Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Little Red Cup Tea’s organic White Monkey Tea is a terrific mountain-grown tea from western Hunan Province. Despite its name, White Monkey Tea is, in fact, a green tea — a function of processing — but when steeped, the tightly rolled leaves unfurl yielding a lovely golden brew more akin to white tea than anything else. It is made from the earliest leaves, still covered with downy white hairs for which the tea is named.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A lovely tea, this White Monkey Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.! The texture is what captures my attention immediately, it’s so soft and silky. It’s like a fine broth, very gentle and soothing as it floats across the palate.
The flavor is a gentle green tea flavor. The “grassy/vegetative” tones here are very subtle, much softer than in a typical green tea. This tea is called “White Monkey” not because it’s a white tea, but because the leaves have the tiny, white fuzz (similar to what you’d find on a Silver Needle tea!) But, even though it is not a white tea, it does share something in common with a white tea – it’s delicate quality.
The flavor is so delicate! And I like that! I suppose a stronger flavor could have been obtained with more leaf, or with a longer steep time (I steeped this for 2 minutes in 175°F water in my Breville One-Touch), but I like it this way – I like the gentle quality of this tea.
The sip starts with the soft texture, which gently introduces the delicate vegetative notes that are influenced by whispers of floral tones. By mid-sip, I notice a buttery flavor which complements the texture of the tea very well. The finish brings hints of a fruit like note, almost citrus-y. The aftertaste has a slightly sweet, slightly tangy note. There is very little astringency to this, and absolutely no bitterness.
This is a really nice green tea offering from Little Red Cup Tea Co., and I’m thinking it’s one of my favorites that I’ve tried thus far from them!
Tangy Grapefruit White Tea Blend from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Description:
Tangy Grapefruit White is a blend of organic Chinese Baimudan white tea, grapefruit essential oils, organic calendula petals for color, organic lemongrass, and organic lemon myrtle, brewing a true-to-life grapefruit burst.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I go into my local grocery store – Chuck’s Produce – I’m always happy to see teas from local purveyors on their shelves … like this Tangy Grapefruit White Tea Blend from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants. Of course, it makes sense to have a locally based grocery store like Chuck’s Produce to carry some of the locally crafted products like this tea, but it still makes me happy to see this store supporting local businesses.
And of course, I found the flavor intriguing, as I’m always happy to try a new grapefruit flavored tea. And while I can’t say that this is my favorite grapefruit tea that I’ve tried, it’s a really tasty grapefruit offering. I think that it might be the lemon myrtle and the lemon grass that’s throwing this off just a little bit, because I’m tasting a distinct lemon note along with the grapefruit and even a hint of lime.
Not that that’s bad, of course … lemon and lime go quite nicely with the grapefruit and add an interesting dimension of flavor. And the grapefruit notes are not lost in the presence of the other citrus tones. This is a very flavorful, tangy citrus-flavored tea. But it’s not as much grapefruit as I was expecting.
But, let’s focus on what this tea is. There is a nice Bai Mu Dan base that is sweet and offers hints of an earthy flavor. I like that contrasting note with the bright citrus tones. There is a very nice grapefruit-y flavor here that is sweet and tart. There is just a hint of that grapefruit bitterness to it too. This tastes like grapefruit and I notice that flavor before the palate picks up on the lemon and lime notes.
And I like their contributions here too. This is a very “sunny” tasting tea, and it’s quite a nice tea to be sipping on a rather dreary looking autumn day. And I don’t mean dreary looking in a bad way … this is my favorite kind of day and I like it when it’s cold and dreary! All the sunshine I need is coming from my teacup right now!
A very enjoyable tea blend. I like this hot but it’s really nice iced too!
Cotton Candy White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Premium shou mei white tea with cornflowers and organic flavors.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about Zoomdweebie’s fundraising campaign to reopen the Tea Bar here.
Taster’s Review:
I LOVE this Cotton Candy White Tea from 52Teas! Oh my goodness! It is so good!
Of course, I had no doubt whatsoever that I would … after all, I loved the Cotton Candy Black Tea that 52Teas created way back when, as well as the Cotton Candy Black Iced Tea from the Southern Boy Teas collection, so I was confident that I’d like this one too, and part of me was thinking that I’d probably even like this one better, because the delicate quality of the white tea will allow for more of the delicious cotton candy flavor to come through … and YES it definitely does just that.
The aroma of the dry leaf is interesting. I smell notes of bubble gum, flowers, and an earthy essence. It smells a bit like the cotton candy cart at the fairgrounds … imagine that the fairgrounds is downwind from a flowery field, and a gust of gentle wind rustles over the flowers and brings that fragrance to your nostrils, and you also notice hints of hay from the fairgrounds … and of course the cotton candy as it’s spinning!
The cotton candy flavor comes through so nicely here. The white tea tastes very light, and yes, I can still taste it. In fact, it isn’t at all overpowered by the flavors, instead, the flavors and the sweet, hay-like notes of the white tea meld beautifully together … like they were made for each other. This tastes just like a freshly spun puff of cotton candy at the county fair, where the scent of hay fragrances the air. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! There is an aftertaste that is vaguely reminiscent of a berry-like taste, and I find that quite enjoyable too, it’s sweet with a hint of tart, and I like the way it adds a different element for the palate to enjoy.
It is sweet but not cloying. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re not a fan of sweeter beverages, this is probably not going to be to your liking, but, it’s not as sickeningly sweet as a fountain soda. The earthiness of the white tea cuts through the sweetness just enough so that this doesn’t feel like a mouthful of sticky cotton candy (and really, that’s all that this is lacking is the sticky texture of the cotton candy … otherwise, this is like liquefied cotton candy that has been added to a cup of Shou Mei!)
