Black Currant Bai Mu Dan

Decided to try this in my wee oolong pot. 1 teaspoon to 4 oz of water. One thing about white teas that I don’t like is that you have to use so much! This little pot preserves the illusion of only using a teaspoon a pot, and you get plenty of tea from the multiple infusions (again, why did I wait so long to try this little wonder pot??!!)! There are a few tea leaves in my poured cup, but nothing terrible! Perhaps I can read my tea leaves after I’m done :)

My kettle only goes as low as 175, so I decided to brew at a higher temp than what is recommended on the package. The tea tastes just as spectacular thankfully! I might even prefer it a notch more – it’s more tea-y (and not bitter, which was my fear). I think I’ll continue to brew this at 175.

The black currant flavor and the mellow, delicious white tea is so enjoyable in the afternoon. Each successive steep is milder in both fruit and tea flavor, but very good. I made 5 steeps altogether, increasing a minute each steep.

Yay! This made my afternoon!

If you are curious about my tea leaves, I saw a:

BIRD – good news, psychic powers, movement, motion, good luck, a lucky sign; good news if flying, a fortunate journey

DOG – good friend, love, fidelity, faithful friends

LEAF – prosperous results of your diligence, new friends, and satisfaction

LETTER – signifies news

okay, bear with me as i try to type this. i’ll make it sjhort so you don’t have to deal with my lack of capoitalisation and typos for too long. typing is still tricky business obviouslyu and finger is sore especiually on contact but i’m getting by. i’m capable if washiong my own hair for exampke which was a relief to learn. also i reallu mioss posting!

but i wanted to tell you about this. i’ve used tjhe last of the sample that jacqueklienem sent me and resteeped it loads of times because that was easuer for me. been doing lots of bags and resteepalbel things lately. this is the third steep and since i poured the cuo and forgot about it i decided to put it in the firdge and see what happened.j

i’m not usually one for iced tea much, biut this actuallyu worked out quite nicely. now i’m reallu looking forward to my birthday order from 52teas to arrive,

and if you all gave up on trying ti decipher this i don’t blame yoiu.

Backlogging. Last Thursday afternoon.

I’ve waited too long after first trying this tea to write a thorough and good tealog of my initial impressions. So I shall save that for the next time I have this tea and just briefly record my initial impressions.

The dry leaves were large fuzzy whites with a few twigs and lots of black current berries. I don’t know what black currents smell like but the smell was sweet, slightly tart, berry, and just a bit artificial but in a yummy way. It oddly nostalgically reminded me of purple smelly markers from when I was a kid, you know the ones that smelled like foods. I don’t remember much about the wet leaves except that they didn’t have as much scent as I would have expected.

My first steep was very light in color and light in flavor as well but good. I increased the water temperature by 5° for the remaining steeps and that seems to have done the trick. The remaining steeps were darker in color and I could taste both the white tea and the smooth yummy berry flavor. The forth steep was still quite good and I would have gone on steeping if I’d continued to drink more tea at that time.

Next time all the steeps will be at 160° F and I will steep the first steep for the full two minutes. In the future, I might be interested in trying a slightly higher water temperature depending on how that comes out. I might also be interested in trying increasing each steep time by 30 seconds instead of one minute at some point.

I’ve rated this tea a 74 on the higher end of my good range (60-80).

1st steep: 1 min 30 sec. 155° F.
2nd steep: 2 min 30 sec. 160° F.
3rd steep: 3 min 30 sec. 160° F.
4th steep: 4 min 30 sec. 160° F.

I just got this in the mail and immediately brewed a cup. I love it. I don’t know what to say about it other than yum. I am not a white tea aficionado and I am not sure what black currents taste like by themselves so it is difficult for me to be a good judge of which flavors are dominant, etc. But I can say that I really really like it.

When I open the bag and smell it, it smells so sweet, like candy. Then when it is brewed up the white tea and the black currents are both delicate and seem well balanced. I added a little agave nectar to it because, well, that’s what I do. That really made it for me. I was sad to hit the bottom of the cup.

Brewed 2 1/2 tsp to about 10 oz for 2 1/2 minutes at 187 F. That is a higher temp than recommended but I don’t have a tea kettle at the moment (getting water from the Keurig) and my kitchen thermometer batteries are out. It didn’t seem to hurt it.

finished off the last of this right now sniff
it will be missed
it was delicious hot and iced
see prior notes for details

Vanished from my cupboard awfully quickly.

