Strawberry Shortcake White Tea from The NecessiTeas

Scent in package: Deliciously sweet strawberries
Ratio: about 4 tsp. to 60oz water (full pot)
Steeped: 5 min. @ just under boiling (180 degrees or so).
Enjoyed iced.

I didn’t snap a photo of this flavored white tea before brewing, but Linsey has a photo posted on her site. It doesn’t really look much different than any other white tea (a few bits of dried strawberry here and there), really – the scent/flavoring is what makes this tea shine. I’m giving away a sample of this tea as part of my monthly drawing over at The Variety Pages if anyone’s interested in guessing at the mystery photo.

As you may have noted, I’m on an iced tea kick here in the middle of summer. Plain iced tea is wonderful, but a little fruity flavor really makes it pop, in my experience. This particular tea is fabulously refreshing and even a bit stimulating, pairing well with a lighter meal such as shrimp or chicken. Dare we discuss dessert? I haven’t tried it, but I bet this would be great reduced down into syrup and poured over ice cream.

In any case, there are several things I look for in a good flavored tea – the most important being that you can still taste the actual *tea*. Flavors should enhance rather than overwhelm the base tea, in my opinion, and over ice, this is still very much a light, delicate white tea, just with the extra zing of fresh strawberries and a hint of sweetness. Perfect for an afternoon gathering on the back patio, or even a morning spritzer. Would make a great gift too, in a pretty tin or a glass jar.

I’ll definitely make a point of trying the hot version of this eventually. I’ve found that tea takes on vastly different flavor profiles when iced as compared to freshly brewed. But I’m confident in recommending this for the summer – throw a party, invite your friends, and make this one of the iced tea choices. I guarantee compliments will be flying your way.

White Symphony from Adagio

Scent in tin: virtually none
Ratio: 1 tsp to 8 oz water
Steeped: 7 minutes @ 180 degrees

This blend is just beautiful, with leaves of several sizes, shapes and colors. There’s not much scent to the dried leaves, but with a delicate white, that’s not really surprising.

I brewed this in my clear glass gaiwan, and I wish I’d thought to take a picture of the leaves brewing – a lovely sight, to be sure.The liquor is dark yellow, with a nice, thick texture. In contrast, the taste is light with grassy notes, and a refreshing fruity aftertaste. A very light, fruity scent wafts up from the cup, but you won’t really notice it unless you focus. A very soothing tea for frazzled nerves, and one that promotes mindfulness in the brewing and drinking process.The wet leaves are just as appealing to the eye, and though I didn’t steep them again, I’m sure they would be excellent in multiple steepings. This is a wonderful tea for relaxing late at night, but would also be a really nice gift, or “company” tea. If you’re looking for another white tea to add to the cupboard, do try this. It’s highly enjoyable.

R.I.P. triniTea, & Christmas Gifts

Yes, you read that right. My Adagio triniTea has officially given up the ghost. It started yesterday morning when it wouldn't decant all the water from the heating chamber to the steeping chamber, and ended last night when the steeping chamber refused, despite all coaxing, to give up it's brew into the carafe. Ironically, it's been two years to the month since I bought this handy little machine, and it's served me well with no complaints all that time (including twice daily use for the past several months). So while I'm somewhat sad to see it go, I don't feel like it was a waste of time or counter space at all. It might be fixable, but I'm not really sure I want to spend the time/effort on it. And while the space was well-used, I'd like those few inches on my counter back to do other things with now.


I've decided not to replace it either. Despite the convenience factor, it still never brewed tea as well as other, non-plastic vessels. If ever there comes another tea machine that steeps without plastic coming in contact with the water or leaves, I'll consider trying it. But for now, I'm going back to steeping in teapots and cups. Granted, this takes a little more planning, but I've been "training" myself to make tea before work and at lunch (instead of at work) for the past few months, so this morning when I got up, and knew I had to put the kettle on, it wasn't really any big deal. I just planned accordingly for more involvement in the tea-making process. As you can see above, I just steeped my tea this morning (Harney & Son's "Florence") in my trusty stainless-steel lined travel mug with a metal basket, and while it was a bit strong (I'm out of practice with this method, apparently), it worked just fine. I'll repeat the process at lunch (maybe even squeeze in a cup of Matcha, since I'm heating up the kettle anyways).

