Katie

First impressions!

This is my first loose leaf white tea experience. The boyfriend and I took a trip out to the bigger Central Market in north Austin, and we got a few different baggies of tea. While I was perusing the shelves, I saw the name ‘Silver Needle’. Remembering how highly rated I’ve seen teas with that name on Adagio, I decided to give it a go. The promise of ‘melon’ notes had something to do with it as well. The tea is so light that I scooped quite a large volume of leaves before it would even register on the scale. I got a little baggie full for only 65 cents!

I came home and did a little research on steeping times. The consensus I found was quite a long steep, which surprised me. As the leaves were brewing, they turned from a light silvery color to a sage green. They also crackled and popped a little as they opened up in the water. Very nice. It took three steeps before the leaves were even completely wet since a lot of them just floated on top of the water.

Putting the cup up to my nose, I kept expecting to smell jasmine, but it was just a faint sweet, hot water smell. The tea was not astringent or bitter at all. It was very light. As I took my first sip, my Facebook newsfeed started blowing up with the first reactions to Osama’s death, so I was in quite an excited state as I was drinking this. I drank several cups while streaming President Obama’s announcement and live video of crowds cheering in front of the white house. I wanted to taste melon, and I think I only tasted a little as it started to cool because that’s what I wanted to taste.

I’ll give this another shot when I am not distracted.