Snow Buds (Xue YA)

Yay, back to tea tasting after a week in Denmark with only coffee available for most of the time. The coffee was not bad but I did miss the good teas. I took some easy to brew teas with me, which helped but I felt the lack of my water filter, variable temperature kettle, etc! I was able to visit ‘Simply Tea’ in Aarhus where I had a rather nice sheng pu, but overall it really was a coffee-drinking conference. So now I have returned and can control my brewing properly. The first tea I picked out was this Snow Buds that I bought from Canton Tea because I wanted to see how it compared to others that I have had.

The dry leaf is light and grassy, smelling like a sweet summer meadow. It is most aesthetically pleasing to look upon, an olive green leaf with a light white fuzz on the underside. The aroma mellows as the tea brews, developing a nuttier note to it that carries through into the taste. It is light, sweet, slightly nutty and very drinkable. The liquor is a pale straw colour, almost colourless in my cup. The tea resteeps well through the third steeping. I have not tried more. Overall it is an excellent choice for drinking on a hot summer’s day, a bit like today in fact.

This is such a light, refreshing tea. Very mild, very light – the brewed color is a light pale wheat color. The brew has a light hint of a tang or tart to it as well. Lovely.

I once read a Japanese food related comic, that mentioned drinking hot tea on a hot day. I alway thought that was absolutely insane. However, this tea makes me understand this. I could drink this tea on a hot day and be refreshed and happy.

For an everyday drinking tea however, I’d like something with a little more oomph.

(from http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2436/tea-review-canton-tea-co-snow-buds-xue-ya-2/)

Wow. The aroma of the dry leaves, an intensely sweet and grassy smell, was incredible. I opened the package and it wafted instantly to my nose from a foot away. That, I must say, was impressive. I went ahead and steeped two teaspoons in one cup for a little over 2 minutes.

The aroma of the steeped liquor retains some of the same sweetness, but it is also much more mellow. The flavour suprises me. It comes out much more light and subdued that I had expected. I think that perhaps the second steeping I shall try for three minutes to see how it changes the flavour. There is not much aftertaste, but the small amount that lingers on the tongue is soft, and not overly vegetal at all. Traces of the original aroma of the dry leaves hang for a moment in the throat before they are gone. It is time for the second steeping.

The leaves dance about in the tiny glass pitcher for three minutes more. These leaves are beautiful, tiny buds with the slightest small hairs. The aroma of this second steep seems to be thicker, somehow, yet not stronger. The flavours remain much the same as they were in the first steeping.

While this tea was good, I am left with the impression that my taste buds missed something significant that this tea had to offer. It certainly is a tasty green tea, and I would recommend it for fans of more delicate greens. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it an 80/100.

Beautiful leaf. A tart, slightly vegetal flavor with a nice mellow finish.