White Peony (Bai MuDan) Tea

Special thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sharing this nice white in her very bountiful envelope!

First, I must say that my tasting note on this tea may seem a little different than others that have posted. It may be because I chose to add a little extra leaf in the pot, nonetheless the result is very tasty!

The aroma of the dry leaves are sweet and enticing. There is a certain floral undertone to the wet leaves, similar to blossoming honey suckle. Even though there is sweetness at its base, there is certainly much more. I found the liquid when first poured, to have a distinct aquatic flavor. Only one word that I know how to specify exactly – seaweed! I tried several smaller cups (87ml) to confirm this detection. Yes indeed!

As the cup cools, the grassy pelagic notes soften to a smoother, thicker malty sip. With the body of the tea, there is a certain coppery cocoa-like flavor. One last thing, you also find a touch of astringency towards the end, but your palate is left with a clean, ginger-like taste that lingers nicely.

Very nice cup of tea!

This one was included as a free sample with my Teavivre order and it’s been poking about on a shelf ever since I found out what sort of tea it was. I’m not really the keenest white tea drinker in the world, to be entirely honest. I tend to get along with added flavour better than without.

The funny thing is that not that many years ago, so recent in fact that it’s documented here on Steepster, I thought BMD was the bestest thing ever. Ever! And then… I just kinda fell out of love with it without even realising it. I even went so far as to toss almost an entire tin of it the other day when I realised that I hadn’t even touched it in years, and that it was so old by now that I wouldn’t even be able to make myself give it away.

Honestly? I felt better for having just taken that particular bull by the horns and cleared out something that would otherwise just have stood there for ever. I even managed to use that same momentum to toss a couple of other things in that same sort of category. One of these days I really have to go through the tea corner and make some tough decisions on what is likely to get used up and what is likely to simply gather dust. I have to say it’s not a job I’m looking forward to, even though I know I’ll feel good about having done it afterwards.

Now, back to this tea. I debated with myself for a bit about whether to brew it western style or whether to attempt to semi-gong-fu it, but eventually decided on western style. As I discussed previously, I often feel that western style gives me a better, deeper sort of idea of the flavour profile at hand, not to mention the fact that drinking seven cups of a tea I felt a little dubious about from the beginning didn’t really sound super appealing.

I patted myself on the back when I saw that the brewing guidelines from Teavivre are actually for a western style cup.

When I opened the little envelope, I was struck by how brightly light green the leaves were. Green tea is usually bright green as well, but this was even brighter, and it was the same thing when they were wet after steeping and a few of them landed in the strainer. I recall a much more sort of brownish and greyish sort of green.

They had a vegetal aroma, rather spicy like Darjeelings and for some reason reminded me or pea pods, in spite of the fact that they smelled nothing like any part of the pea plant at all.

After steeping the tea has a darker sort of aroma, kind of vegetal and grassy. There’s also a strong aroma of something familiar that I couldn’t quite place. This is where I cheated and looked at what other people had noted there. I normally try to avoid this, as I feel it adds a bias to my own experience. If someone says they’ve found for example notes of melons in whatever it is I’m writing about, I end up sitting here trying my damndest to find those melons too. And if I then do find them, I’m never quite certain if I really think there is a note of melons or if I’ve been affected by someone else’s experience. But this time I needed some help with identifying that note.

So I used a lifeline and asked the audience.

A couple of people mentioned cucumber and that rang a bell. For me, though, it’s more along the lines of courgettes, but there isn’t really a very large difference there. Whether it’s cucumbers or courgettes I think is a question of association.

This note is enormous in the flavour as well. Courgette all over the place. Along with those there is definitely a grassy note again, but it’s not as spicy as in the arome and it’s staying in the background.

This cup of liquid courgette tea is probably not going to bring me back into the white tea fold. I just think that the black teas and the dark oolongs have a so much more interesting flavour than the green and whites. 7 out of 10 cups, I reach for a black tea and I don’t really expect that to change any time soon. The remaining three are typically oolongs.

It does however make me curious about a couple of other BMD samples I’ve got standing around. I’ve mostly found walnutty flavours in BMD in the past and I’m interested to see if this courgette business might happen in others as well.

I got my box of tea from china today! Woot!

We have the pai mu tan from tropical tea company and I like this one better. The pai mu tan feels like the less interesting cousin to this one. I get a bit of cucumber and pepper ending with a note like alfalfa fields. I haven’t ever chewed on alfalfa but this tastes like they smell. I find it mildly sweet. Score! A good tea but I think I like the darker teas a bit more.

