Wild White Tea

I like how the little sample pouch says ‘3+ cups’. Whoever wrote that have clearly never seen me make tea. :)

I’ve had this one for a while and it’s another one that I don’t know who sent it to me. Considering that it comes from Shang Tea, of whom I am a fan, it may be slightly odd that I’ve been sitting on it for so long. It’s because I’ve had this ‘white tea – urgh…’ phase, which has been going on for rather a long time now. It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just that I’m not at all that fond of it. My severe falling out of love with Bai Mu Dan hasn’t helped matters any either. Shang Tea have, however, in the past provided me with some rather large surprises, so I’m hoping for the best.

The aroma is not very strong and it’s difficult to pin down. It just smells white, really, in that it doesn’t smell at all like any of the other types of tea. Using the inhale-exhale-inhale trick that I learned from Bonnie the other day (thank you Bonnie! I think you’ve just helped me avoid actually dipping the tip of my nose in tea in search of aroma with this trick. (Accidental dipping, mind you)) I can pick up something that reminds me vaguely of cucumber or courgette, but isn’t really either. It’s sort of slightly sweet and it smells like that texture, but still doesn’t really allow itself to be identified. It does remind me some of Bai Mu Dan, though.

The flavour does have a fair bit of courgette to it as well, but strangely, it’s not as unappealing as I normally find it. It’s immediately followed by something very sweet and honey-ish, and I think that’s what rescues it for me, because normally I prefer my courgette flavour to be in courgettes. Bit like cinnamon really. For me, cinnamon and tea ought have nothing to do with each other at all, whether it be naturally occuring or otherwise.

Once again Shang Tea has surprised me. This is really rather nice. It’s not something I must run out and tell the world about, but it’s enjoyable to get to try. If I were fonder of white than I am, I would probably be swooning all over the place.

I got this in a Shang Tea sampler pack. Until I can afford to actually purchase more Shang tea I am absolutely enjoying the samplers!
I LOVE Shang teas – so far there has not been one I have not loved!
This white tea is so different from most whites.
The aroma is of honey as is the initial flavor.
Its rich and deep with a full creamy mouthfeel!
It is so succulent and has this savory after taste almost of basil.
There is also this very light flavor of black pepper but it is so subtle it is easy to miss.
You will find also a slight vegetal flavor but the top note of this tea is indeed sweet honey!
A truly wonderful tea of the highest quality!
I hope to get more soon!

I finally ordered the sampler package after seeing so many good reviews on here and it arrived today, which is really fast shipping…3 days I think. Anyways, this was the first one I picked out, I want to save the ones I think I’ll like best for later, but I’m not sure how that will go since I’m already having an internal argument of whether or not I should try another sample since it’s getting into the evening and I don’t want to stay awake from caffeine, but I also have nothing to wake up early for tomorrow, and so my dilemma continues!

The actual tea now…dry and wet leaves smell very much like sweet hay. In taste is carries a very sweet note in it that is slightly creamy in texture, like honey. The hay notes are very prominent, fresh and crisp. There is a slight floral note that I cannot quite pinpoint it’s origin.

The one thing that really surprises me about this tea is the sweet, creamy honey notes. It tastes like it was added but I assure I did not add anything to this. I brewed it 175F for about 1 minute in a 12 oz vessel. A delicious sweet white tea, and a good start for the samples!

Fresh! Pure! Pretty! Tasty! Smooth! Somewhat Floral aftertaste.
Special Thanks to LiberTEAs for this one!

This tea is another sample from TeaEqualsBliss thank you very much. This tea is light but with flavor. This tea like white tea. This tea is really good and this does not need much sugar even for me,that always adds sugar. I does have abit of its own taste to. This tea does not need a very long steep time either.

This tea has a very different aroma from other white teas I have had. I can’t quite place it, but it seems so familiar and its wonderful. It tastes great too. Definitely something new and different for me.

Simply put, this is the most delicious tea I have ever had. I’ll update later with a more detailed post