Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fashionista Tea
Tea Description:
Organic Chinese green tea, lightly fired to maintain silvery tips, traditionally scented with jasmine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve last had a jasmine tea! It really hasn’t been all that long, but, whenever I do sip on a jasmine tea, I can’t help but wonder why has it been so long since I’ve had jasmine! I love jasmine tea so … it’s one of those teas of which I never tire.
And this Organic White Tip Jasmine Green Tea from Fashionista Tea is an amazing jasmine!
I’ve read tasting notes from those who don’t like jasmine teas … and jasmine is one of those teas that can either be very right or very, very wrong. It is important that the tea be scented with jasmine rather than being flavored with it. And there is a distinct difference. A scented jasmine tea is one that was processed by layering the newly harvested tea leaves with jasmine blossoms so that the tea leaves can absorb the essence of the jasmine flower. A scented jasmine tea tastes like the jasmine flower without tasting like perfume. It has a lovely floral quality that is exquisitely sweet and exotic.
A flavored jasmine is one that has been flavored using an oil. The jasmine oil imparts a very perfume-y quality to the leaves, and the result often ends up tasting like you’re sipping on perfume. I don’t know about you, but sipping on perfume isn’t my idea of a tasty cuppa!
THIS jasmine tea tastes like a scented jasmine – with a light, lovely, sweet floral quality that does not taste perfume-ish whatsoever. It is smooth and refreshing. The sweet, vegetative tones of the green tea comes through nicely. There is a slightly dry astringency to the tea … it is very mild. This is truly a perfect balance of flower and tea!
A really excellent jasmine tea – if you are looking for a jasmine tea with a lighter jasmine essence that tastes natural, sweet, and not at all perfume-y … this is the one to try! And you’re going to love dealing with Fashionista Tea – I can’t say enough about how wonderful this company is! They are a really excellent company and offer a superb product! That’s a win-win!
Bai Hao Silver Needle (Yin Zhen) from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2012
Production Season – Spring, first day havest
Production Region – Fujian, Fuding County
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can always count on Life in Teacup to offer some of the very best teas … and this Bai Hao Silver Needle – also known as Yin Zhen – is a perfect example of what I mean by that. The dry leaves are so beautiful with the coloration ranging from pale green to silvery white, and each needle is soft and covered with fluffy fuzz. The aroma of the dry leaf is soft, with notes of flower and hay.
The flavor is delightful. On the Life in Teacup website, there is a short discussion on brewing this tea using boiling water … this is something I’ve not tried (or if I have, I don’t recall having tried it!) I’ve always used a lower temperature, but today I was feeling a little rebellious and while I wasn’t feeling quite so courageous to try boiling water, I did turn up the heat just a little, using water brought to 185° instead of the customary 160° that I usually would use for a silver needle. The flavor is stronger … but not too strong. But … it certainly is no longer the “delicate” flavor that I’d expect from a silver needle.
And while I have a great appreciation for the delicateness of a white tea, I like the slightly bolder flavor of this cup using a higher temperature. Maybe next time, I might even try boiling water on my white tea!
As it is, though, I’m finding this to be quite delightful. The flavor is sweet and vegetative … but not a green tea vegetative taste. It’s more like the flavor of sweet flowers and hay … similar to the fragrance I enjoyed from the dry leaf. There is an earthiness to this as well … and I find that the earthiness here is where I notice the biggest difference between the lower temperature and higher temperature brewing water. The earthiness really comes out with the hotter water.
There are subtle notes of fruit to this cup as well, and I notice that as I continue to sip, the fruit notes become more distinguished. Overall, the cup is sweet, refreshing and light … but with a fullness to it that I find really satisfying.
If you are one who generally finds white teas to be too soft or delicate in flavor, I recommend trying a slightly higher temperature … this really brings out the flavor, and I am not noticing any bitterness or scalded tea taste from the higher temperature.
A really enjoyable tea experience – thanks to Life in Teacup!
2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha Chinese White Tea from China Cha Dao
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: China Cha Dao
Tea Description:
Fuding Ba Cha is a really healthy tea, it has the effect of medicaltreatment, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, anti-oxidation, anti-radiation & anti-tumor. We have customer with high blood pressure and this tea works out really well for him, just have a small cup everyday or every two day, is healthy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This white tea really took me by surprise! Usually when I brew a white tea, I expect it to be gentle and of subtle taste. Delicate. But this has a much stronger flavor than I expected! Yes, this 2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha Chinese White tea from China Cha Dao has a softer flavor than say, a Yunnan Black tea … but for a white tea – this tea boasts a whole lot of taste!
