Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2012
Production Season – Spring, first day havest
Production Region – Fujian, Fuding County
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can always count on Life in Teacup to offer some of the very best teas … and this Bai Hao Silver Needle – also known as Yin Zhen – is a perfect example of what I mean by that. The dry leaves are so beautiful with the coloration ranging from pale green to silvery white, and each needle is soft and covered with fluffy fuzz. The aroma of the dry leaf is soft, with notes of flower and hay.
The flavor is delightful. On the Life in Teacup website, there is a short discussion on brewing this tea using boiling water … this is something I’ve not tried (or if I have, I don’t recall having tried it!) I’ve always used a lower temperature, but today I was feeling a little rebellious and while I wasn’t feeling quite so courageous to try boiling water, I did turn up the heat just a little, using water brought to 185° instead of the customary 160° that I usually would use for a silver needle. The flavor is stronger … but not too strong. But … it certainly is no longer the “delicate” flavor that I’d expect from a silver needle.
And while I have a great appreciation for the delicateness of a white tea, I like the slightly bolder flavor of this cup using a higher temperature. Maybe next time, I might even try boiling water on my white tea!
As it is, though, I’m finding this to be quite delightful. The flavor is sweet and vegetative … but not a green tea vegetative taste. It’s more like the flavor of sweet flowers and hay … similar to the fragrance I enjoyed from the dry leaf. There is an earthiness to this as well … and I find that the earthiness here is where I notice the biggest difference between the lower temperature and higher temperature brewing water. The earthiness really comes out with the hotter water.
There are subtle notes of fruit to this cup as well, and I notice that as I continue to sip, the fruit notes become more distinguished. Overall, the cup is sweet, refreshing and light … but with a fullness to it that I find really satisfying.
If you are one who generally finds white teas to be too soft or delicate in flavor, I recommend trying a slightly higher temperature … this really brings out the flavor, and I am not noticing any bitterness or scalded tea taste from the higher temperature.
A really enjoyable tea experience – thanks to Life in Teacup!
Vanilla Oolong Tea from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pouchong & Green Tea
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tea Description:
Discover the power of vanilla and oolong, with a little hint of orange. It’s temptingly rich. We’ve used Pouchong tea leaves, the least oxidized of oolongs, which gives it a lighter, fresher taste. Delicious and totally addictive on its own, we also love blending this with fruit flavoured teas for a touch of creamy sweetness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love vanilla flavored tea. I usually get all hyped up over a chocolate tea or a caramel tea, but when it comes right down to it, I find myself just as enamored by a vanilla tea as I am one of my “favorite” flavors. That creamy, smooth, sweet taste of vanilla just works so well with the warmth and soothing quality of the tea … it becomes such a comforting drink.
And I’m absolutely LOVING this Vanilla Oolong tea from David’s Tea. Usually, I find myself preferring a black tea base for the sweet, creamy, exotic flavor of Vanilla, but, the blend of Pouchong and green tea leaves just WORKS so well here.
The Pouchong offers a lightly sweet, creamy base that melds beautifully with the creamy tones of the vanilla. To be honest, I’m not tasting a whole lot of flavor contribution from the “green tea leaves” here, but the ingredient list says they’re there, and I can’t say that this blend would taste the same without the green tea. I do taste a slight vegetative note to this cup, but that could be from the Pouchong too.
The vanilla is the star of this show. It is creamy, sweet and just DECADENT. Accenting the vanilla notes are hints of citrus from lemon myrtle and orange flavoring. These notes are subtle and do not interfere with the other flavors, but they definitely brighten the overall cup and keep the flavors interesting and inviting … and keep them from becoming cloying or overly sweet.
This tea could easily be a substitute for a dessert … I think I’d just as soon have this as a bowl of vanilla ice cream! It is really just a heavenly vanilla treat – this tea. If you’re a fan of vanilla – you’ve got to try this!
2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha Chinese White Tea from China Cha Dao
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: China Cha Dao
Tea Description:
Fuding Ba Cha is a really healthy tea, it has the effect of medicaltreatment, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, anti-oxidation, anti-radiation & anti-tumor. We have customer with high blood pressure and this tea works out really well for him, just have a small cup everyday or every two day, is healthy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This white tea really took me by surprise! Usually when I brew a white tea, I expect it to be gentle and of subtle taste. Delicate. But this has a much stronger flavor than I expected! Yes, this 2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha Chinese White tea from China Cha Dao has a softer flavor than say, a Yunnan Black tea … but for a white tea – this tea boasts a whole lot of taste!
