Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
My wife and I just celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. I’m a little surprised she has put up with me for that long. Anyway, she specifically requested this blend and I think it was a great suggestion. It’s something I doubt I would eat, but I don’t really care for grapefruit,however as a flavored tea, this is awesome. It’s tart and sweet and light and refreshing. Very yummy.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I was really excited to try this Grapefruit Brown Sugar Shou Mei Blend from 52Teas because I love grapefruit teas, and I’m always looking for a really good one. I’ve found a couple of grapefruit teas that I really love, but, I’m always willing to try another to make sure I’m not missing out on one that’s better!
Since this is a white tea (a Shou Mei base) I used a lower temperature to steep it. I generally go with 165°F when I steep a white tea, but with Shou Mei, I feel comfortable going as high as 175°F. I’ve heard/read several different arguments of whether a higher temperature is better for a white tea, but, for me, I find that when I keep it low and steep it for 4 minutes, this provides a flavor that I enjoy. Everyone’s palate is different, though, so I always recommend playing around with it a little, and finding the setting that works best for you. My steeping parameters for this particular pot of tea were 175°F at 4 minutes. And I have a really lovely cup of tea in front of me.
The aroma is definitely grapefruit-y to me. I allow the tea to cool for about 2 minutes. I am not sure exactly why this is, but, I have found that when I allow a couple of minutes for a tea to “set” – especially a flavored tea like this – the flavors seem to really pop.
This is actually quite tasty. I taste the grapefruit and the brown sugar notes are not quite as distinct, it just tastes sweet. But, I think that these sugar-y sweet notes help to tone down the tartness of the grapefruit. I am still getting some tart notes as well as the bright, citrus-y note of grapefruit.
I like that even though this does have the brown sugar notes in it, it doesn’t taste “candied” or overly sweet. The sweetness just seems to soften the tart notes a little. The aftertaste is very grapefruit-ish, reminiscent of the aftertaste I’d experience if I were eating a half a grapefruit sprinkled with sugar.
The Shou Mei has a sweet, earthy taste and I like the way it melds seamlessly with the grapefruit and brown sugar notes. Everything is very harmonious in this teacup.
The second infusion of these leaves provided more of a straightforward grapefruit note with less brown sugar notes. I could also taste the Shou Mei more this time around. I enjoyed both infusions. This is a tea you should definitely resteep – both infusions taste so good!
A really pleasant grapefruit tea. I don’t know that it’s the next great grapefruit tea in my search for great grapefruit teas, but, it is definitely tasty and one I’m happy to have in my stash. I think I’ll brew some of this for iced tea soon, my daughter will love it!
Passion Fruit Banana Shou Mei Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Wow! I just have to say: passion fruit is some ugly fruit. I mean, it’s just not attractive at all. I was looking for a picture of it to incorporate into my label and all I can say is that it’s a good thing it tastes better than it looks.Bananas, on the other hand, are much more appeeling. So, I decided to marry the two in our new Tea of the Week with some nice shou mei white tea. This is a tea that will make your mouth happy. Like not just pleased, but happy.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum! I agree with the above statement: this Passion Fruit Banana Shou Mei Tea from 52Teas is really making my mouth happy! The flavors of banana and passion fruit taste AMAZING together.
The Shou Mei white tea base is ideal for these fruit flavors – it’s delicate enough to allow the flavors really shine, however the flavor is not so soft that it gets pummeled by the strong fruit notes. I taste the light, sweet notes of the white tea. It’s soft, a little bit earthy and I taste a hint of creaminess from the tea too.
The real stars of this blend, though, are the fruit flavors. These two tropical flavors are made for each other. The taste is sweet and fruity (well, obviously, right?) and with the smooth, fresh, creamy taste of the white tea, it’s almost “smoothie-like.”
It tastes great hot, but I think this one is best iced: it becomes a really refreshing treat! Yeah, I know that I’ve often sang praises to 52Teas blends, but trust me when I say that for this tea, the praises are well deserved. It’s really, really YUM!
Zhejiang White Pearls from Steepster
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
Hand rolled from the earliest picked buds, this spring harvest tea is light, refreshing, and incredibly floral. A beautifully soft and golden liquor that will focus your senses and revitalize your spirits. A wonderful example of quality white tea.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had white tea pearls a couple of times in the past, but it’s been a while, so I was excited to see these Zhejiang White Pearls featured in this month’s Steepster Select Box! And these pearls are amazing!
The size of these pearls are smaller than I remember the white tea pearls that I’ve had in the past being. Size wise, these are similar to jasmine pearls – but they don’t smell like jasmine pearls! They have more of a vegetal aroma.
