A couple of years ago my daughter and her husband treated me to dinner at a restaurant new to me – P. F. Changs. They asked me to choose the tea and since tangerines have such a bright, fresh flavor, this was my choice.
A small cast iron pot was brought to the table and there was a large bag in it steeping. We all poured a cup and more hot water was brought and we resteeped that bag and I fell for the tea. So did my daughter, who even went online and ordered the exact cast iron pot they used because we just had to.
At the time, I didn’t what company made it, but I perused the menu and recognized the names of some of the other teas on offer and assumed they would source from just one company. But when I went online to the Revolution website there was no Tangerine White listed!
I called their customer service line and got some great help. It turned out this flavor was made especially for wholesale clients but they offered to ask for special permission to sell me a case. Revolution – “Ma’am, a case is a LOT of tea.” Me – “You don’t scare me!” (The words of a hopeless tea addict on fire for the latest passion.)
A week later a case of Tangerine White is at my door and family and friends are lining up to take some home since a whole case is a little extreme even for me, especially since I already had about 150 teas on hand already.
What’s so great about it? I have a small cast iron pot and I can put the bag in and steep just ONE BAG for the whole pot PLUS resteep it. Easy peasy.
Also, it tastes great. When I was a kid, we pretty much only got tangerines at Christmas in our stockings. So they taste like happiness to me. This tea makes me smile. Fresh tangerine and hallelujah nothing else. They didn’t feel compelled to add the usual done to death spices with the citrus. It is fresh and light and wonderful. It tastes refreshing in summer and brightens a winter day. The tangerine flavor tastes natural and isn’t overwhelming or sour, it is just right. And the white base is the tiniest bit brisk…or is that the citrus?…and nicely balanced.
The happiest news is that this flavor has been added to the regular retail line up now and you, yes, you, can order JUST ONE BOX if you wish! And people won’t look at you and shake their heads as you desperately rearrange your cabinets to make room for your remaining half case.
By the way, I don’t make it by their recommendations. I go with my usual 185F for three minutes as I do most white tea. Try it both ways and see what you like best.
P.S. – It is not surprisingly sold out at the time of this writing, but will hopefully be back in stock before my stash gets too low!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Revolution Tea
Description
This healthy, light, fragrant tea bursts with the flavor of juicy, fresh-picked tangerines and provides high amounts of antioxidants.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Gingerly Peach/Storehouse Tea. . . .
I have had a few peach teas and one or two were ginger peach varieties. Some of them slap you in the face with a powerful ripe, juicy peach flavor and then burn your tongue with ginger. Sneaky devils.
I am not the world’s biggest fan of ginger but I like it in small amounts, whether in beverages or recipes. I just don’t like for things to get too hot. (My neighbor would love a big hunk of ginger with ghost pepper sauce and eat it while it is on fire. Soooo not me.)
When I had some stomach issues I took to eating ginger candy and drinking honey with ginger, and I grew a little more used to it but still wasn’t a fan of the heat. But a sniff of the dry leaves of this organic white tea blend had me intrigued and eager to taste it. The scent was mild and smooth, and the ginger very well behaved. The peach was just a light, fruity background scent, no face slapping here. The lemon added a little sparkle. I swear I thought I even smelled a hint of vanilla. That could be coming from the jasmine and calendula.
The steeped liquor is deep golden color and good gravy what is happening to me? Ginger is the dominant flavor, but I keep going back for more. It’s not that you can’t taste the ginger. I still find it to dominate the cup. It does have a little heat, but the heat is juuuuuuust right. And the other flavors in this make a nice base for the ginger. The peach is pretty subtle compared to some I have had, but it is pairing oh so nicely with the ginger. And my dodgy tummy is enjoying this ever so much more than my former tummy rescue drink of honey crystals and ginger. Well, I guess it is my mouth enjoying it more, but my tummy is grateful!