This is very tasty. I love how green the dry leaves look. Delicious sweet floral flavor. I’m detecting melon and cucumber. There’s something like pastry in this. A sweet bakery aroma. Num. I really love the smell. Very refreshing. I’ll let you know how the caffeine treats me. :D usually whites make me really jittery and headachy. Black give me an alert shakey buzz. funny how different caffeine affects me differently. This tea is worth it though!

We got our box from Teavivre today, so a big thank you to Angel and the rest of the Teavivre team.

I should start this off with a bit of a disclaimer that I wouldn’t consider myself much of a white tea fan. They tend to be subtle and contemplative teas. Maybe more useful to someone with a more discerning palate than my own.

However – this is by far the best white tea I’ve ever had. The flavor itself is still a little subdued, but the heavier feel of this brew really took me for surprise (actually, I’ve felt that way about both of the Teavivre teas I’ve tried now… it’s probably a mark of quality).

There’s a little sweetness to this, and a very… fresh, spring, vegetation taste to it. A light tea with a grassy flavor, and… something, like cucumber skin, or maybe sprouts on the edge. Very very fresh tasting. At the end, there’s a spicier, maybe light peppery flavor to it, reminds me of that same somewhat leafy, peppery taste from a golden Yunnan tea. Not sure if that makes sense.

I don’t think this one is going to make it to the ‘keep’ list, but I’m glad that I tried it. Thanks again Angel!

Thankyou to Angel and TEAVIVRE for this wonderful sample!
Dry smell: tastes like sweet hay and fresh grass
Taste: I still taste the hay a little bit but there is certainly floral and sweet notes poking through this very fresh white tea base. I like white teas because they are so fresh and light!
2nd steep: 95degrees, 3minutes, now the white hay base is lighter and the floral sweetness is really taking centre stage, my favourite steep
3rd steep: 95degrees, 4minutes, losing the sweet floral taste but still good.
I think this tea would also be good to mix with other teas that are floral

I may have stated before but, my previous experiences with white tea have been lack luster. I am fairly certain that this is my first White Peony(Bai MuDan) as well. However the offerings that I have sampled from Teavivre have changed my outlook on white tea. I am liking more so than I like straight up green tea. I’m beginning to think maybe my previous attempts at white tea were fumbles at the goal line. The dry leaf is fuzzy like a peach with some buds mixed in. Pale yellow liquor. Much like the white silver needles the flavor is a little nutty, slightly vegetal. There were some floral notes too on a couple of sips as it cooled. At one point I thought that I caught a cinnamon note and cocoa note. I might be crazy on those but I’m also a tad congested lately. I am very much in like with the white teas that I have sampled from Teavivre. I may have to explore some more white teas now.

Tea of the late afternoon…..

First of all, “Happy Friday”! I am so thankful the weekend is here. Secondly, thank you to Teavivre for sending this sample along with my first order. (I will just let you know, that I am becoming a huge fan of this company!)

The tea: I have had white teas in the past, but they have mostly been flavored versions. And I probably sweetened them, too. This is a good one because it is good all on its own, no added flavors, no need to add sweetness. It is light and has notes that are both floral and slightly vegetal. It is lighter than my favorite green tea (Premium Dragon Well), and really reminds me of Spring. A very good offering, and since I need some white tea in my life, I will order this at some point. Definitely my favorite white to date. (I have had at least 2 unflavored whites, but they did not impress me much.)

Right about now, I should be asking what Teavivre puts in their tea to make it so good! I think it is excellent, fresh tea, and excellent service.

About 3 tsp tea (it is fluffy!) in a 15 oz mug, about 180 water for 2 minutes. No additions. (I love teas that are great plain!)

My previous experiences with white tea have been few and far between, and not particularly exciting. It’s not that I dislike white tea, I just like a less subtle tea experience most of the time.

Anyway, this tea is beautiful to look at. The leaves are very complete, dark green with silver, and fuzzy. They smell a little on the sweet side, and fresh. Previously, I’ve gotten all sorts of weird aftertastes with white teas, particularly Adagio’s. This just tastes delicious. I guess this is what white tea is supposed to taste like! It reminds me of spring, of being out in the grass and sunlight. There is a hint of vegetal green tea flavor, but I like it.

I don’t know if this was just a Georgia thing, but when I was a kid, there was this sort of wild grass that if you pulled the longest piece, there would be a tip on the blunt end that was white and edible. It tasted just like this.

This is what a satisfying white tea is like. Now I think I understand. I’ve just had bad white teas in the past!

I brewed this in my Breville according to the suggested parameters on the package (or as close as I could achieve since the temperature variables on the Breville are at 5 degree intervals): 190 degrees F for 1.5 minutes.

