Dan blend the flavor is a little stronger than it would be if it were only Bai Mu Dan. The white tea tastes crisp and does compliment the apple and vanilla notes, encouraging them to come into focus.
I think that this blend might taste a little better if it were just apple & vanilla with the white tea, maybe with just a touch of cinnamon to accent the apple. So perhaps it is the cardamom and ginger that throws it off.
I did enjoy this enough to drink it, although I’d not purchase this particular blend again. Which is just as well since it’s sold-out! But, don’t lose heart, Frank. I still love 52Teas!