The flavor is vegetative, but not in the same way a green tea tastes vegetative. This is more like a crisp, light taste that reminds me of freshly cut hay … hay that isn’t quite dried through, still has a bit of that fresh, green-ness to it. There is also a taste that evokes thoughts of dew drops on new spring leaves. It has that kind of freshness to it.
There is a mild nutty flavor to this as well as a creamy note that is really quite enticing … it keeps me sipping. The tea is very beautifully complex … the kind of tea that you want to steep on a lazy afternoon when you just want to relax and contemplate the beauty of tea. (And when do you NOT want to do that? Sure, we don’t always have TIME to do that, but I think we always want to, don’t we?) It is a nice tea with which to unwind, and it is gently restorative.
A really nice tea – the first that I’ve tried from this company. If this is any indication of how wonderful the teas from this company are going to be, I’m really looking forward to tasting more!
White Leaf and Bud Single Estate White Tea from Teajo Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teajo Teas
Tea Description:
Our most delicate and subtle tea contains very little caffeine and delivers a light, smooth and nutty flavor. Harvested before the leaves fully open, this tea is one of the rarest in the world.
Taster’s Review:
I couldn’t find this White Leaf and Bud Single Estate White Tea on Teajo Teas’ website, so I don’t know if it’s still available (or perhaps, it’s just temporarily sold out) but I did want to review it because this is the first tea that I’ve tried from this company and I’m absolutely in love with the quality and flavor of this tea!
The leaves are soft and tender and whole. Lots of tea buds in this too. And each leaf and bud is covered with fuzzy, fluffy down. The color of each leaf variegates from a silvery white color to a pale green, to twinges of tan. The leaves infuse a pale golden hued liquid.
The flavor stunning! It is sweet and gentle and yet amazingly full-flavored with notes of hay and a sweet nutty flavor. It’s a slightly toasted nut flavor … as though perhaps someone had slivered some raw almonds and then put them in a warm pan to toast for a minute. Not a strong roasty flavor, but just a hint of sweet, toasty flavor. There is a freshness to this … not really “vegetative” exactly … but more like the taste of the fresh air in spring.
I’m really liking this white tea a great deal … I think what I am liking so much about it is that it is SO different from the typical Bai Mu Dan or Silver Needle. Not that I dislike those – you know I love ’em! But, sometimes, it’s nice to taste something that’s just a little different.
And what makes this tea different is that these leaves aren’t Chinese tea leaves, but Indian (from Assam!) This is a difference that is immediately noticeable in the taste from the very first sip. This has a fuller flavor than a typical Silver Needle, and even a Bai Mu Dan. The flavor is less delicate than those teas, but it still has a certain lovely delicateness to it.
A really delightful white tea … I hope that Teajo will be restocking this one!
Pomegranate Blackberry Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s very tardy blend is a shou mei white tea base with real freeze-dried pomegranate arils, freeze-dried blackberries and organic flavors, and it is delicious.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! This Pomegranate Blackberry Shou Mei White Tea from 52Teas tastes amazing! I love this!
I love that 52Teas is using Shou Mei more now rather than Bai Mu Dan. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Bai Mu Dan, but, I think that because the Shou Mei has a stronger flavor than a typical Bai Mu Dan … that the flavor of the white tea comes through more clearly in these flavored teas from 52Teas. And the sweet, earthy flavor of the Shou Mei comes together quite nicely with these fruit flavors.
The blackberry tastes sweet. Blackberries are one of my favorite berries, and as a current Pacific Northwest resident, I think that I can say that they ARE my favorite fruit now. While living in California, my favorite berry is, hands down, the strawberry, but, the flavor of the strawberries up here just doesn’t compare to the flavor of the strawberries that have been grown in the California sun. It rains up here too much to get good strawberry growth. BUT … blackberries are plentiful! So plentiful, in fact, that there are blackberry bushes growing wild all over the place! And the blackberries up here are Ah-may-ZING!
And the pomegranate adds just the right amount of tartness to the cup. Not a lot … but, just enough to keep the flavor dancing on the palate. It keeps it from getting sickeningly sweet. And I love the way everything just works together in this cup. The pomegranate melds beautifully with the blackberry … and the two fruits perfectly complement the Shou Mei.
Another winner from 52Teas!