The Adagio website lists a Blueberry White tea, which is what my package says, and a white blueberry tea, but scrutinizing the website I believe my tea is the Fresh Portions – Single Serve Packet. It is loose tea, and it does say Blueberry White on the packet and not the other way around. I am guessing the two are the same product with different packaging.
There is a LOT of leaf in this package but white tea is lightweight and fluffy, so I trusted them that this is the right amount for one cup. The white tea leaves are broken pieces of green and light brown, so I am guessing this is a Bai Mu Dan. It is similar in appearance to shou mei, but color and flavor seem to say otherwise, so I will stick with Bai Mu Dan.
What you get is a light and smooth cup of white tea with – in my opinion – just the right amount of blueberry flavor. The aroma is very natural. This isn’t the super grape-y blueberry flavor that I find a little unbelievable but a more natural, more realistic blueberry flavor. I added no sweeteners and found it to go down quite easily with no astringency or grassiness.
A nice bonus is that I got three steeps out of these leaves with the third having good color and still some light fruit flavor, making the price for the individual Fresh Portions a little more palatable, so keep that in mind as you weigh convenience against cost. Whenever possible, I purchase for the most responsible environmental impact that I can, so I would go for loose leaf in bulk, but if you need to carry good, loose leaf tea with you and want an easy to transport, pre-measured portion, this is a good option. I enjoyed all three steeps.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
This tea blends together the taste of juicy blueberries with premium white tea from Fujian province, China. Very fragrant, like freshly harvested ‘highbush’ blueberries (the aromatic variety). Soft, rounded mouthfeel with a clean, refreshing finish. A customer favorite, this tea is delectable both hot and cold. Full-leaf tea in portable, individually wrapped bags – superior taste and maximum convenience.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vanilla Bergamot from DAVIDs Tea. . .
“An elegant white tea…” is how DAVIDsTEA describes this Vanilla Bergamot tea but personally I wouldn’t describe the scum ring and oil drops on the surface of my mugs as “elegant”. That’s just me but maybe the flavor will show some of its elegance as opposed to the look.
I made this white tea mixed with apple, white chocolate, rose petals, vanilla, bergamot peel, and flavoring as a strawberry milk latte and a plain tea.
Despite the clearly visible drops of oil in the strawberry milk latte, the tea is creamy and smooth. The mouthfeel is soft, not slick and the sweetness of the strawberry milk really compliments the velvety vanilla and bright bergamot of the cup. At times the citrus of the bergamot gets so crisp it borders on bitter but between the prep method, the white chocolate and the gentle rose, it is kept in check. Though for those that tend to fear the blerg, this might still be too much for your tastes.
The plain hot cup is where I found the scum ring from the white chocolate, I’m assuming. Though the mouthfeel isn’t oily, it’s not really creamy either and since it doesn’t seem that the white chocolate contributes much, I don’t see why it is needed. What is contributing a lot is the bergamot, the brisk bergamot. Vanilla whisps float through but it’s the bergamot that’s hogging the limelight. The rose and apple also get their brief shot in the spotlight, adding a floral note that is a bit drying on top of the bergamot and the signature apple sweetness that so many DAVIDsTEA blends have, respectively.
Well, it seems the elegance comes through when made as a strawberry milk latte but the beauty is lost when the tea is made plain. Lose the white chocolate and perhaps tone down the bergamot and this could be a winner but as it is, I would say latte, preferably with strawberry milk, is the only way to go. It gives this tea just a little boost to take it from “meh” to “mmm”.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for white teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Heirloom Bartlett Pear from Harney and Sons. . .
I get really excited when Harney and Sons announces new teas. I got my introduction to whole leaf tea with their Royal English Breakfast, Paris, and Golden Monkey. I almost feel like they should let me know FIRST when they are adding something to their catalog. So I was super excited when I got an email a while back about four new flavored teas.
I love my single plantation pure teas, but I also love flavored teas and serve them to guests often. Of the four new teas, I was most captured by the description of this one – silvery Mutan leaves, pieces of pear, apple, and peach, plus nutmeg and two kinds of cinnamon.