I considered buying an electric kettle, and may still at some point. But for now, this works just fine, and doesn't take up any more counter space.

In other news, I ordered my tea gifts last week - Harney & Son's tins of Holiday (black tea) and White Christmas (white tea). Everyone seems to like H&S teas, even if they aren't "connoisseurs", so they're usually a safe bet for stocking stuffers & small gifts. I have a couple of the small "tag-a-long" tins coming too, just in case something pops up that I need a gift for.

What tea gifts are you giving for Christmas this year?

Morning Dew from T-Ching

Scent in package: Fruity, light
Brewed in: ceramic tea-for-one pot/metal infuser
Steeped: 4 min. @ 180 w/spring water
Cup: café mug
As you can see, the dry leaves of this tea are absolutely gorgeous. Large, vibrant green, and mostly intact, it made my mouth water just to look at them. The scent was very light, and sort of sweetly fruity.

After I poured the brew into my cup, I smelled the leaves again. This time there was a strong vegetal odor like a green tea would have, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on. The liquor had the same fragrance – steamed vegetables, perhaps? It reminded me of butter, cream, and “richness”.

I was hooked from the first sip. The brew is impossibly light, and really seems like there can’t be any flavor, but there is, and it is wonderful. The tea is very sweet and thick, with the taste of sweet cream butter that lingers on the tongue. There is a hint of astringency, but no dryness, and the soft fragrance, creamy mouth feel and buttery sweet taste all come together for a cup that is pure heaven. The finish is a very sweet sensation that remains at the back of the tongue.

The wet leaves are still beautiful, of course, and I shall look forward to using the remainder of my sample in a gong fu session to see what later infusions are like.

I love this tea – it’s absolutely wonderful. I need more. According to T-Ching, they'll be carrying it, if you'd like to taste for yourself!

White Rose from Teas, Etc

Scent in package: lovely “wild roses”
Brewed in: glass teapot/glass infuser
Steeped: 5 min. @ 185 or so
Cup: Porcelain teacup

I got this sample in my recent order from Teas, Etc., and couldn’t wait to try it. I love black rose tea, or any tea scented with roses, so I figured this one had to be good as well. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

The dry leaves and rose buds are simply beautiful together, the tea clearly being of high quality with some full leaves present. The scent made my mouth water, and I couldn’t wait for the water to heat up. I poured, and that lovely sweet floral fragrance just intensified, filling the whole kitchen. This tea brews up darker than many white teas, to a lovely golden yellow color as you can see.
The taste is wonderful. The tea taste is very light, of course, and easily missed if you’re not thinking about it. The rose flavor is what really shines, sweet and decadent. It made me think of garden parties, ladies in lacy hats and gloves, and coolness on a hot summer day when the scent of a wild rose bush can waft through the yard on a light breeze. It was slightly drying, as many white teas are, but not unpleasantly so, and I was quite disappointed when the cup was empty.

Unfortunately, it was time for bed then…and the tea was so relaxing that I had no trouble laying down and falling right to sleep. I put the extra half-glass of tea in the fridge, and plan on drinking it cold this evening, and I think it will be quite lovely and refreshing over ice, possibly even sweeter.

The wet leaves were beautiful and vibrant, the rose buds open and very beautiful against the pale green spent leaves of the tea.
I’ve now tried black, green and white teas scented with roses, and honestly, I’ve loved every one of them. This one is definitely a keeper – if you like floral teas, try this one. You won’t regret it.

1000 Day Flower from Dragonwater

Scent in package: virtually nonexistent.
Brewed in: 2 cup glass teapot
Steeped: 5 min. @ “steaming”
Cup: Porcelain teacup

It always amazes me how intricate some of the hand-tied blooming teas are. And I have no idea how they do it – it seems like it would frustrate me to no end to try to tie all those little leaves together with my clumsy fingers. But they are gorgeous to watch as they unfurl in warm water, and while I haven’t found any to be exceptional in taste (though some are very good), they make wonderful conversation and generally good tea for drinking.

I have to admit though – this particular blooming tea was a tiny bit disappointing to me. I was excited at the bright pink bloom on top, and couldn’t wait to see it unfold. And it did unfold into a beautiful bloom, but…well…kind of boring, to be honest, after some of the more spectacular shows I’ve gotten from tea flowers.

