Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Tea Description:
Our Mutan white tea is an unusual tea, comprised of silvery, downy buds and green leaves. The buds are hand picked before the leaf opens, then gently steamed. The brew is delicate and mellow, with a light pale color.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This China Mutan White Tea from Mark T. Wendell is excellent! The leaves are soft, covered with lots of silvery fuzz and they aren’t crumbly or brown. They are pale green and silver, the way a high quality white tea should be.
The flavor is delicate, as is to be expected from a white tea, but, don’t mistake that for “lack of flavor” because this tea certainly doesn’t lack anything. It’s pleasantly sweet, with a mild, hay-like quality that is slightly vegetative. It has a gentle earthiness to it.
And one of the things that keep me going back to white teas like this one is that they continue to produce flavor beyond that first pot of tea. Keep steeping those leaves! I found that the second and third pots of tea were even more flavorful than the first.
It’s a nice cup of tea to enjoy after a meal, because I find white tea to be not only soothing and calming, but also it cools down the palate a little bit which is nice after something on the spicy side.
Mark T. Wendell is one of those companies that simply DELIVERS when it comes to high quality product!
White Chrysanthemum Tea from Teasenz
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Flower
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tisane Description:
Soothing, calming and refreshing. You may have sampled chrysanthemum tea in Chinese restaurants. Now, Teasenz brings you the highest grade of chrysanthemum tea available in China. Our white chrysanthemum tea is a truly lovely flower tea that just can’t be resisted.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
The picture above shows you exactly what I saw when I opened the package of this White Chrysanthemum Tea from Teasenz. Lots of big, dry white chrysanthemum blossoms! They’re whole blossoms, not dust or particles, and they range in size from about the size of a dime to the size of a quarter in diameter.
The aroma isn’t as pleasant to my nose as say, a jasmine or a rose tea. Then again, I’d much rather smell a bouquet of fresh roses or jasmine flowers to a bouquet of chrysanthemums. I just happen to prefer the fragrance of roses and/or jasmine blossoms.
But the tea produced from steeping these chrysanthemums is absolutely lovely! It’s a pale yellow-ish color liquid, and the flavor is quite pleasant. It has a sweet taste, almost honey-esque in flavor. It’s quite soothing to sip. The flavor is (obviously!) floral, but it’s kind of an herbaceous flowery taste. If I were to compare it to more “popular’ flower teas, I would say that this tastes more like a chamomile tea than a rose tea.
That said, I’d much prefer to sip a chrysanthemum tea over a chamomile, as I do find the flavor of the chrysanthemum more to my liking. The herbaceous tones remind me vaguely of straw. Like dried straw. And there is a slight earthiness that goes along with the straw-like flavor.
Overall, I found this to be a very refreshing, tasty cup of tea. A really pleasant change of pace!
Fujian Pear White Tea Blend from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
Delicate white tea with a light pear fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Fujian Pear White Tea Blend from Shanti Tea is easily one of the best tasting pear teas I’ve had the opportunity to sample. It’s sweet, juicy and very much like a ripe, delicious pear.
The white tea base is subtle and is a delightful “pear” for the delicate notes of the fruit. (Please excuse the “pun” … I couldn’t resist!) The white tea allows the softer nuances of the pear to come through and be tasted. The tea is gentle tasting, smooth and earthy.
And the pear has a very authentic, true-to-the-fruit flavor. Based on my experience as a tea reviewer as well as my experience as a tea artist, I know that the true flavor of pear is a difficult flavor to capture. It doesn’t always end up tasting “just right.” It usually ends up tasting either so sweet that it’s cloying and confectionery, or it’s so subtle that when combined with the tea, the pear notes just don’t come through in a way that it is undoubtedly pear.
But Shanti has managed to bring out the flavor of pear without sacrificing the flavor of the tea! It’s a well-crafted balance. I like this served hot best, I find that as the tea cooled, the tea notes softened somewhat and that aforementioned balance is thrown off just a bit. It’s still quite good cold, but, much tastier hot!
An exceptional pear flavored tea!
Organic White Monkey Green Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Organic green tea with white downy tips. Chinese green tea grown on the slopes of the Taimu mountains in the Fuijian province of China.
A light cup with a slightly natural sweetness from the green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the pouch of this Organic White Monkey Green Tea from Kally Tea, I could smell the vegetative notes immediately, along with a sweet note, and a hint of floral notes in the background. It smelled really lovely, like a sunny spring morning.
The flavor I first noticed with my first sip was a sweet, nutty note. Having tried a few White Monkey teas in the past, I found myself trying to recall if I normally experienced a nutty flavor. The aroma of the dry leaf suggests a somewhat leafy or grassy taste, but, it’s not there. I don’t get a strong “vegetal” note here. In fact, I think that this would be an excellent tea for those who are new to green tea and just a little bit intimidated by the grassy taste of some other green teas out there.
The floral notes are also not as pronounced as I expected them to be. Instead, I’m tasting a sweet, buttery and nutty flavor at the start of the sip. When I slurp the sip, I even pick up on some hints of cacao! Lovely!
Overall, this is a pleasant, delicate tasting tea. Toward the finish, I notice a slight fruity note – it is sweet and complements the nutty tones well. A nice complexity, and I like that I’m not picking up on any bitterness or astringency to this. It’s just a mild, relaxing cuppa!
1000 Cranes White Tea Blend from Zenjala Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Zenjala Tea Company
Tea Description:
Bai Mu Dan white tea, strawberry pieces, rose petals, and coconut shred – an unusual and satisfying blend.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw the ingredient list for this 1000 Cranes White Tea blend from Zenjala Tea Company, I was intrigued. It seemed like a really unique blend: strawberries and coconut, rose and Bai Mu Dan tea.
Visually, it’s a really beautiful blend. The white tea leaves are some of the freshest looking Bai Mu Dan leaves I’ve yet to see! They vary in color from light green to pale beige and each leaf is covered in tiny, soft white down. The rose petals are plentiful in the blend, and it makes for a very pretty contrast with the white tea leaves. I also see lots of coconut pieces and bits of dried berry.
The aroma of the dry leaf is very nice – I smell roses and berries and coconut! The brewed liquid has a much softer scent, but I still smell the rose. The pale, golden liquid also has a slight earthy note to it, reminding me of the fragrance I might experience if I were to walk through a garden of roses after a light rainfall.
The flavor is quite pleasant. The rose and berry are the two strongest flavors, and I notice a soft, creamy coconut note coming through about mid-sip. The flavor of the white tea is present throughout the sip as well, offering a slight earthy, hay-like flavor that mingles with the other flavors in an agreeable way.
I like that I taste the white tea and as I continue to sip, the flavors of the white tea emerge more. This tea is not all about the flavoring, and one might think it would be, what with the strong notes of strawberry and rose, but, this tea is not just a celebration of fruit and flower, but also Bai Mu Dan!
So far, I’ve tried a couple of teas from this company, and I’ve been very satisfied with what I’ve tried. I look forward to trying more from them in the future!