White Bud Puerh

At last, the moment I have been waiting for! I wanted to taste this one when I could concentrate on it, treat it with careful attention, and squeeze every last possible steep out of it. This is a gift from K S. Thank you!

The leaves seemed to have a sweet, fruity smell. Either that is the melon K S was referring to, or the bag picked up a little of the scent of the Superfruit Sencha. If the latter is the case, I am pleased to say that I believe the taste is unadulterated. As I pour the hot water over the leaves, there is foam, like suds, but I didn’t use soap on this pot and as usual I rinsed it several times before using it tonight. Each steep got a new little froth at the top of the pot. Odd thing to happen, but this doesn’t taste soapy at all, so I have no idea what it is doing.

I have only had one or two shengs. This one is smoother than Ziyun Puerh Maocha, but has that same top note of brash youth one finds in shengs. It is in the aroma only, not in the taste. It really looks and almost smells like a sturdy white tea, but the sheng flavor is there for certain. My first impression was that this isn’t quite like anything I have tried before. As I tried to come up with descriptors, broth came to mind. I could really see using this a soup base and adding some spring onions and chives and soft wonton wrappers and sweet crunchy vegetables. Yes, it would make a wonderful spring soup base!

There is a strong grain flavor, too. I think it is oats that I taste most here. I am not getting cucumber right now. We’ll see if that comes up in later steeps!

Steep two: this is heartier, and I taste the maltiness more. The tea seems dark (in character, weightiness) and oaty as I sip. Now in the aroma, if I Inhale really deeply, there is a fruitiness. That must be the cucumber. They always seem so fresh and crisp and that is mixed with the salty oat flavor.

Steep three: The color remains strong, this tastes salty! Lovely oats and broth, warm white bud or silver needle flavor, mixed with sheng.

Thank you, K S, for a really neat tea experience and for the opportunity to taste such an unusual tea! When I stop sloshing, I may go for another steep!

I have been trying lately not to duplicate my Steepster posts with what’s on my blog. This tea is so wonderful I am going to break my rule -

This is the third of the Vicony Teas Company samples I have received for review. This Yunnan Silver Needle White Tea is a sheng puerh. It is listed as Art. No: BYP12 on Vicony’s website. The leaf on this looks like a normal loose leaf silver needle white tea. Very white and very fresh. It has only the mildest scent.

I used my wooden spoon to measure out a healthy scoop of the leaf. I used 12oz of near boiling water and my press. The first steep was 2 minutes. The leaf danced in the press, hanging from the surface of the water. The brew is very clear with nothing floating in it. The color is a dull green. So far there is not a lot that even hints this is puerh other than the slightly darker brew color. There are no scents I normally associate with sheng or raw puerh. In fact it has little scent. Just a hint of fresh hay.

I lift the cup and sip. Ahhh, there it is. At first you catch notes of melon and cucumber but as subdued glimpses really. This gives way to the wonderful leather taste I usually reserve for shu puerh. Actually, I am not sure I have ever tasted it in a sheng puerh. As the cup cools the melon really comes alive and blends with the leather. The result is pure joy. Now it is developing a natural sweetness. I feel a nice coolness on my breath. This is really seriously good.

Cup two was also steeped for 2 minutes. It differs from the first in some respect. The leather is less pronounced but still obvious. This has become even sweeter and slightly more like white tea in taste. The melon / cucumber notes are more prevalent. The more the cup cools the more it takes on a grainy flavor – something like wheat.

Cup three continues with the grainy taste. The leather has disappeared.

On cup four the grainy taste has turned to pure malt. Each cup has grown darker. This one is golden in the press and caramel in the cup.

This white puerh is not the flavor blast that puerh fans often expect. On the other hand this is one of the most complex puerhs I have ever tried. It has zero bitterness. It is a lighter more delicate cup that white tea fans will greatly appreciate. After only one session with this I am hooked. This should be in your tea cupboard!