The tea itself was mediocre – certainly not bad in any way, just lacking in…well…taste. I realize that it’s a white tea, and thus more subtle, but while the texture was lovely – a little thick and full in the mouth, and it was very sweet (which I like a lot), but it just didn’t have much flavor…the very slightest hint of something vegetal at the back of the mouth. There was no astringency, and no bitterness…but it was just boring, I guess. And I normally enjoy white tea quite a lot.

So for a bloom, it was pretty, but not spectacular, and for a tea, it was uninteresting…for the money, I think I’d go for something a little more intricate or a little more flavorful (preferably both).

Silver Needles from Dragonwater

Scent in package: Not really fragrant – the slightest hint of alfalfa
Brewed in: Glass teapot/infuser
Steeped: 2 min. @ 180 degrees
Cup: Porcelain teacup

I don’t drink white tea often, because sometimes they make my gums sore. I’m not sure if it’s just the occasional over brewed cup with more astringency, or what, but I can only drink one to two cups before I have to just stop, to save my mouth from unnecessary pain. So I only drank one infusion of this last night, though I have the leaves and may brew another cup this evening.

This tea really isn’t all that fragrant. Even when brewed, it only gives up the slightest hint of a field-like scent…of grasses and alfalfa when it’s breezy out. It’s light in color, as a white tea should be, and the taste is exceedingly subtle.

The dry leaves are truely beautiful - long needles covered with a very light fuzz in that gray-green color that is so relaxing to look at.

The best part of this tea for me was the sweetness. It’s very sweet naturally – almost fruity, but with a honeyed undertone. The texture is a bit thicker too, which I find very soothing. I felt like I was coming down with a cold last night, and the texture and sweetness of this tea seemed to really sooth my almost-achy throat along with my mind.

It’s very subtle, but the flavor of alfalfa is there, if you allow yourself to close your eyes and just focus on the tea. When you are engaged in some other activity while sipping (as I was reading), the sweetness is it’s most prominent aspect.

It’s a very clear tea, and taking all aspects into account – the texture, taste, super-light scent, and clarity - I enjoyed it very much. I had two cups (of the first infusion) and had it not been time for bed, I may well have indulged in another infusion, just because it was doing what tea should do – making me happy and mellow.

Dragonwater’s site seems to be down today – perhaps a victim of the Black Friday cult shoppers or something. But they are normally very reasonably priced, so I’d encourage checking out the cost of this tea, if only for a sample size. I really think anyone who can appreciate the subtleties of white brews will certainly enjoy this particular cuppa.

Orange Blossom White Tea from Republic of Tea

Scent in package: light and citrus-y
Brewed in: porcelain teacup (teabag)
Steeped: around 3 minutes at just under boiling
Cup: Porcelain teacup

I’m not ashamed of the fact that sometimes, I like teabags. And I fully admit that I love getting catalogs from Republic of Tea particularly for the samples they generally include. This teabag was a sample gotten with a catalog, and as I’d tried the bottled version (which I enjoyed), I looked forward to drinking a cup warm.

I don’t know all that much about white tea fannings. I’ve read that with black tea, often a teabag full of dust and fannings will release more caffeine than full-leaf tea (making it perfect for those mornings when you just can’t get moving). But I don’t know how it affects white tea or how it changes the brew.

I do know that this particular tea brews up as a lovely golden orange color, and yes, the bag does have a bit of foam in it from the flavoring. If you’re an “au naturale” kind of person, that’s not going to appeal much to you, but I’m okay with it for a tea like this. The scent of oranges wafted lightly through the air while it brewed, and while you might expect it to be a bit tart, the first sip confirms that natural sweet-orange flavor.

Here’s the cool thing though. The flavoring doesn’t completely overpower the tea, which I consider a good sign. It’s definitely there, and certainly enhances what might be a rather bland brew otherwise (they don’t say what kind of white tea is used, but all white tea is subtle anyways). You can still detect notes of the tea’s original flavor even through the orange taste, and I appreciate that aspect. It’s a very delicate and light brew, and it seems like it would be very suitable for an afternoon tea in spring or summer…maybe even a wedding tea. Quite lovely, no astringency at all, and very relaxing to sip.