Delicious. Very pale in color (beautiful!) and such a delicate yet incredible flavor. Smooth, creamy, with notes of grass and hay and flower. Such a wonderful white tea.

I may have mistakenly reviewed this tea under it’s organic version before, oh well. Thanks again to Angel and Teavivre for these samples.

Having drank the silver needle white tea yesterday, I decided to go ahead and try the bai mu dan today in comparison. I don’t know that I’ve ever really compared the flavor of two different white tea varietals, so this should be interesting. Right away the dry leaf still smells like hay, but I think greener hay. Perhaps even somewhat like dried grass clippings.

The real difference came the moment the water hit the leaf; the silver needle still smelled like hay, whereas this tea became greener smelling and more vegetal. After one minute this tea was already dark enough so I pulled the brew basket. It smells hay-ish, but also a bit like buttered vegetables and a bit of honey. The flavor is definitely more vegetal, with some cucumber notes along with the hay. A hint of florals, though I wouldn’t be able to pin down what type. Perhaps something odd like clover flowers. Slightly like salted butter, as well.

I would say that I much preferred the silver needles to the bai mu dan. This one was grassier and more vegetal, and reminded me more of some green teas. It’s also very lightly astringent at 1 minute, but that could be slight overleafing. Still, this is quite enjoyable and I do want to try this one also gongfu style eventually.

Gaiwan 3oz Tea: 5g 5 steeps: rinse, 25s,45s,1m10s,1m40s,2m30s 90ºC / 194ºF

The leaves are a nice quality with a fresh and gentle green smell.
Once brewed the leaves gain strength and sweetness.

The tea soup is pale yellow in colour.

Flavour wise it’s sweet and fresh and a little green tasting. The sweetness is almost like subtle sweetpea.
During the second and third steeps the colour becomes golden yellow and smells gentley floral, like flowers in a breeze.
A green vegetal flavour becomes prominant during the third and fourth steeps.

So I kind of have a completely neutral relationship with white tea so far. The last one I had was a silver needle, that — while I’m sure it could have been a great silver needle — didn’t really do it for me.

I think this one is better, but I didn’t really get much of a delicate floral taste. Probably due to my “throw it in a cup and add hot water” style of drinking tea at work, it tasted a little more “bakey” or “bready”. Those don’t really sound like the most appetizing words to describe tea, but it’s not in a bad way, I promise. Another aspect that I repeatedly fail to consider is that some of the little leaf pieces don’t sink to the bottom and it’s kind of tricky to drink straight out of the cup (and a bit awkward during meetings). But overall it’s a solid bai mu dan.

First review and a huge thanks to Angel from Teavivre for this generous sample! I very carefully opened the tea package (which is beautiful) and inhaled deeply several times to catch the first burst of scent all dry, nutty and vegital but still muted and light. I got my Spring Water…loaded my electric kettle to temp 194 and set my glass teapot to the ready. I put 3 teaspoons for 8 oz. water in the SS. basket. The leaves are a mulch of forest green lush leaves tinged with brown and small brown twigs. Steep time 2 minutes. Ready for the tasting. Put my nose down to smell the wet mash…all spinich and buttery rich. The pour into my glass mug is a champagne gold liquor nice and pale with no vegital scent at all. In fact…the scent is like cherrios dust…like at the bottom of the box. There is no floral taste like I expected or acid. The next step was to check on what would happen when I added some sugar. I didn’t overdo the sweet out of respect for the light character of the tea. There is a change…a light biscuit tone. Really there is. I think this would be a good tea choice with raspberries and cream or a croissant and jam because of the balance of acid, cream and butter in the food and biscuity lightness in the tea. No milk in this tea for me. Milk would be too heavy and the flavor of this tea is just too delicato. A second steep for 4 minutes proved a bit weak and more vegital. Still, good color and flavor. In a tea tasting I would put this in the forefront before stronger and heavier tea.

This is delightful! A new muss – no fuss…White! Peony, indeed! Gentle and soothing a semi sweet floral make this wonderful!

Dry paper, flowers, and perfume. Read my full review here…
http://iheartteas.teatra.de/2012/01/white-peony-tea-bai-mudan-teavivre/

This is probably the fourth sample from Teavivre and I again find myself in love with this tea (ok there was that moment where it went down the wrong pipe – but that was all my fault). It is very delicate and the leaves are light and fuzzy. I used my clear tumbler/infuser to watch the magic happen. It was a good show. ;) The first steep was more vegetal, while the second steep brought out more of the flowery taste. But I enjoyed both. I’m going to try for one last steep. I sense another order to Teavivre coming after the holidays! Many thanks to them for this sample!

