A sample of this tea was included with one of my more recent orders from Verdant Tea and I have been putting off trying it for awhile. Honestly, I have been holding back on drinking a lot of white tea over the past couple of months. For one thing, I have such a hoard of high quality black teas that I have been fiendishly trying to reduce, and also, I just don’t tend to drink a lot of white tea at once. I recently finished the last of the Yabao from Whispering Pines and still have a lot of the Moondance left, but due to the miniscule amount of this tea I had on hand, I decided to bump it up in the rotation.
When brewing this tea, I settled on my usual Western three step infusion, with infusion times of 2, 4, and 7 minutes for each infusion. Honestly, Verdant Tea’s recommended brewing temperature of 205 F seemed a little high to me, but I decided to roll with it. I may try a lower temperature and a different infusion method the next time I partake of some of this tea.
The first infusion yielded a slightly greenish liquor with pronounced aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle, and lilac. In the background, I could detect subtle scents of cream and grass as well. On the palate, the jasmine, honeysuckle, and lilac merged with delicate vanilla, marshmallow, cream, oat, grass, mango, and apricot notes. The second infusion yielded a pale golden liquor with delicate aromas of mango, apricot, grass, cream, and melon underscored by delicate lilac, honeysuckle, and jasmine scents. On the palate, I detected distinct notes of cantaloupe, honeydew, nectarine, mango, apricot, white peach, oats, grass, and cream with lilac, honeysuckle, and jasmine lingering in the background. The third infusion yielded a delicate yellow-green liquor with soft aromas of cream, grass, oats, marshmallow, apricots, and melon. On the palate, notes of cream, grass, oats, and marshmallow were front and center, while faint traces of lilac, jasmine, honeysuckle, apricot, mango, and melon were still detectable in the background.
For such a seemingly simple tea, there is a lot going on here. Like a lot of the white teas that I have tried, the aromas and flavors are subtle, but are just present enough to keep the drinker intrigued. I especially appreciated the harmonious melding of aromas and flavors that was so obvious on each infusion. It is also worth noting that while most jasmine teas go over-the-top with the jasmine aroma and flavor, this one reigns it in, allowing other complexities to emerge. As one who finds floral teas to be very hit or miss overall, I can say that I find this one to be an expertly crafted jasmine tea that is well worth one’s time.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Floral, Grass, Honeydew, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Mango, Marshmallow, Oats, Peach, Smooth, Sweet
This is one that I’ve always found nice as well.