Needless to say, I like it, and am considering buying a tin to have on hand. I think it’s something my mom might like – and it’s time to start thinking about stocking stuffers! Very enjoyable tea, especially for a “bagged” tea.

Kashanganj SnowBud from T-Ching (tea tasting)

Scent in package: very light fruity scent
Brewed in: Tea for one pot w/metal infuser, Gaiwan, tea for one pot
Steeped: 3 min@ steaming/4 min@ steaming, several infusions @ 170, and 3 min.@ steaming again.
Cup: Café mug, tasting cup, café mug

This was quite an interesting tasting, and while I kind of “ruined” the gaiwan session, I have enough to try again properly, and plan to do so. All in all though, I really loved the substantial nature of this white tea.

My first two cups were here at work, and I used the filtered water from the water cooler heated in my electric kettle just until it was steaming. I was “wowed” by my first sip, which was much more flavorful than I find many white teas to be. There was that fruitiness again, but very light and complementary to the ultra-soft vegetal notes in the tea. The viscosity surprised me as well…it brewed up a substantial cup that lingered after each sip was gone. The second infusion was just as good, with very little difference in the taste and the same mildly fruity scent wafted up from the cup. Very tasty and soothing, and sweeter than the average tea. There was no astringency or drying qualities at all, just very smooth and mellow.

So last night, I decided to get out my gaiwan and brew a few infusions “gong fu” style. I made many mistakes however (wasn’t quite myself), and using tap water at a cooler temperature was the main mistake. Only one infusion out of the 6 I tried turned out even close to what I had tasted at work, and while it contained the sweetness, it was also very drying and somewhat bitter (all infusions with tap water were quite bitter). Needless to say, I was rather disappointed and it was the next morning before I realized my tap water mistake. I’m looking forward to trying it again with filtered water in my gaiwan.
This morning, I brewed up another cup at work with the same parameters as I used before. Worked like a charm, and I had a very sweet, mellow, enjoyable cup of tea this morning at my desk. I love that sort of fruity sweetness that comes through the vegetal flavors…it seems simple but complex at the same time. One thing I did notice with tap water was a “white pepper” flavor that gave just a tiny bite to the tea – I think it would be interesting to capture that and marry it with the fruit-sweet profile found with filtered water.

The leaves (buds) are gorgeous, and longer than many I’ve seen…a beautiful light gray-green when dry, and very vibrant green when wet, as you can see.

The tea may be pricy, but I think it’s worth it, and I’m seriously considering ordering more. What a great tasting experience.

Shou Mei White Tea from Teacuppa

Scent in package: unremarkable, no smell, really.
Brewed in: small glass teapot w/glass infuser
Steeped: 3.5 min.@ 180 degrees
Cup: Porcelain teacup

I ordered this tea because of the description – it said it had a stronger taste for a white tea, reminiscent of an oolong. So I figured I’d try it and see. I brewed it up last night, and honestly, it was the most interesting tea I’ve tried in quite awhile. The dry leaves are interesting - they look like dried fall leaves, rather than the tender green shoots one normally identifies as "white tea".

The taste and color were stronger than a normal white tea…the brew was golden yellow, honey colored. And the scent was like a mixture of barley and alfalfa, which is almost exactly what it tasted like as well. It did indeed remind me of an oolong, as the texture was a bit thicker than other white teas, and there was a lingering honey-like aftertaste that is very soothing on the tongue. It was not astringent in the least, nor was there any bitterness at all, even as it cooled.

It took me three quarters of a cup to decide I actually did like it, and didn’t merely find it interesting. The flavor is unlike anything I’ve had before, and the texture and strength is unlike any other white tea I’ve had, but refreshingly so. I quite enjoyed it, and finished off the pot.

It’s not terribly expensive at $5.50 for 1oz., so if you’re looking for something incredibly different and reminiscent of barley/alfalfa fields, order some (or a sample, which is cheaper). Whether you like it or not, I’m positive you’ll be interested in the unique taste and texture of this fascinating tea.

The Great White Taste-Off – White Pear vs. White Summer Rain

As I may have mentioned, I’m hosting a party Sunday where the refreshments will be in the form of an English afternoon tea. I thought I had all my tea choices made, but then I got my Art of Tea shipment, which changed everything. From the moment I opened up the White Summer Rain package, I knew it would give Adagio’s White Pear a run for it’s money, and thus the inception of The Great White Taste-Off, held last night in my living room. Far be it from me to serve my guests any less than the best I have to offer!

