Silver Bud Ya Bao

Backlog:

I was really happy to find this tea in the Steepster Select box for March. I love Ya Bao teas, but, they are seldom a tea that I put in my “cart” when I’m shopping for tea. It seems that there are just so many great teas out there, you know?

So I looked forward to sampling this tea.

The early infusions were delicate, sweet, slightly grassy, and faintly reminiscent of honeydew melon. I also noted a very faint whisper of spice. Perhaps nutmeg with a hint of white pepper. Very subtle notes of spice, but enough to get the taste buds to perk up and say, hey, what was that?

In later infusions, I tasted notes of peaches and cream. Hay-like notes. The tea became sweeter with each infusion.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/28/silver-bud-ya-bao-white-tea-tea-source/

This came in my Steepster Select box.

It smells vaguely vegetal. The flavour is mellow and sweet, and semi-fruity. Not bad, but I much prefer to cold brew my white teas.

This was a part of my free Steepster Select package. I remember having some ya bao tea as a part of a Verdant blend (the one that tasted herbal to me even though it was not an herbal) but this was the first time that I had it straight.

As lovely as the dry leaf looks, there’s something about this kind of white tea that doesn’t sit well with me. And that doesn’t mean it’s giving me indigestion or anything. There’s just something about the way it tastes… Like drinking tea sap. And I don’t think I am fond of this note. I can’t explain it! It’s like some honey note that went wrong and fermented into wood-shavings.

Well, either way, I will venture to try it again since I have one more single serving packet, and I am not going to rate it either for now * shrugs *.

I had never seen a tea like this before! I was even a little skeptical that pouring water over it would result in tea after 2.5 min, but it did.
Let my water cool a little too much before adding- steeped for 2.5 min as directed at 150F. I wish I had let it go for a little longer- the flavor is nice but a little too light.
Second steep, let it go for about 5 min, taste was roughly the same.
Grassy and fresh- exactly how you’d expect something that looks so fresh to taste. Didn’t love it though.

An interesting tea to say the least. Fuzzy silver buds come tumbling out of the package when you first open it, giving way to an herbal scent with sweet undertones.

The flavor is surprisingly mellow, allowing me to agree with the listed tasting notes. The tea sits at a nice green/gold color.

The package suggests a 2.5 min steep, I think a little longer is better for my personal taste, but I like the tea a little stronger.

*A great tea if you’re into this sort of flavor, but I prefer teas with a little more kick. It’s not a bad tea by any means. It tastes similar to a jasmine tea in my opinion.

This was a wonderfully light, sweet tea. Almost tasted like I had added a touch of honey to it. It’s now one of my favorites. And it is fun to see a tea that visually looks a little different. Instead of shredded leaves, this is small, silver bud tips. I ordered a pound of it and will share with friends. I’m trying to get a dedicated group of tea drinkers started in my area so we can meet and try teas and talk about teas…a tea club.

This was one of my top two in the March 2014 shipment of Steepster Select. It had a beautiful floral note in the first brew, with a bit of melon, and a slight licorice in the after taste. It lost flavor fast though – it did not have any flavor left by the third brew. Still worth it for the first two brews!

Got this in my Steepster Select box this month. Oh joy!!! I’m typically a black tea drinker, by my day has been made by this special little white pile o’ fuzz. The buds look like pussywillows! Steepster recommends you use the whole amount they give you for one cup and I think they’re right. I only used about 2/3 of the envelope and wish I would have used the whole thing. My internal tea clock tells me I brewed it for about 4-5 minutes. As soon as the tea starts steeping, you can SMELLLLL the sweet floweriness of this cup. The flavor is the same—sweet flowery happiness.

If I had it to do all over again, I’d do 3tsp in my mug and keep the brew time around 4-5 min.

This tastes rather one dimensional to me.
It isn’t until it starts to cool that you start to get any floral or fruity notes.
This is not a bad tea, but certainly not great either.
I prefer to begin sipping my tea hot…While it did not deserve to hit the drain,
It is undeserving of accolades…JMHO

The first steep was flowery and had a nice caffeine punch. Second steep had a bit of honey sweetness added, and the third steep was just a bit too diluted for my taste. I’m not a big fan of white tea, too delicate, and too much caffeine to drink a whole lot without getting jittery. That being said, I did enjoy this cup.