And they certainly don’t taste like jasmine pearls, either!
The flavor is sweet and like honey! Imagine a very thin honey! That’s what I’m drinking right now! It is very light and crisp. There are very subtle notes of melon, air, earth and a light floral tone in the background. For those of you who consider a white tea to be too delicate – you should try this one, because the flavors stand out!
Later infusions were a little earthier than the earlier infusions and a little less like thinned honey. Still sweet and the floral notes begin to emerge. Still a delightful tea, I think I preferred the first two infusions to the last two. (It’s still well worth the effort to keep on infusing!)
I am thrilled with this month’s Steepster Select box! And I want to take a moment to express how happy I am with the customer service from Steepster. I encountered some issues with my account, and they worked very hard to get these issues resolved, and when the resolution took more time and effort than expected, they sent me this month’s box free of charge to make up for my troubles. Thank you, Steepster! If you’re on the fence about trying this amazing monthly subscription, rest assured knowing that you’re in good hands with Steepster! They’ll take good care of you!
Silver Bud Ya Bao White Tea from Tea Source
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea Source
Tea Description:
This rare white tea from Yunnan is a winter-pluck tea with huge downy buds and leaves from wild growing tea trees and produces a liquor that is mellow, sweet, slightly fruity (ripe plums?), and lingers with a soft floral finish. Can also be aged, as a puer.
Learn more about this tea here.
To subscribe to Steepster Select, click here.
Taster’s Review:
I was happy to find this Silver Bud Ya Bao White Tea from Tea Source in this month’s Steepster Select box, if for no other reason than I enjoy Ya Bao teas and even though I do enjoy them, they are not often a tea that I put in my “cart” when I’m shopping for tea. It was a nice surprise to find this among this month’s tea selections.
I took this tea for a few steeps, because Ya Bao teas are one of those types of teas that the flavor develops over the course of several steeps – it’s definitely worth the effort to brew this one more than once!
The early infusions were very light in flavor. Very delicate. Sweet with hints of vegetation (on the grassy side) and notes that are reminiscent of honeydew melon. I taste a hint of nutmeg – a warm, gentle spice – with maybe a hint of white pepper. I love the subtle flavors here … although I do find myself wishing that they were a little more pronounced.
That wish was granted with the later infusions. The flavors began to develop with the second infusion, offering notes of peach and sweet, creamy notes. I am tasting less of the aforementioned spice notes now, and the vegetal notes have become more hay-like to me. This cup is sweeter and the flavors are more defined.
With the third infusion, I noticed the flavors beginning to wane and became less distinctive, which tells me that a fourth infusion may be futile. However, the three infusions that I did get from this tea, I really enjoyed them.
A really lovely Ya Bao! Thank you, Steepster, for selecting this tea for this month’s box! If you’re interested in the Steepster Select subscription program, click here to learn more.
Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
This delightful blend, with its light floral essence and smooth minty finish, is perfect as an after meal pick-me-up or as a late night elixir to refresh the mind and enhance the mood. One pot can make the night sweet and reminiscent. Share it with someone you love. INGREDIENTS: Organic White Peony, Organic Rose Petals, Organic Lavender, Organic Peppermint
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics smells so amazing! I wouldn’t have thought that mint, rose, lavender and white tea would have made such an appealing aroma, but, it’s really quite lovely. White tea and mint … perhaps. Definitely rose, lavender and white tea. But, all four together? I wouldn’t have imagined it smelling so beautiful.
And it tastes quite beautiful too!
The peppermint is the strongest flavor of the four ingredients in this tea, but I’m happy to report that it isn’t an overpowering flavor. This doesn’t taste like mouthwash or even like a piece of peppermint chewing gum. It has a light, sweet peppermint-y note that mingles in a very pleasing way with the flavors of lavender and rose and white tea.
The lavender is especially subtle here, offering just a hint of it’s calming presence. Just enough to let you know it’s there, lulling you into a relaxing state. The rose is a gentle flavor too, and it isn’t a sharp rose flavor. It’s lightly sweet and floral. The two flowers seem to mingle in such a way that it offers more of a “floral essence” than a distinct, powerful flowery taste.
And that’s good, because this IS a white tea, after all. And White Peony tea tends to be a somewhat delicate tasting tea, and if the other components to this blend were too strong, they would create a taste that was all mint and flower. I like that I can taste the white tea, it tastes fresh, light and crisp. It is a perfect base for these other three flavors.
This is a really beautiful tea that seems to instill a sense of calm. And definitely a tea with which I could easily fall in love!