So last night around 8pm, I lit up a teapot warmer, heated some water to just under boiling, and prepared two glass mugs. The tea will be prepared in a glass teapot on Sunday, so I figured that glass mugs were the right choice to brew in. I used unbleached filter bags for the tea, for practicality (I don’t have two of the same type of infuser, and wanted each tea to be steeped the same way). I used about 2 tsp of tea in each bag, and brewed half cups at a time. I kept a teapot of hot water warm over the tealight warmer…the lovely thing about white tea is no boiling water is needed for infusions, so I could conduct the taste test from the comfort of my armchair while watching TV. Here are my notes, and the results.

1st Infusion – 5 minutes at just under boiling (I didn’t use a thermometer – I won’t have time to when brewing on Sunday, and wanted the conditions to match)

Adagio’s White Pear: Thick in the mouth, light pear flavor but deep. A very subtle pear scent greets the nose. Somewhat astringent, leaving a dry feeling in the mouth, but not terribly unpleasant. I love the subtly-sweet taste of the pear, which is set off by a lovely honey undertone. The color is a deep, clear yellow, like thin fresh honey, and beautiful to look at.

AOT’s White Summer Rain: A thinner brew, lighter and very refreshing. The taste of the tea isn’t as strong as the scent, but the melon/fruity scent really adds to the overall experience of the flavor. No astringency whatsoever – and it’s a bit sweeter than the White Pear. Overall highly enjoyable. The color is a fairly light yellow, crisp and clear.

2nd infusion – 7 minutes with water still steaming quite a bit from the teapot warmer.

Adagio’s White Pear: Still quite a thick brew, and slightly more astringent, but the flavor is crisper and lighter – the pear really shining through this time. The sweetness is enhanced and quite pronounced, making for a very smooth and refreshing cup. Very honey-like, aside from the astringency that leaves that dryness behind in the mouth.

AOT’s White Summer Rain: The color is a bit lighter this time, but the brew is thicker, giving that honey-like quality to the tea. Notes of sweetness are more pronounced, as is the melding of fruity flavors with juicy melon coming out on top. There is a slight tartness to the mix, like an unsweetened strawberry, but it only adds to the complex flavor of the tea. Very refreshing, even with the thicker mouthfeel.

3rd infusion – 9 minutes with steaming hot water from the teapot warmer (still fairly hot)

Adagio’s White Pear: More astringent this time, though the tea is lighter overall. The pear flavor has melded back with the tea flavor, producing a slightly harsher (though not unpleasant by any means) taste profile. Still sweet, still honeyed, though the scent is much lighter now. But it is leaving my mouth & throat more dry as well.

AOT’s White Summer Rain: Everything is lighter with this infusion, the taste, the color, the sweetness…but the flavors are still very complex, and the tartness at the end really enhances the overall experience. The scent still lingers over the tea, adding dimension to the flavors while sipping, and there’s still no astringency whatsoever. Very enjoyable even after three infusions, and still crisp and refreshing. I get the sense that this tea would be lovely iced as well as hot.

So the winner of our Great White Taste-Off is……

White Summer Rain from Art of Tea!

Congratulations to Art of Tea for such a lovely flavored white…I’ll be serving this tea to my guests on Sunday in a clear glass teapot with a glass infuser to show of the beautiful leaves as they brew. It will be served alongside Earl Grey de la crème from Dragonwater, Jasmine Bloom from Adagio, and Cranberry Blood-Orange (iced) from Republic of Tea.

I still love the White Pear as well…but White Summer Rain is the clear choice for a tea party, and I’m looking forward to the compliments from the guests who try it.

Tea Parties and Teaware

I'm drinking a couple of new teas today, and will post a review of Hojicha de la creme from Art of Tea later this afternoon, after I have a chance to brew another cup (jury is still "out"). Yesterday was a big day for deliveries, and aside from my order of 9 teas to try from AOT (yeah, I went a little crazy), I also received two packages with teaware I ordered for my tea party.