The flavor is vegetative, but not in the same way a green tea tastes vegetative. This is more like a crisp, light taste that reminds me of freshly cut hay … hay that isn’t quite dried through, still has a bit of that fresh, green-ness to it. There is also a taste that evokes thoughts of dew drops on new spring leaves. It has that kind of freshness to it.
There is a mild nutty flavor to this as well as a creamy note that is really quite enticing … it keeps me sipping. The tea is very beautifully complex … the kind of tea that you want to steep on a lazy afternoon when you just want to relax and contemplate the beauty of tea. (And when do you NOT want to do that? Sure, we don’t always have TIME to do that, but I think we always want to, don’t we?) It is a nice tea with which to unwind, and it is gently restorative.
A really nice tea – the first that I’ve tried from this company. If this is any indication of how wonderful the teas from this company are going to be, I’m really looking forward to tasting more!
White Leaf and Bud Single Estate White Tea from Teajo Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teajo Teas
Tea Description:
Our most delicate and subtle tea contains very little caffeine and delivers a light, smooth and nutty flavor. Harvested before the leaves fully open, this tea is one of the rarest in the world.
Taster’s Review:
I couldn’t find this White Leaf and Bud Single Estate White Tea on Teajo Teas’ website, so I don’t know if it’s still available (or perhaps, it’s just temporarily sold out) but I did want to review it because this is the first tea that I’ve tried from this company and I’m absolutely in love with the quality and flavor of this tea!
The leaves are soft and tender and whole. Lots of tea buds in this too. And each leaf and bud is covered with fuzzy, fluffy down. The color of each leaf variegates from a silvery white color to a pale green, to twinges of tan. The leaves infuse a pale golden hued liquid.
The flavor stunning! It is sweet and gentle and yet amazingly full-flavored with notes of hay and a sweet nutty flavor. It’s a slightly toasted nut flavor … as though perhaps someone had slivered some raw almonds and then put them in a warm pan to toast for a minute. Not a strong roasty flavor, but just a hint of sweet, toasty flavor. There is a freshness to this … not really “vegetative” exactly … but more like the taste of the fresh air in spring.
I’m really liking this white tea a great deal … I think what I am liking so much about it is that it is SO different from the typical Bai Mu Dan or Silver Needle. Not that I dislike those – you know I love ’em! But, sometimes, it’s nice to taste something that’s just a little different.
And what makes this tea different is that these leaves aren’t Chinese tea leaves, but Indian (from Assam!) This is a difference that is immediately noticeable in the taste from the very first sip. This has a fuller flavor than a typical Silver Needle, and even a Bai Mu Dan. The flavor is less delicate than those teas, but it still has a certain lovely delicateness to it.
A really delightful white tea … I hope that Teajo will be restocking this one!
Organic Putharjhora Green Leaf from Supple Skin Boutique
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Supple Skin Boutique
Tea Description:
The liquor has a typical lively India green tea taste. Front of the pallete flavor. The word means ‘stone streams’. Putharjhora is in the plains beneath the hills of Darjeeling, India. The Putharjhora gardens are famously home to the wild elephants.
Learn more about this green tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this two times now, the first time I brewed it, I brewed it at 175°F and for just 1 minute 30 seconds. That’s my usual “go-to” brew parameters for green teas, so I went with that. But, really, the flavor was very lacking. I was worried I had a bad batch or something. But, I didn’t give up on it, and today, I changed the parameters a bit: 160°F and a steep time of 3 minutes 30 seconds. This has made all the difference in the world!
The flavor is not just there now, but, it’s REALLY there. The difference between the two cups is like night and day! Apples and oranges! All those other cliched comparisons.
This has a very soothing quality to it. It is a very green tasting tea – that is to say, it has a grassy tone to it, but not a bitter grass taste. More like a savory grass taste, with a lovely sweet undertone. There is hints of raw spice – gentle, not spicy. Like green peppercorns or something. I also taste a slight woodsy taste to this, and a floral note. The fruity tones start off really soft – almost indistinct! But as I continue to sip, I notice the fruit flavors developing.
There is a nice astringency to this toward the finish, leaving the palate feeling clean. The aftertaste is slightly vegetative and sweet. This one is great iced too! As the tea cools, the flavors become really smooth and unified – slightly buttery taste and texture, smooth vegetative taste that is less grassy now. Overall, a very refreshing cuppa.
I guess it just goes to show you, if you are disappointed by that first cup of a new-to-you tea, don’t give up on it. Try it again, try adjusting the parameters somewhat and you may end up with a very satisfying cup of tea!