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!