From the Republic of Tea, I ordered two teapot warmers - one porcelain, and one made of silver wire (pictured to the left). The porcelain one wasn't as large as I'd hoped, so I'll keep it to use with my smaller ceramic pots, but won't be using it for my party. It's a nice piece though, and packaged very handily in a fabric covered box that keeps it quite safe and snug...would be a nice gift item with a small personal sized teapot.

The silver wire one, however, is absolutely stunning, and large enough for even my biggest teapots. I'm very impressed with it, and ordered another one today to take the place of the porcelain warmer that's too small on my tea party table. I ordered the glass teapot you see in the picture as well, because of what happened with my Adagio shipment.

I knew something was wrong the minute I picked up the box from Adagio. It's never a good sign when you hear glass pieces rattling around in there. I opened everything up carefully, and took out the tea I'd ordered (Jasmine green blooming tea - perfect display tea for a party), and a box of filters, then opened the box my 42 oz. glass teapot was in. Unfortunately, the lid had come lose from it's packaging, and cracked. It was at the side of the teapot, next to a nice round chunk of glass that had been knocked neatly out of the side of the pot, I assume when the metal infuser knocked against it. I was pretty bummed - I'd ordered the smaller version of the same teapot months ago, and it got here with no trouble at all, but I'll have to return this one now for a replacement.

Needless to say, I didn't even take it out of the box (didn't want to damage it more, though I'm not sure why - it's completely unusable). I took a few pictures in case Adagio needed them, and just closed the box back up to get it ready for shipping. I went to the Adagio site this morning, and printed out a return label - I'll send it back on it's way this afternoon, but I doubt my replacement will be sent out to get here in time for my party on the 15th, allowing time for the damaged one to get to them, and another one to be sent to me. So I ordered the other pot from ROT, and it should be here by Thursday of next week, at least. I can't serve a display tea without a clear pot to display it in!

As for the rest of the party - I've finalized the menu of scones, tea sandwiches, and sweets (mostly a traditional English tea menu), the 3-teired server was delivered this week (and I *love* it - it will be well-used around here), I have two of the three teapots needed, and I'll be serving Jasmine green blooming tea from Adagio, Earl Grey de la creme from Dragonwater, and White Pear from Adagio (unless the white tea I got from AOT really impresses me...we'll see). I thought about serving a rooibos too, but decided that three teas are enough - if someone needs an herbal, I'll make up a filter bag for them. I'll serve iced tea as well - Cranberry Blood Orange from ROT in a lovely hand-blown glass pitcher I got from Dillards (it's gorgeous - I'm using it to serve iced tea for Easter lunch this weekend too).

I'll have a second pot of the Earl grey made up in my triniTea for refilling the serving pot, and I'll keep a kettle warm on my stovetop for refreshing the green tea, and resteeping the white. The blooming tea will be served from the glass pot, of course, the Earl Grey from my standard white English teapot (brown betty style), and the white will be served from my Lenox Butterfly Meadow pot. My mom and sister are bringing some english style teacups we can use, and I'll use mine as well...might go thrift store shopping and see if I can find a few more cup/saucer sets for a reasonable price. The table will be quite bright with spring placemats and a couple of african violets in bloom, not to mention the teaware, overflowing server with the goodies, and clear glass plates for the guests to use. I'll try to remember to get a picture to post when I get it all set up.

This is kind of a trial run for me - I'd like to do a tea party once a month or so for friends...just a time to get together, hang out, talk, watch movies, whatever. So we'll see how this goes. It will probably be a little skewed, since it's paired with a Home & Garden Party, but mostly I just want comments from my guests on the tea, food, etc. If it seems like a success, I'll set up another one in a month or two just for tea & chatting. :-)

Tsar’s Blend from Dragonwater

Scent in package: straightforward tea, nothing special
Brewed in: tea for one, tea filter bag (both at work)
Steeping: 5 min@ 212 degrees, 5 min@ 180 or so.
Cup: ceramic café mug

This tea could easily be a cruel joke for the average tea drinker. I got a sample because I thought a tea blend originating in Russia could be interesting, and because I’d never tried a Russian blend before. I had my misgivings from the start though, since it was black tea mixed with white tea – two teas normally brewed very differently. It confused me in how to actually brew the tea from the start.

