Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
New Spring 2012 Harvest!
This jasmine makes us understand what jasmine is all about. It starts with a silky smooth silver needle white tea from Yunnan with notes of cinnamon sweetness. Jasmine blossoms are scattered around the tea while drying for several nights in a row, and removed in the morning to be replaced by fresh blossoms, scenting the tea in the traditional method. The result is a perfectly integrated flavor, that starts off with the textures of a white tea, and sweetness drawn out and extended by a silky jasmine aroma. Continue steeping this out, and an intriguing apricot jam flavor starts to come out and compliment the subtle spice of the yunnan white. In later steepings there is even the slightest hint of pine needle.
ICED: Perfumed florals are more potent, with an exquisite silky texture and notes of melon and banana fruit salad.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was so pleased to sample this tea. I was surprised at the first flavor note I tasted being that of nut, rather than jasmine. Interesting because I have not really noticed anyone else picking up on that in other reviews, and it is not listed on the Verdant site as being a flavor note in the tea. Everyone experiences their tea in their own way though. I find the jasmine to be natural and light in the first steeping. A light sweetness and a slight rock mineral quality, but no one note is standing out in the first steep beyond the nutty flavor I am now so focused on. The mouthfeel is creamy, and the cup color is very pale yellow, almost beige, and quite clear. The after flavor is somewhat vegetal but only so slightly, more like a green tea than the after taste of a white, but lovely. Everything about this steep is slight, delicate, gentle. Now I am not saying I detect absolutely no jasmine in the flavor, I do, but even then it is faint and does not make me declare this a strong jasmine tea. I think however that is what is so lovely about this cup, the jasmine is so natural that it does not make you feel assaulted by its note. Toward the end of the cup of this first steep I am beginning to pick up on hints of a baked sugar confection flavor. Quite enjoyable!
In the second steep more of the notes come forward and the color of the brew is slightly darker. There are some lightly cinnamon notes but to me they come over as more like a black pepper which is delightful and awakens the senses. This note is detectable both in the aroma and flavor. Fruity notes are also coming forward which taste like red and blue berries. The sugar notes develop more as the cup cools. Jasmine is still of course a flavor note that is present but unlike many jasmine teas this one does not come over like grandma’s perfume! For those who have experienced a jasmine before and hated it – you must know that not all jasmine teas are created equal. There is a distinct difference between one that is done well and one that is not. This is done to perfection. A natural jasmine will taste, and for that matter smell far different than an artificial one. I leaned this long before my tea journey through natural perfumery and essential oil training. There is nothing quite like true jasmine.
Steep three evokes somewhat of a savory flavor palate with the citrus and linen notes in the background. There is a light drying sensation now on the tongue with grapefruit and orange notes. I am also detecting an oregano flavor. This is quite pleasing and surprising! I was not expecting the savory notes.
I am going to get many more steeps out of this tea!
All in all – a wonderful experience! I enjoyed this tea while listening to a Reiki CD and it was such a glorious way to welcome a new day!
Wild Raspberry Pu-erh from The Whistling Kettle
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh & White Tea Blend
Where to Buy: The Whistling Kettle
Tea Description:
This Pu-Erh is flavorful, mild and with an addition of silver needles, makes a great iced tea. Dr. Oz has recommended this tea as a way to help lose weight. Pu-Erh also help reduce cholesterol and great after a meal to help “cut the grease”. Pu-Erh has probiotic properties no other type of tea has.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As those of you who read this blog pretty regularly are probably aware, I’ve pretty much come around when it comes to Pu-erh. There was a time when I DID NOT like Pu-erh … or at least I didn’t think I did. I was even “afraid” of Pu-erh, so much so that when someone would send me some in a swap package, I’d send it off to someone else without even tasting it! And that REALLY doesn’t sound like me, does it? But it’s true.
Now, I’m not afraid of Pu-erh any more, although I do often cringe when I receive Pu-erh … worried that I will have a bad experience with it. But truth be told, I have far more positive experiences with Pu-erh than negative ones. The negative experiences are indeed very few and very far between!
This Pu-erh blend … is amazing. And let me just say that if my first tasting of Pu-erh tasted anything like this … I would not have been so afraid of Pu-erh for so many years! This is so good!
The raspberry notes are sweet with just a twinge of tartness to them – just enough to make it taste like a true berry taste. There are hints of flower in the blend as well as a softness. Soft is generally not a flavor I associate with Pu-erh so this is a characteristic I attribute to the white tea. The white tea really offers little else to this blend, other than some visual interest to the dry leaf. As I taste this, there isn’t a moment when I can say definitively “there’s the white tea.” However, I don’t think that this blend would be quite the same without the white tea in it. It adds something … a creaminess, perhaps?