It has that slightly caramelized note of the cooked and spun sugar floss, and just a hint of bubble-gummy kind of flavor that I guess kind of is interchangeable with “cotton candy” flavor. I mean, really, how does one distinguish one from another. They’re both sweet and candy-like, right?
Absolutely delicious – and a perfect tea for someone with a sweet tooth!
PS: the deadline is approaching for the fundraising campaign to help Zoomdweebies come back! Please consider contributing what you can to help, and if you can’t contribute, please help by spreading the word!
Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our premium Anji Bai Cha originates from Anji County in Zhejian Province in China and is grown at an elevation of approximately 2,900 feet. One bud and one tender leaf are utilized from the Bai Ye Yi Hao (white leaf #1) varietal to create this truly beautiful jade green tea. Anji Bai Cha translates to “Anji White Tea”. This tea is classified as green tea by process; the name refers to the color of the unprocessed tea leaves which are white and somewhat translucent in the sun. This rare tea has a short harvesting season of one month in the early spring season. Our Anji Bai Cha is sweet and buttery with vegetal notes and has a silky mouth feel. Sweet white corn and green pea notes are prominent with a gentle floral finish. The sweetness remains and lingers long after each sip. Subtle tart cherry notes can also be detected.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Butiki Teas brews up so LIGHT in color. It’s so pale, in fact, that I questioned whether or not I had put tea in the teapot! The brewed tea is almost as clear and colorless as the water that I poured into the tea kettle.
The flavor is almost as delicate as the color is … but it is beautifully sweet with notes of butter and mild vegetables. The above description suggests corn and green peas … I don’t know if I taste green peas or not (I’m not a fan of peas!) but, I definitely get hints of sweet corn.
I’m also getting the delicate floral finish that is mentioned in the description. I like the way that this starts off sweet, with a smooth texture and a buttered vegetable taste and then as the sip heads into the finish, I notice notes of flower that linger into the aftertaste.
As the tea cools slightly, the flavors begin to emerge a little more. I notice the cherry notes now. It is a sharp, tart note and when it finally did emerge … it took me by surprise. I was like … whoa! What was that? This tea definitely benefits from a couple of minutes cooling time to allow the flavors to come in to focus.
Now I am starting to notice a little more of a green vegetable kind of taste – again, I don’t know if I”d call it green pea because this is not something I eat on any kind of basis – but, I do taste a “green” kind of taste here. It’s crisp and a refreshing contrast to the sweet note of corn. I also note just a hint of a nutty kind of flavor to this.
A very enjoyable cup of tea! I would recommend this one to someone who tends to shy away from green teas because of the strong grassy notes … this is much more subtle in it’s approach. It’s a pleasant, complex cuppa – I like contemplating the complexity of this one. A nice way to spend a chilly evening!
Creamy Cacao Delight from Hale Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Hale Tea Company
Tea Description:
Creamy white cacao pretty much sums it up! Lingering white chocolate flavour and notes of vanilla bean meld naturally with subtle hints of the green and white tea at its base. This is a velvety soft tea that’s surprisingly light.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Amoda Tea has made some changes with their monthly Tea Tasting Box, and it sounds to me like these changes may be for the better! First of all, the amount of tea will be less per tea – which is fine by me because I am more of a taster than one who likes to keep large amounts of tea on hand. Second … the cost of the monthly box is less! I can live with that! Ha! Finally, Amoda will no longer be selling the tea to the public … oh, they’ll still assemble the boxes, but if you want more of any particular tea after sampling it, you’ll be forwarded to the tea company that sells the tea to order directly from them.
So far, I’m really happy with these changes!
For the month of September, the featured tea company is Hale Tea Company. The first tea that I chose to sample from this company is Creamy Cacao Delight, because … well, did you happen to see the word Cacao in the name? Yeah, I like that word. That word says to me that this tea will be a yummy, chocolate-y tea. And that brings a big smile to this chocoholic’s face!
The aroma of the dry leaf is deliciously creamy with vanilla top notes and notes of chocolate. My mouth started watering the moment I opened the pouch! Once brewed, I notice less of the vanilla tones and more of the chocolate-y notes.
The flavor … oh my goodness! This is yum. As I’ve mentioned before (even in this article!) I’m a chocoholic. But, white chocolate … doesn’t always do it for me. I’d much rather have dark chocolate. I generally find white chocolate to be too sweet, and I enjoy the contrast of bitter and sweet in a darker chocolate. But … I’m liking the sweet creamy notes here just fine!
There is a lovely balance between vanilla and chocolate notes to provide a very rich, creamy, decadent taste. The white tea and green tea provide a nice base for the chocolate flavors, because it doesn’t overwhelm the chocolate, but it’s also not allowing itself to be overpowered. I taste both teas – the green tea is fresh and vegetative and the white tea has a crispness to it, as well as a hay-like note that tastes really quite nice with the white chocolate tones.
And as the description above suggests, the overall tone to this cup is light. It isn’t a heavy feel on the palate, and this I like because even though it’s white chocolate … it’s a flavor that I often find “too much” because it is a very sweet form of chocolate-y taste. The lightness allows the goodness of white chocolate to come through without all that heavy sweetness.
This is a light, sweet, delicious way to experience a balance between vanilla and chocolate. YUMMY! And … this one must be resteeped! The chocolate-y flavors really intensify with the second steeping.