The instructions on the package say to steep 3-5 minutes with boiling water. I’m here to tell you - *don’t* do that! The white tea in this blend is silver needles, and if the Russian servants actually served it to the tsars brewed that way, they are braver than I would be. Predictably, boiling water just completely ruins any hope of the white tea complimenting the black, and in fact just gives it a lousy, overcooked taste that is just plain nasty. I was rather unimpressed, and actually had to set the whole pack aside for several weeks before convincing myself to try it again.

If your first instinct is different than mine, and you decide to cater to the white tea in the mix rather than the black, bravo for you! When brewed for 5 minutes at the same temp you would normally brew white tea at, you are rewarded with that sweet undertone to a very mellow blend of black Chinese teas, and a very smooth and easy-to-drink cup. Not anything to really go nuts about, in my opinion, but definitely a nice blend of flavors complimented by the silver needle sweetness at the end. I did actually enjoy this cup, and while I doubt I’ll order it again (there’s really nothing distinctive about it), I’ll happily drink the rest of my sample pack.

So in short, a decent, mellow tea *if* you brew it according to the needs of the Silver Needles in the blend (ie, don’t use boiling water as instructed). There are certainly more interesting teas out there though, more worthy of spending the tea budget on.

White Pear by Adagio

Scent in tin: Very subtle scent, typical white tea
Brewed in: ingenuiTEA pot by Adagio
Steeping: 1st infusion = 7 minutes, 2nd infusion = 9 minutes both at just under boiling
Cup: stoneware mug

I realize that I’m pretty harsh on most of Adagio’s flavored black teas. The flavoring is just too subtle for me – I want peach tea to taste like peaches, etc. But white tea is completely different for me. Subtle flavoring is necessary with white teas (in my opinion), otherwise the delicate natural flavor of the tea is overwhelmed, rather than married with the flavoring.

I needed a white tea sampler for my mom’s stocking – white tea is kind of a “delicacy” for her, as she uses grocery store teabags most often. I was a little apprehensive about the White Pear after reading the reviews…most said it was “too subtle”. But pear really sounded like a good blend for a white tea to me, and I knew that even if the flavoring didn’t stand out, the remaining tea would still likely be good, so I ordered two samples of it, one for her, and one for myself. Oddly, even though I don’t care much for green tea, I do enjoy white tea occasionally.

I decided I should try my sample before gifting her with one (though I likely would have followed through anyways, knowing her tastes differ from mine somewhat), and was pleasantly surprised when I took my first sip. The thing is, this tea *smells* terrible when brewing, which did not make me want to drink it. But as soon as it hit my tongue, and I rolled it around in my mouth, I was completely hooked.

It feels like honey, a bit thicker than your average white tea, and the pear taste is there, albeit in the background, lingering just behind the flavor of the tea, lending a sweet aftertaste to the experience. It’s very subtle and decadent, without a trace of bitterness, though as far as white tea goes, it is stronger in flavor than many. I literally couldn’t get enough, and while I rarely do second infusions of tea at work, I decided to see what the next “incarnation” would be like. I don’t think I’d like the first infusion iced – though it was tasty and refreshing even as it cooled.

So after lunch, I came back and heated more water, to just under boiling, and decided to let it brew a bit longer for the second go-round. I noticed how beautiful the leaves are the second time, suspended in the water, thick and long and bright green. Asthetically, it’s a beautiful tea to watch infuse as well, so use something clear when you brew it.

I was again surprised by the off-putting aroma when I decanted it into my cup for the second time. When I tasted it, it was like a completely different tea! This is the infusion that should be poured over ice – or ice chips, to be precise. Or even frozen…it is very light, very sweet, and the pear flavor shines through brilliantly, leaving the tea flavor as the more subtle hint this time. I may try freezing second infusions of this tea into “tea-pops” this summer, because I think they’d be very cool and refreshing on a hot summer day. Even still in the cup though, it’s a joy to drink, and it makes me wish I had a gaiwan at home to try it out with gongfu brewing, just to see how many infusions it would yield, and how the flavor would change throughout. I’d definitely want a glass gaiwan though…and I think I’ll have to add one to the order I’m planning for next payday.
Needless to say, this is an incredibly complex, flavorful, lovely tea, and I will be ordering a full-size tin of it very soon. It’s one I hope to have on hand at all times – it would be perfect for a “company” tea.