Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
At 16.65% by dry weight, moon swirl green tea is one of the highest polyphenol antioxidant teas rated by independent lab tests. The quality of this hand made luxury green tea is evident from the fuzzy white tips that slowly unfurl with each steep. Moon Swirl White Tip is grown at nearly 5000 feet above sea level in the mountains of the Hunan Province. The early spring growth is hand plucked from only the top buds and skillfully rolled by hand. When infused, the grass, wheat, and mild sweetness are well balanced with assertive astringency. Due to these conditions, only a few thousand kilos are manufactured per year.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is incredible. Truly enchanting; this tea seems to draw me in deeper with each sip, revealing more of itself to me as I sip it.
The first couple of sips were remarkably sweet and smooth. By mid-cup, a dry, cleansing astringency develops, which prepares the palate for the next sip. The flavor is of sweet grass and hints of hay, reminding me of the air in the hay fields of the small town where I grew up. On the days when the hay would be harvested and bailed, you could actually taste the hay in the air.
But, this tea has a lightness to it too, which makes the aforementioned comparison to the air quite apropos; it has a clean, pure kind of taste to it that reminds me quite a bit of a white tea.
Overall, I’m finding this tea to taste incredibly fresh and delicious. No bitterness to speak of, although if you wish to keep the astringency to a minimum, steep at a lower temperature. I don’t find the astringency bothersome, in fact, I like the way it refreshes the palate. It has a natural sweetness to it, this is one that doesn’t need sweetening as the addition may overwhelm the delicate balance of flavors here.
An excellent green tea, not too vegetative a flavor, but enough to remind you of what you’re drinking, and a very memorable sweetness. Very nice.
White Eagle Long Life Green Tea from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
At 17.65% by dry weight, White Eagle Long Life green tea is one of the highest polyphenol antioxidant teas on the planet. The cup is abound with astringency, however, to the trained palate, notes of honey & orchid like sweetness intermingle. The unique production method of this Mao Feng tea grown in the Hunan Province of China, is highly regulated to ensure its authenticity. White Eagle Long Life’s reputation is preserved in the likes of
other great Mao Feng teas such as Dragon Well. White Eagle long life green tea may not grant immortality, however, the health benefits from removing oxidative stress is unsurpassed.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the case of the green tea that made me think it’s a white tea … at least, until I tasted it. 
The name was my first “hint” that this might be a white tea. And then there is the appearance of the dry leaves. These look like they could be a green tea with lots of silvery white tips … or a white tea with lots of … well, silvery white tips.
And then there is the color of the liquor … if this is green tea, it is certainly one of the lightest infusions I’ve yet to see. It looks like … well, it looks like a white tea to me.
But the flavor and aroma give it away.
The aroma is grassy and sweet, reminding me of the smell of young grass in the springtime. The flavor has a very distinct “green-tea-ness” – fresh and vegetative, with a crisp sweetness. Sure, these words could be easily used to describe a white tea just as easily as a green, but, the flavor with this tea is stronger than a typical white. It tastes like a green tea, and this is one of the sweeter green teas that I’ve tasted, with well-defined floral notes and a honey-esque sweetness that lingers.
The description of this tea suggests a strong astringency, and at the start, I didn’t really get that. I detected some astringency, certainly, but, I certainly would not describe this tea as astringent. As I continue to sip, the astringency builds slightly, but only slightly. Perhaps it is the way I chose to steep it? I put a generous amount of the tea (a heaping teaspoonful) of tea into my gaiwan, and heated the water to 170°F, and infused the first infusion for 1 minute, adding 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. This produced a lovely tea, and made for six very flavorful infusions.
So, whether you are a fan of white tea, or of green tea, this is a tea that you should definitely try!
100 Monkeys White Tea from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
100 monkeys is a premium grade, loose leaf white tea from China.
This rare and exotic white tea will leave even the most discriminating connoisseur with a smile. You will enjoy watching as the tea leaves unfurl and return to their original state. White tea is really a subclass of green tea, however, due to its recent acclaim, it has been given a class of its own. The major distinction is that white tea is not mechanically processed. Buds and select leaves are harvested and merely air dried. This minimal amount of processing can make white tea have up to three times more beneficial antioxidants than green or black tea. 100 Monkeys is our best selling white tea. Buy this rare white tea wholesale and save even more!