Whether it’s served hot or cold, it’s still quite delectable.

Light, pale, fruity, nutty, it all blends together rather pleasantly.

I am calling quits to this rhyming as it is starting to become a wee bit, ummm, unbearable.

^{Yeah, okay, not trying that again. So this blend is amazing. It has sort of a Lupicia characteristic to it. The scent isn’t as strong as Lupicia, but the flavors compliments each other very well. I can taste the subtly sweetness from the black currant and I can also clearly distinguish the bai mu dan. Had this one iced and loved it. I’d definitely consider repurchasing this tea. Oh yeah, and don’t steep the tea for four minutes like I did. It’s not really bitter, it’s a bit strong, but still very drinkable.}

Brewed up a large glass of this iced today (quick brew method over ice). I’m impressed at how naturally sweet this tea is, no need to add anything to it. The currant flavor came out strong to play in this iced tea. I’m loving it! I think I’ll need another pouch to get through summer. I hope they will reblend this one if their is enough demand, must keep in stock!

I received this order a while back, but haven’t tried it until today…

This has a very nice flavor. The black currant is flavorful with a pleasant tart edge to it that isn’t too tart (I wouldn’t like it if it was)… it’s just enough to perk up the taste buds a bit. The white tea is sweet and delicate tasting, but, not so delicate that the black currant overwhelms it. There is a very good balance of flavor in this cup.

That being said, I don’t know that I am as fond of this tea as the rest of Steepster-ville seems to be! I like it, it’s tasty – and I know it’s going to be a very refreshing iced tea when ever it gets warm in the Pacific NorthWET.

As far as the three white teas that were released the week of February 22 – I’ve tasted two of them (this and Ramona’s Spiced Pear) and I prefer the spiced pear. I guess the next time I place the order, I will have to try the tropical explosion… yeah… like I need more tea. ha!

So…all of the reviews on this are HIGH here at steepster…even from some people that tend to score lower…so…let’s see what I think…here are my two cents worth…

It’s gently scented with the Black Currant and is a greenish-yellowish-mild brown color post infusion.

This is very light on the tongue. I can both sip and gulp the tea and enjoy it. It seems to be the perfect flavoring to tea ratio. It’s mildly fruity and juicy. It sweet and NOT bitter. I have found with some Currant flavored teas they tend to be bitter…not this one.

After drinking this I am convinced that Black Currant was MADE to be paired with WHITE TEA.

Way to go 52 Teas! Nicely Done!

This is another squee-worthy sample of tea that JacquelineM sent me :)

The dry leaf smell is so very nummy — like a delicate black currant candy. The smell of the cup was a lighter more white-teaish version of the dry leaves. I was really surprised at how delicate this tea was. Dainty black currant (which I’ve only had black currants that were like “hey, I’m in your tea — makin’ it all curranty”) and light white tea.

As I was drinking the second lovely steep I was reading Steepster and saw Jessica mention marshmallows for another review (for Golden Moon’s Vanilla Jasmine) and it was a “eureka!” moment. This tea conjures up black currant flavored marshmallows. It’s a very pleasant tea, but I’m not clamoring for more. When I finally place my first 52 Teas order? Yes, I will get a larger bag if available. NE

After reading tasting notes on this one I decided I have to place an order for it. Then I thought hmmm maybe just maybe AmazonV sent this to me in her (very generous selections) that she sent to me.

I opened up the box and squealed “Thank you, Thank youuuu AmazonV!!” Grateful I didn’t have to place a order and wait for it to find out if I like it. I steeped it up according to the directions and had a bit of a tea failure in that I spilt some of the leaves into my actual cup by over pouring water into the strainer. So I am having my tea leaves and all!

Okay so dry leaf smells the same as steeped tea (keep in mind there is actual leaf in my tea cup) the smell reminds me of Bath and Body Works. I love the smell in Bath and Body works so this is a good thing and it’s not a strong smell a very faint scent of B&B.

The tea tastes very good! It is white tea mixed with berry flavored I can only think berry as I ‘ve not knowingly ever eaten a black currant and therefore am unsure what they taste like. I enjoyed this cup I think I will make a cup iced today since I read in Jacqueline’s review that it is yummy iced I will try it and revisit my notes then.

Thanks AmazonV you rock!

P.S. Anybody looking to trade some Black Currant Bai Mu Dan for a almost whole bag of Buttered Raisin Cinnamon Toast let me know. :)