Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Product Description:
Love unwinding with a glass of whisky after a long work day? Here’s a version you can sip at the office all day long. With white Bai Mu Dan, sweet pieces of peach, macadamia nuts, and a big hit of smoky whisky flavour, this rich blend might just replace the bottle of bourbon you have stashed in the back of your desk. Of course, spiking it with an extra splash of whisky wouldn’t hurt.
Taster’s Review:
I am not a big fan of liquor in general, but, I do find myself rather fascinated with liquor flavored teas like this Whisky White Tea from David’s Tea.
The scent of the brewed tea has a very strong whisky scent and the flavor is remarkably smooth. Overall, it’s a very delicate cuppa, from the soft Bai Mu Dan base, to the hint of whisky flavor, and a whisper of peach and sweet nutty undertones. I like that I can taste each of these components distinctly, and yet everything is very light and refreshing and nicely balanced.
This is really delicious served hot or on the rocks. This is an excellent way to unwind after a hard day at work … even while you’re still at work!
Bai Mu Dan from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Product Description:
Other Names: Bai Mu Dan Tea, Pai Mu Dan Tea, White Pekoe Tea
White Peony undergoes very little processing. Made from just the unopened silvery buds and the small, top two leaves it is picked in spring and gently withered to yield a refreshing, easy-drinking tea, full of soft fruit flavours and melon notes with a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Taster’s Review:
This is the second tea that I’m tasting from the “Migration” themed Steepster Select Package. At first, I kind of wondered why a Bai Mu Dan would be offered as part of a “Migration” theme … but after opening the pouch, I understood. The leaves are crisp and dry, just like the fallen leaves that cover the ground this time of year.
The tea these beautiful, whole leaves produces is exquisite! Definitely one of the very best Bai Mu Dan teas I’ve yet to taste. It is surprisingly rich and flavorful. Many White Peony/Bai Mu Dan teas that I’ve tried in the past tend to be somewhat pale in flavor – delicate – but, this is not a typical Bai Mu Dan!
It possesses a delightfully sweet flavor and as the description above suggests, I taste the melon notes! That melon flavors intensify as the tea cools. There is very little vegetative/grassy taste to this Bai Mu Dan. Instead, I taste a crisp, clean, and sweet delicious flavor unlike any other Bai Mu Dan I’ve tasted in recent memory. Sure, many of those white teas tasted good, maybe even great, but, this one stands out as exceptional.
White Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Product Description:
Usually when you hear the word Matcha, you automatically think about Green Tea. Well, we have put a spin on the Matcha name and technique with our White Matcha. White Matcha is made in exactly the same way as regular Green Tea Matcha is made: stone ground to a fine powder. But we have done it with White Tea. Why would we offer you a White Matcha? For people who like Matcha Tea in its original form as a Green Tea, you know how flavorful and pure it is. We want to give that to all tea lovers. Whether you like Green Tea, Black Tea, White Tea or any other kind of tea, we want you to experience the Matcha in different flavors.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little hesitant to try this White Matcha. I love green Matcha and even Black and Red Matcha, but, I have tried a white Matcha in the past, and it was a bit too bitter for my liking, and I worried I might experience that same bitterness with this Matcha.
But this is delightful! It has many of the qualities I’ve come to expect from green Matcha; it is creamy and rich, smooth and frothy. But this boasts an incredibly light flavor. Fresh and SWEET. Like the same delicate sweetness that I’ve come to expect from a good Silver Needle or Bai Mu Dan… only this is intensified because it’s Matcha.
This has a light vegetative taste – not at all like the vegetal taste you’d get from green Matcha (not saying that vegetative taste is bad, just that it is stronger in green Matcha than in this White Matcha). It also possesses some nutty tones that I don’t usually experience with white tea because of their delicate nature. It has an incredibly clean taste – like the taste of cool mountain air in the springtime after a early morning rain.
This Matcha manages to bring forth all the delicious flavor of a white tea – but without the wispy, delicate quality of a white tea. I am loving this!
