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Pale yellow brew. This is a gentle quiet tea. As the cup cools it developed a buttery sweetness. A light bitterness underneath the flavor to cleanse the palate. The second cup was the most amazing. Copying from my blog – The smell of the wet leaf in the second cup was more like the fresh air at the lake. Nice and refreshing. The second cup is even lighter in flavor. This is new. I am getting a sticky lip feel at the front of the sip with this green tea. Normally, I associate that trait with sheng puerh. Interesting.
Ok, this is really messing with my head and fascinating me at the same time. Now that the second cup is cooling it tastes and feels like I am drinking a warm cup of milk. This isn’t a milky oolong. How is it doing that? The sip starts a bit sheng like, then to lightly bitter green, and on to milk late in the sip. A beautifully complex cup.

Vicony will send out samples to reviewers for those interested. http://www.viconyteas.com/

10 second steeps on this one! Malt, honey, sweet potatoes, and light smoke. This is an amazing tea. The first day I had this I could smell it the rest of the day. I had to brew it again right away. I had four 12oz mugs. It would have gone more. If you are interested I have a longer review on my blog.

Think Bailin Gongfu and you will know exactly what this tastes like – chocolate, malt, and wheat. This is so very, very good! Bohea and Bailin Gongfu appear to originate on different mountains but apparently they both produce excellence.

I don’t have any matcha, (I have never tasted any that I know of) and besides I really need to sleep tonight. So I took some white monkey and mixed it with homegrown tulsi. This is the second time I have mixed white with tulsi and it is a great combination.

While this was steeping I decided to strip the rest of the dried tulsi flowers off the stems. Afterwards I planned to put it in a sealed glass jar. As I started to pour, the bowl slipped out of my fingers and I dumped the whole bowl in the floor. Maybe I will get another picking of flowers this season and maybe I won’t :(

I have been trying lately not to duplicate my Steepster posts with what’s on my blog. This tea is so wonderful I am going to break my rule -

This is the third of the Vicony Teas Company samples I have received for review. This Yunnan Silver Needle White Tea is a sheng puerh. It is listed as Art. No: BYP12 on Vicony’s website. The leaf on this looks like a normal loose leaf silver needle white tea. Very white and very fresh. It has only the mildest scent.

I used my wooden spoon to measure out a healthy scoop of the leaf. I used 12oz of near boiling water and my press. The first steep was 2 minutes. The leaf danced in the press, hanging from the surface of the water. The brew is very clear with nothing floating in it. The color is a dull green. So far there is not a lot that even hints this is puerh other than the slightly darker brew color. There are no scents I normally associate with sheng or raw puerh. In fact it has little scent. Just a hint of fresh hay.

I lift the cup and sip. Ahhh, there it is. At first you catch notes of melon and cucumber but as subdued glimpses really. This gives way to the wonderful leather taste I usually reserve for shu puerh. Actually, I am not sure I have ever tasted it in a sheng puerh. As the cup cools the melon really comes alive and blends with the leather. The result is pure joy. Now it is developing a natural sweetness. I feel a nice coolness on my breath. This is really seriously good.

Cup two was also steeped for 2 minutes. It differs from the first in some respect. The leather is less pronounced but still obvious. This has become even sweeter and slightly more like white tea in taste. The melon / cucumber notes are more prevalent. The more the cup cools the more it takes on a grainy flavor – something like wheat.

Cup three continues with the grainy taste. The leather has disappeared.

On cup four the grainy taste has turned to pure malt. Each cup has grown darker. This one is golden in the press and caramel in the cup.

This white puerh is not the flavor blast that puerh fans often expect. On the other hand this is one of the most complex puerhs I have ever tried. It has zero bitterness. It is a lighter more delicate cup that white tea fans will greatly appreciate. After only one session with this I am hooked. This should be in your tea cupboard!

As others said about this type tea – the leaves are huge. I did a long review here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/08/vicony-teas-company-premium-taiping.html

Short review – My experience was different than others describe this. The orchid flavor tastes mineral and mushroom to me. It has a lingering aftertaste but I did not find it naturally sweet. It went great with a ham and turkey sandwich. I like it but not love it.

I grabbed this one out of the drawer this afternoon. The jasmine in this is really nice. This is a wonderful tea.

To echo Hesper June, this one is $8/4oz, so it is also an affordable jasmine.

Last night I had some really good white peony leaves that had already been steeped several times. I added some home grown tulsi. I loved this combination. The melon and fruity of the white tea melded perfectly with the highly floral and clove like tulsi. The result had no clove flavor instead it was fruity and floral, almost like a mild rose. it was dripping with honey type flavor. This was a really good idea!

Sip down. Saying goodbye to another beautiful tea.

Sip down. It would be enough if this just had a nice Ceylon base and a healthy dose of bergamot. This has more. It doesn’t say it on the label but this seems to have a touch of smoke. It really makes this an excellent Earl Grey.