Will it resteep? Oh joy! Joy! It does resteep…superbly! The second batch is still a nice deep golden color. The light dry briskness of the white tea, with the lemon possibly playing a part, is making me want more and more! I have already iced a glass for supper, and the taste I sneaked promises that this is good both ways!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Storehouse Teas
Description
Delicate, honey like white tea blended with mouth-watering peach and ginger rejuvenates both body and mind. This is one of our most popular white tea offerings. This tea is excellent as a relaxing hot beverage or served as a refreshing iced tea. White tea contains the highest antioxidant level of all teas.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Light Side from Geek+Tea. . . .
Tea just goes with geeks. Or maybe geeks go with tea. Either way, if you get a bunch of tea lovers together you are likely to find a high proportion of geeks, or at least people who are really passionate about more than just tea.
Geek+Tea caters to this group of tea lovers with fandom blends for nearly everyone. Being a Star Wars geek myself and mother to a 501st member, I was pretty excited to try Light Side, even though the Dark Side allegedly has cookies and would probably be more up my alley.
This is an organic Bai Mu Dan with blueberries, blue cornflower, Scotch heather, and elderberries. Of all those ingredients, there is only one that is completely new to me – Scotch heather. It can be a bit of a challenge to describe an ingredient you have never tasted when it is blended with other ingredients, but I will do my best.
First of all, I have had a few blueberry teas that are quite delicious but taste like grape Dimetapp. While this well-known antihistamine is indeed delicious and candy-like, it is not quite like real blueberries.
I found this tea to be more…believable. The white tea is organic, the blueberries are the real deal, the elderberries I recognize from my sambucus concoctions, so… that remaining hay flavor must be from the heather. Although many white teas have a hay flavor, Bai Mu Dan is more floral, so I must credit the heather. I searched sites selling pure heather tea for a description and didn’t get an adequate one, just a statement that it tasted like regular tea but milder, which I am not finding here.
Fun fact: The tea steeped up blue, and surprisingly with such light and natural ingredients, it resteeped quite handily and the second pot was as strong as the first. I also tried it cold since they remark that it makes a naturally sweet cold drink and I enjoyed it that way. It is a light sweetness and nothing like the Southern sweet tea I grew up on, which is nearly syrup. This is something light and natural, and thanks to the natural ingredients, you can drink up without guilt, more like the ready made unsweet or lightly sweetened teas that are the rage now in health food stores.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Geek + Tea
Description
… and 43,300 light years from the Galactic Core covered in dense woodlands, tall mountains and savannah, you will find a foreign forest moon filled with fresh, crisp scents and floral breezes in the morning fog of Endor.
An infusion of Bai Mu Dan white tea and organic herbs, the Light Side is an exotic blend of blueberry and scotch heather and is relaxing as a hot tea, and comes out wonderfully sweet when iced
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ginger Peach Snowcone from T by Daniel. . . .
Ginger and peach are both popular tea flavors. Two flavors that can also be quite hit or miss. Here the two are paired on a white tea, something that can also be hit or miss. Ginger Peach Snowcone by T by Daniel is a hit.
Normally when it comes to tea with ginger, I always want a ginger burn. This tea has no burn but I think that is for the best. It is like a mix of fuzzy peaches sprinkled with some ginger flavor. A little sweet and slightly spiced. The best of both worlds to keep things in check. Both flavors come through while also being harmoniously blended and that’s what makes this tea great. It’s also what makes this ginger great even without the burn. The white tea is a bit roasty to compliment the other flavors.
T by Daniel is a Canadian company that has been around for as long as I have been drinking tea. They have a cute gimmick, displaying all their teas on their site in cute bow ties to compliment the bow ties they also sell online. They have some interesting blends and so far the ones I have tried have been enjoyable. One day soon I will probably crack and place an order with them, if for no other reason than I will want more of this tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: T by Daniel
Description
There’s nothing more refreshing than a snowcone. It’s chilly goodness, perfect shape and icy texture reminds you of childhood fun.Combining the bite of ginger and the sweetness of peach, we blended this White Monkey Chinese Tea, to get you reminiscing and sipping on some healthy magic. Detox and relax with this blood purifying concoction that can be brewed hot or iced!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blueberry White from Adagio Teas. . . .
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!