The golden tea smells warm and rich. Even though it is desperately hot outside right now, the nutmeg aroma puts me in a holiday mood and makes me dream of serving this in fall and winter this year. As I drink it, I hear the wind blow in a cold front, and leaves crunching underfoot, then I see the table set for Thanksgiving, and hear the chatter of people gathered for Christmas. Bliss.
They say this tastes of crisp Bartlett pear, and I supposed it does, but even on a good day pear is a very, very mild flavor to me. The apple serves to enhance the pear flavor but I simply can not discern the peach, which is good because I would rather pear tea taste like pear tea. The nutmeg is fabulous, just right, and perfectly balanced. The cinnamons are not overpowering but give the impression of a perfectly spiced warm cobbler. And yet the white tea flavor doesn’t get buried in all this!
If you have tried white tea and thought it just tasted like a cup of hay water (which I happen to like), I would encourage you to try this tea and change your mind. There are wonderful layers of flavor here, and this is a definite re-purchase for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Heirloom Bartlett Pear tea is a fruit-filled lovesong to the light, sweet leaves of Mutan white tea and crisp flavors of Bartlett pears. The silvery white and green Mutan leaves mingle with delicately succulent pieces of pear, apple, and peach. Spice notes of nutmeg and two kinds of cinnamon add a touch of zing. The result is a multifaceted, beautifully layered infusion that’s light and warming in every cup.
Ingredients:
White tea, pear pieces, apple pieces, peach pieces, pear flavor, nutmeg, cinnamon, white cornflowers, peach flavor. Contains natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Candied Chestnut from The Tea Spot
The Tea Spot is one of those places you just know you are always in for a treat when you check out their blends. I recently had a subscription to their monthly tea plan and this lovely was part of one of the shipments.
Candied Chestnut is a blend of white tea, jasmine flowers, and chestnut flavorings, a unique gathering of teas for sure. I wasn’t sure about the chestnut piece but the rest- I’m always ready for a white jasmine tea.
Per the steeping parameters for this tea- I boiled water and allowed the water to cool for 3 minutes. Then I poured my water into my tea pot and allowed the tea to steep for 3 minutes. While I was waiting, I was for sure picking up the gorgeous floral notes coming from my tea pot. I couldn’t wait to dive in.
First sip and I have to say this tea is unique. At the beginning of each sip, you for sure get the floral notes, towards the middle of the sip, there is this nutty undertone that starts to announce its presence and towards the finish there is the familiar soft tendrils of a white tea base mingling with that nutty flavoring. I really did enjoy that floral sweet nutty twist this white tea blend is yielding. I can’t say I picked up chestnut or really a candied chestnut, but this unique flavor has me gulping this tea down cup after cup.
This is one of those amazing no nonsense teas. Simple yet full of flavor. What I love the most about this blend is that I get the best of both worlds- my beloved white tea and my jasmine but with a nutty twist.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
flDescription
This tea is not currently on the website but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
Strawberry? Yum. Champagne? Yum. Cupcake? YUUMM! So when A Quarter to Tea put those all together and made it basically calorie-free, you can bet your Aunt Fanny I was all over it.
The dry leaf is interesting because somehow the smell, though mostly smelling of strawberry candy, also manages to capture the sparkling effervescence of champagne. Don’t ask me how you can smell effervescence because I honestly have no idea but trust me, you can.
Because of the scent of the dry leaf, I was all the more excited to try the tea itself. At first sip, I was in love as the bright strawberry flavor burst in my mouth. However, my excitement might have led me to be a bit hasty with my affections because as I continue to drink, I have to admit that I am actually underwhelmed. Turns out the strawberry, though slightly present in the flavor of the tea, is far more noticeable in smell. The white tea is a little buttery but also floral and other than that, the only hint of “cupcake” I can detect is a fluffiness from the marshmallow root. Unfortunately, no champagne to be found.
The nice thing about this tea is that it manages to only be slightly sweet for a tea with a name like “Strawberry Champagne Cupcake”. However, that is also it’s downfall as it doesn’t exactly deliver on what’s promised.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is not currently available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