Taster’s Review:
This particular review I shall write over time and save it as a draft until I am satisfied with its completion. The reason for this is that this is an extraordinarily complex white tea that needs me to spend a little more time with it. I want to give you, the reader, the most accurate evaluation of this tea (and all other teas that I review) that I can, and sometimes that requires a little more time spent experiencing the tea.
But, I’m not complaining! This is a lovely tea with which I’ve chosen to spend some time.
I chose to steep this tea in a gaiwan, which I think is the perfect vessel for this particular tea. It allows me to fully explore this tea. The leaves are tiny. Even when fully unfurled, the leaves are much smaller than most white teas that I’ve encountered. Young, tiny leaves and buds!
The flavor starts out with a sweet, somewhat floral/vegetable taste and develops into a stronger musty, somewhat bitter flowery taste. This is not an unpleasant bitter taste, though. It is a savory bitter taste that is quite unique, as I don’t think I’ve experienced this kind of bitter taste in a tea. It is a soft bitterness that intrigues the palate and entices me to take another sip.
There are lovely hints of flower in the background. As I make my way down to the bottom of my cup, I am finding more sweet notes introducing themselves. This is a beautifully complex cup, indeed!
The tiny tea leaves submit to several delicious infusions, and I recommend you take full advantage of those infusions because this tea is worth every last drop you can get from it. It is truly delightful!
Formosa Oolong from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
In Taiwan, the making of oolong tea is regarded as an art form where the style and dedication of the grower is passed down through generations. Producing oolong tea involves highly specialized skills to control the withering, oxidation, and firing process. A slight varience in any of these variables can greatly affect aroma, flavor, color or finish. This tea is a long fired “amber style” tea which gives it a roasted character.
Taster’s Review:
I love Formosa Oolong. In fact, up until a few years ago, Formosa Oolong WAS Oolong as far as I was concerned. I really didn’t have much experience with any other type of Oolong. In the last couple of years, I’ve been more adventurous and discovered many different types of Oolong. However, Formosa Oolong remains a favorite of mine.
This Formosa Oolong from Imperial Tea Garden is quite delicious. The flavor is mildly sweet with a peach-like quality in the background. A very smooth tea that offers a very light mouthfeel – light, but silky! There is also a very light astringency.
But the flavor is anything but “light.” I am finding this to be very flavorful. A roasty undercurrent that melds with a sweet, honey-esque note. Beautiful!
Formosa Oolong is one of those Oolong teas that tastes great however you choose to serve it. I like it hot, but it is also one of my favorite iced teas too. It doesn’t need any sweetener because it does have a natural sweetness to it, but the flavors probably won’t be overwhelmed if you choose to add a little (don’t go overboard, though!) It’s great with a thin slice of citrus fruit or a chunk or two of candied ginger. Or enjoy it the way I am now: hot with nothing added.
Fabulous!
Snow Dragon from Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Product Description:
Snow Dragon white tea is a fine example of what an exquisitely hand crafted what tea should be. Each dragon is twisted by hand from select downy covered leaf buds. Hints of jammy pugnency are released as the tiny snow dragons roar back to life. Repeated steeping can be yielded from this premium white tea. Careful inspection of the infused tea leaves reveals why this is such a highly respected white tea by connoisseurs.
Taster’s Review:
This is amazing. I’ve tried a lot of white teas. This is my favorite. It’s new to my list of favorites (since I’m only just now trying it), but, I truly can’t imagine coming across something better than this!
The dry leaf is so beautiful… spun into tiny spirals that look a lot like my favorite perm from the 80’s (haha!) They slowly unfurl in the hot water to create one of the palest liquors I’ve seen: a very pale, golden amber. Gorgeous! And because they unfurl so slowly, they beg for multiple infusions (I managed 6 flavorful infusions from the same leaves!)
I am finding it difficult to come up with descriptive words for this tea, because every time I take a sip, words escape me! All that I can think is “wow! this is so good!”
But I shall try to tell you what I’m tasting.
Even though the liquor is incredibly light, the flavor is intense and complex. Light… but intense. If that makes sense! (Yes, this tea is so good that I’m finding myself writing in rhyme.)
At the start of the sip, a delicate sweetness greets the palate, and then without warning the palate is hit with a pungent floral quality that is sharp, slightly bitter and sweet all at the same time. There is an underlying tone of fruit that begins to come to the surface just after that pungency subsides just a little, and becomes a sweet yet savory kind of taste.
For being so light-bodied and a white tea at that… this tea really loads the palate full of flavor!
I LOVE this tea and I want more!