Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Write a tea journal, see what others are drinking and get recommendations from people you trust. Sign Up or Learn More

Barbara

Barbara drank White Needle by tea-adventure

So here I am, waiting for my first cup of White Needle tea to brew. I bought this tea in the hope that it would make a suitable alternative to the Theodor J.E. Yin Zhen b/c of it’s price. With a view to comparison I brewed both teas simultaniously.

Here’s a picture with Theodor on the left and Tea-adventure on the right before brewing: [IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2qxz0og.jpg[/IMG]
The buds of Theodor are slimmer than those of Tea-adventure. I don’t know which size is better. The ‘fatter’ buds look nicer/neater though.

Here’s a picture of both teas after brewing and before lifting the strainers out: [IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/4lhkqu.jpg[/IMG]
Theodor’s tea looks a little ‘messier’ with more small(er) particles and a few brownish buds. The left tea is Theodor and the right tea is Tea-adventure.

Let me start by stating that both teas taste great. The colour of the liquid of Theodor is a tad more saturated than that of Tea-adventure. The same goes for the smell and taste. Theodore’s buds smell more ‘hay-ish’ and have a tast that’s a bit bolder.

So which one is better? I honestly don’t know. I do know that I prefer the lighter and slightly more fresh or less ‘hay-ish’ smell of Tea-adventure’s white, but as regarding the taste, it will probably be dependant upon my mood. My boyfriend prefers the more bold taste of Theodor’s tea and is of the opinion that he doesn’t really smell either tea (which may be due to the chocolate he ate right before tasting).

Is this a good alternative to Theodor’s? YES, definately. There isn’t a great difference in smell and taste, while the price is a lot friendlier.

I’ll be resteeping to see if that ferrets out any further differences… :-)

2013-02-16 07:15:08 -0500

175 °F / 79 °C

5 min 0 sec

I Like This

4 likes

4 comments

People who liked this

Comments

Barbara 2013-02-16 08:29:30 -0500

Ok I totally forgot about my 2nd steep. I was having a look at – or better drooling over – Theodor’s Histoire Tibetaine and The du Loup and totally lost track of time… I’m not sure how long it steeped. It may be anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. Theodor’s tea becomes too ‘heavy’ to my taste with such long steeping times, something I’ve commented on before in my taste note regarding that tea. The Tea-adventure tea becomes a bit bolder without becoming too heavy…

cteresa 2013-02-21 16:59:38 -0500

It seems interesting! I love silver needles – and a tip try bai mu dan (white peony) tea as well. Silver needle is supposedly better, but bai mu dan is more floral, and it can be so excellent as well while being a bit cheaper (or I have the palate of a peasant, which is also possible)

cteresa 2013-02-21 17:02:56 -0500

And forgot to ask, Histoire Tibetane, do let me know what you think! Description makes it sound a lot like Mariage´s Thé au Tibet (light bergamot with vanilla and jasmine and flowers) so either it might really *be tibetan (vanilla??). Thé au Tibet had an old name before they changed to Thé au Tibet.

Barbara 2013-02-21 17:48:15 -0500

I’ll do that. I have some of your sample so I’ll drink them side by side some time this weekend. From memory I’d say they are similar in the basis, but both vere in a different direction, the MF being some spicey and the TD being sweeter.

Follow Get this person's updates

Profile

Bio

What to say about myself and my tea drinking habits? I’ve been staring at the screen, reading other’s bio’s and still can’t come up with something worthwile. I’ll just stick to the basics.

I generally prefer white, green and oolong teas to black teas. As I read a scientific report that stated that black teas lower the level of stress hormones in the blood, I try to add a few cups of black tea every day.

Overall I prefer black teas to be flavoured. The white, green and oolongs may be flavoured or straight.

I brew my teas per cup, mostly in my – much loved – Kati mug with Cha Cult strainer. I’m rather a stickler for brewing time and temperature, so I use a tea timer and watercooker with temperature indication.

I also love a good cup of coffee and especially cappuchino. As far as I’m concerned, a good cappuchino requires a real milk/foam topping, not something made with skimmed milk, powder or the like. Unfortunately a lot of cafes still haven’t caught on to that one and serve low quality coffee and tea (type vending machine and bagged fannings). I hate it when, on a cold winter day, the choice is restricted to bad coffee, bagged fannings or a cold softdrink… :-(

As for rating teas, I more or less make the following distinction:

100:
Nothing is perfect. Probably won’t be using it ever.

98 – 99:
Nearly too good to be true.

90 – 97:
Exceptional.

80 – 89:
Excellent.

70 – 79:
Good. May rebuy depending on price and availability.

60 – 69:
Ok I’ll finish the cup and maybe even have a second, but probably won’t finish the entire package as I have other – (far) better teas in my cupboard.

< 60:
I feel cheated. I won’t ever be buying this again.

< 50:
This really is no good.

< 30:
I hate this. I want my money back.

1:
Beyond horrible!

PS: Recalibrated my ratings according to this index on 23 feb 2013.