Online Info:
Teavivre’s website is easy to navigate, full of information and, to me, is frustration free. There is a good range of teas without being overwhelming. Each tea has pictures of leaf and brew. There is a summary tab and a more info tab that includes a map of where the tea is grown. The prices seem about right and there is free shipping with a $30 purchase.

Packaging:
Delivery from China took about 2 weeks. Shipment well protected. Inside the box the outermost pouches were bubble wrapped! Each tea came in a heavy resealable pouch. Nice. The pouch label includes ingredients, origin, production date, shelf life, brewing instructions, plus manufacturer and distributor info. The information is specific to the tea inside – not a, one size fits all, label. Inside the pouch each sample was individually wrapped. I am impressed with the attention to detail. It speaks volumes of the quality and care level at Teavivre.

Leaf And Brew:
The dry leaf is a mix of white and green colors and yes I can see the white fuzz. It smells like tobacco, maybe a light cigar wrapper – a really good smell. The wet leaf is more of a sweet dried grass. I followed the instructions and steeped the first cup for 90 seconds – longer on later cups. The brew is a light yellow. More amber in the cup.

The Sip:
I did not use sweetener on the first cup. I tasted cucumber. I have never caught that in a tea before and it tastes way better than it sounds. This is followed by the slightest peppery note. At the back of the sip is a mild grassiness that lingers in the aftertaste with a natural touch of sweetness. An interesting mix of flavors. Next cup, because I am a barbarian, I added a bit of sweetener. This brought the sweet grassiness up a notch and dropped the cucumber down a bit but all the flavors were present and were experienced in the same order as before. The third, fourth, and fifth cups the cucumber is gone the drink is more inline with what my preconceived idea of a white tea tastes like, but better. I did not know white tea could steep this many times. It was still going strong when I quit.

Conclusion / Rating:
This is my first loose white. This tea is pleasant and interesting. Each cup is full of different flavors. As my previous experience is with bagged versions, I am basing my score on my own enjoyment level and not on any comparisons.

I am so very grateful to Teavivre for this sample which I am long overdue on reviewing. I tried it over a month ago when I was just getting over a cold and didn’t get a great tasting from it, so I wanted to revisit it to give it a fair rating and review, and just . . . got distracted. It’s horrible of me but here I am now, hoping that a good solid review helps make up for my faults.

I did two steeps of this one tonight, both with water that was filtered through a Brita since my tap water can be fairly chemical. I followed the package instructions for brewing temperature, amount, etc., for the first steep. This meant a 90 degree C steep for one minute. The colour of the tea was a light yellowy-green, and my first sips were . . . not much flavour at all. In fact I got halfway through the cup and still hadn’t much flavour. Knowing that second steeps are always the better, I dumped the rest of cup one and eagerly went on to cup two.

This time I did the same temperature but for twice as long, this time two minutes. The tea was the same colour but slightly more intense, which left me hopeful. There was definitely flavour here this time. And as I sipped more and more I got floral notes.

Now I’m still fairly new to straight teas, especially whites since quality whites can run top dollar sometimes. And while I am extremely grateful for this amazing sample from Teavivre it has helped me realize that Bai MuDan teas just aren’t going to be one of my favourite types. It wasn’t until tonight as I was sipping this one that I put together the Peony in the english name with . . . floral. Stupid of me I know, but truth! I’m not a big jasmine fan so I’m not surprised to also not be a large fan of peony, but I wish it was different since this is clearly a quality version of the type of tea.

I’m not giving it a rating since it isn’t the tea but my tastes that would give it a lower number. Again, a huge thank you to Teavivre for letting me try this tea!

As I opened the package of this tea I started thinking about my experience with white teas… and I realized it’s absolutely minimal! I do tend to lean more towards black/red, oolong, and pu-erh teas. So it was a very pleasant change of pace and please forgive me if my description falls inadequate!

The dry leaf is light and sweet. I love the look of it, too. It just looks pleasant, for lack of a better term. The leaves were whole and unbroken, soft and downy. I was careful to use water of the correct temperature and to brew within the recommended time frame. I’ve noticed how some of my recent teas have been fixed outside of recommended methods and have fallen short for me.

The tea itself is light and springy, mildly vegetal and more grassy, I’d say. But it’s a light flavor, not overwhelming at all. I would love to try this someday as an iced tea as well, though I have a feeling I’ll still prefer it hot. I almost forgot how few infusions can be made from a white tea. As I noted, I am much more used to drinking darker teas that can withstand many infusions, so it was sort of a nice change of pace to end after just a few small infusions.

This tea is very tasty and I’m excited to try it more!

Thanks again to TeaVivre for the sample!