Two years ago, I couldn’t really taste white tea. Even a year ago, white tea was pretty much wasted on me. Now that my palate is less jaded from exposure to super sweet sodas and I have learned to seek the nuances in the cup, I enjoy every kind of tea I have encountered.
White tea is still elusive for me, though, and I try to only drink it when I am alone and can concentrate on what I am tasting. But this one was served at tea party yesterday! My guest, a former “coffee only” person, loved it. I loved it, too, and finished the pot later in the day. Then…something strange happened.
The tea that requires concentration to taste because of its subtlety, haunted me all evening long. The memory of the taste tugged at me, but I didn’t think I should make anymore so late. It is no wonder, then, that the first thing I should do today after breakfast was to make a resteep of yesterday’s leaves.
The resteep is even better! I was afraid I had the water a little too hot, but if I did then I need to do that again! I did not lengthen my steep time, yet the liquor is every bit as golden. The jasmine is even more noticeable to me now, it seems. There is a slight, but pleasant, VERY pleasant, astringency now, so perhaps I didn’t cool my water long enough, but I can already tell that when this pot is gone, I will again be haunted by the taste and memory of this tea.
Excellent! Well done! Thank you, Teavivre, for this sample!