And… as I sit here, contemplating this White Matcha as well as the other NUMEROUS varieties of Matcha offered by Red Leaf Tea … my mind wanders to their vast Earl Grey collection … and I can’t help but wonder if they might somehow merge these two things and create an Earl Grey flavored Black Matcha. It’s just a thought. Just a thought…
PRODUCT REVIEW: Matcha Chai (Results) Minteas from Tea Forté
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
Slimming matcha, with a tingle of cinnamon
to aid in keeping you fit and feeling fab.Ingredients: sorbitol, xylitol, organic matcha green tea, Fair Trade Certified™ organic white tea, natural flavors, calcium stearate
Taster’s Review:
Like the Ginger Pear (Regroup) Minteas that I tasted and reviewed previously, I’m liking these Matcha Chai Minteas. They remind me a bit of a cinnamon mint with an invigorating burst of cinnamon flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of “Big Red” chewing gum (do they still even make that? I can’t recall seeing it for a long time … but then, I haven’t really been looking.)
Unless I’m really focusing on the flavors, I don’t discern much of a Matcha flavor or a white tea flavor in these, nor do I notice many other chai-like flavors other than a strong, spicy cinnamon note. The flavors are there, they are just less noticeable than the cinnamon. The other flavors become much more apparent after I’ve allowed the Mintea to dissolve for a few minutes on my tongue, and then bite into the undissolved portion. Then I can really notice more of the chai flavors as well as the Matcha. Yum!
However, what I’m enjoying most about these is not only the flavors but also the texture of them (they remind me of my gramma’s Certs that she used to keep in her purse whenever the grandkids wanted some “candy”). They have a strong, slick surface that once dissolved slightly feels a little less slick, but still very fine and a bit like granular powder. Once I bite into one, it becomes a smooth, powdery candy-like texture (but not a sugary texture). And despite the candy-like texture of these, I like that they don’t taste too sweet. There is a mild sweetness to them which keeps them palatable, but it never becomes cloying or sickly sweet.
As for the fitness/slimming aspect, I think I would need to have more of these on a regular basis before I actually noticed “Results.” However, these are tasty enough that I certainly wouldn’t mind keeping these on hand and enjoying them on a regular basis… whenever I need something tasty to help freshen the breath and cleanse the palate. Plus the tin is pretty cute too.
Strawberry White Tea from SpecialTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: This tea is (thankfully) no longer available as SpecialTeas has joined forces with Teavana.
Product Description:
A High-grade China white tea flavored with strawberry. A treat for nose and palette.
Ingredients: White tea, strawberry bits, flavoring
Taster’s Review:
A couple of weeks ago on the Cups of Tea with Jackie blog, the author (Jackie) mentioned how you rarely come across a tea review that is negative. Well, Jackie… this one’s for you.
And it shall begin with a story of sorts. Once upon a time (and it was a bit longer than I care to mention), I tasted a Strawberry White Tea from SpecialTeas. It was actually quite fabulous. Tender white tea flavor and sweet, authentic strawberry notes. So, when I recently received more of this tea from my SororiTea Sister, I was happy to have it because my memory of the tea is fond.
I don’t know what has happened since that last time that I tried the Strawberry White from SpecialTeas. But… something went terribly wrong. Like: WRONG. Badly wrong.
The first couple of sips were ok. Just alright. I could taste the strawberry and the white tea. But, it didn’t taste like the tea I remember. It didn’t taste all that bad, but it did taste rather sad; especially when I reflected upon my memory of this tea having actually been good. That being said, I thought that maybe I could finish the cup. But as I continued to sip, the flavor did not improve (the way it often does with other teas); rather, it got worse.
Much worse.
Now, I am tasting SOAP. And a floral note that is bitter and tasting … off, like a fake, artificial kind of flavoring. It’s a very weird taste that is making me wish I hadn’t just taken a sip… like something my step-mother might have used to wash my mouth out with when I was being disobedient. (It might surprise you to know that I wasn’t the most well-behaved child)
I don’t taste white tea any longer, nor do I taste anything that tastes remotely like strawberry. I just taste this funky, thin soapy taste with a vague, fake berry-ish kind of flavor in the background. This is not good. This is not pleasant. Or, as Jackie would like me to say, this tastes like crap. (Although, I would like to state for the record that I don’t really know what crap tastes like. But, I am guessing that it might taste something like this tea.)
I steeped this the same way I would normally steep a white tea: Low water temperature for five minutes. And with just about every white tea I taste, this produces an acceptable cup… so I don’t feel it would be fair to blame my steeping on this horrible cup of tea.
There is a glimmer of silver lining to this tea though, and that would be that SpecialTeas is no longer actively selling tea (at least, not as SpecialTeas), and so this tea is no longer available for sale, and hopefully that last sip is truly my last of this tea.
There ya go, Jackie … How ya like me now?