However, the Pu-erh offers the majority of the flavor here. And while it does have that distinctive Pu-erh earthiness, it is slight. Instead, this simply tastes rich and mellow and smooth. Almost like coffee, but without the bitterness of coffee.
A very enjoyable tea from the Whistling Kettle … and it’s a good one!
Silver Needle Bai Hao (Wu Yi Qu Hao) From In Nature
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: In Nature
Tea Description:
Silver Needle Bai Hao white tea is possibly the most natural form of tea. It is only made from the buds, picked when they are at their most tender.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf doesn’t really look like any Silver Needle that I’ve ever seen before. I see Silver Needles in there, but, then I also see larger leaves in there, darker leaves that look a bit like Bai Mu Dan, and perhaps even some Shou Mei. Like a blend of at least the two, and possibly all three of these types of white tea. The aroma is soft and reminiscent of fresh air and hay. The brewed tea has a slight vegetative scent to it, and is a pale golden color – a bit darker than I’d expect from a typical Silver Needle.
The flavor is very nice – but again, it doesn’t taste to me like other Silver Needle teas that I’ve tasted. Silver Needle tea is usually quite delicate. And while this does have a certain delicate quality to it, it has a fuller, rounder taste. It really doesn’t taste like a Silver Needle, but then again, it doesn’t taste like the Bai Mu Dan or Shou Mei teas that I’ve tried in the past either. This has a unique and wonderful flavor all it’s own.
It is a very crisp flavor with a fair amount of astringency. The layers of flavor reveal vegetative notes, nutty tones and hints of flower and fruit – almost an apple-like taste with a hint of honeysuckle. There is even a hint of malt to this – almost like the flavor of infused hops.
I enjoyed this hot, but I think I liked it even better as it cooled. It was very refreshing, and the tang of astringency toward the tail was very uplifting. Not quite what I expected from a Silver Needle tea, but, I am enjoying it nonetheless.
Organic Silver Needle from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Reserve White Tea with a sublime, sweet flavor and a rich, savory finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I did not find this particular Silver Needle on the Rishi website, I hope that it will be back in stock soon, because it is fabulous!
I chose to brew this cup in my gaiwan. The leaves were so fluffy and soft, I just couldn’t bear to put them in anything other than my gaiwan, I wanted to enjoy these properly!
The aroma of the brewed cup is sweet, reminiscent of the fragrance of fresh hay in the clean, country air. (Yes, I’ve smelled this. I may live in a city now, but for most of my adolescence I lived in a small farming community town on a ranch, and I have a lot of experience with hay!) It smells so clean and crisp and beautifully sweet.
And that’s very much what I taste, too: a clean, crisp kind of flavor, fresh and slightly vegetal, with a hint of spice that arrives toward the finish to give it a savory kind of quality. It is remarkably sweet and full of flavor, which is a little surprising as Silver Needle teas can sometimes be on the delicate side. I do not find this tea to be delicate … at least, not in the sense of being softly flavored. It has a delicate complexity though, with hints of flavors that seem to quickly present themselves to the palate and disappear almost as rapidly, causing the taste buds to perk up and say: “what was that?”
I like that about Silver Needle tea, the overall cup may not always be delicate, but the nuances are often delicate in the way they present themselves.
I also like that this is an organic tea – as are all of Rishi’s teas! I appreciate that they’ve set that kind of standard for themselves, so I know that when I’m tasting a Rishi Tea, I know that I’m getting a high quality, organic product.
And … if you haven’t done so yet, I highly recommend checking out their teaware … they are almost as drool worthy as the pages of tea that Rishi has available!
Silver Needle White Tea from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
A very precious and delicate tea characterized by the fine white hairs on the leaf. This beautiful white tea is only harvested for a couple of days each spring. It produces a rich body and savory aroma. Rich in antioxidants, as well as other extremely healthful minerals, white teas are less astringent than green teas with all of the same benefits. Its light and smooth flavor make it ideal for accompanying food, or soothing in the evening due to its lower level of caffeine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ah! What a sweet and refreshing tea!
I’ve tasted quite a few Silver Needle teas, and even though I’ve had quite a bit of experience with this type of tea, it never ceases to surprise me just how much flavor can be found in this delicate tea. Light? Yes. Delicate? Yes. Void of flavor? Absolutely NOT!
These Silver Needles are very soft and covered in tiny hairs. I love touching them before brewing them, they’re velvety and soft … like a cloud made of plush fur. The texture of the brewed tea exhibits this same luxurious softness with its silky smooth mouthfeel.
The flavor is incredible. It has a sweetness that permeates every moment of the sip, while a complex set of flavors play upon the palate, from grassy and hay-like tones, to hints of spice and wood, to an airy kind of flavor that evokes thoughts of the air I would breathe if I were taking a hike through the woods in the spring.
Another exceptional tea offering from Mandala Tea. I’ve been very impressed with their dedication to quality!