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Another unopened sample. This is no longer on the Todd & Holland web site, which is a shame because it’s pretty interesting.

I wasn’t able to find a description of the tea online. But the ingredients say white tea, safflowers, blue flowers, cinnamon chips, raspberry, cinnamon, and clove flavors.

The smell in the packet is interestingly citrusy, which isn’t even an ingredient. The tea is a sort of chartreuse color (heavy on the yellow) and clear, and smells like cinnamon and berries. The flavor is strongly cinnamon and berries, but it is more like blueberry than raspberry to my taste buds (which may mean they aren’t working). Fortunately the clove isn’t very present.

It’s ok, and as I said, interesting even. But not something I’d likely buy again.

As expected, there is less flavor with the suggested parameters. The tea itself has much less color, too.

Not getting a lot from this one. Rating it around where I graded the last silver needle because it isn’t all that different.

Hi everyone! We just got back from Italy last night. We had a wonderful time! It was very hot there so mostly I drank cold water (frizzante), an occasional beer, or a glass of prosecco, pinot gregio or chianti with dinner. I developed a taste for espresso, which didn’t happen the last time I went to Italy, and which I hadn’t thought possible. I started the morning with an American coffee with latte, a cappuccino or espresso. Sometimes I had one of those with lunch or dinner as well. I needed it to keep up with my self-imposed schedule. There was so much to see and so little time.

I did have a “tea” one night with my tartufo, a lemon ginger herbal concoction that was quite lovely.

But anyway, I’m back and resuming the project of working my way through my white teas. This is a never opened sample I’ve had for a while, as are most of my samples these days.

I steeped at the Breville setting for white tea, but I have enough to try it a couple of different ways, too. The package says steep at 185 for 2 minutes. That sounds like a recipe for not tasting anything to me, but I’m willing to try it. I am also planning to try it at the parameters for the Ancient Moonlight and see what that does.

At the temp I used, I got a clear golden-yellow liquor, but not much in the way of distinguishing flavor. It’s possible this is because I had some flavored black tea leaves left in the Breville basket while I was gone and mostly what I smell and taste is something I can’t be sure isn’t partly that other tea.

For my second tea this morning, I think I’m going to try this one again at the settings recommended on the package and see what I get.

In the tin, this smells more fruity than floral to me, which is surprising. The tea’s aroma after steeping is quite something. There’s a deep chocolatey smell to the tea with some citrusy/florally notes. MMMMMmmmmm.

The tea is clear and medium orange-brown.

Flavor-wise, there’s a chocolatey/mocha note that is pleasing. The floral/fruit is subtle and lovely. I have turned a corner on hibiscus and I now enjoy it, but I don’t think I’d recognize this as hibiscus. The combination of hibiscus and mallow is more like dragonfruit to me, though I get hibiscus in the aftertaste. But I have to look for it.

Definitely different, and quite tasty.

Sipdown no. 81 of 2018 (no. 437 total). A sample.

This time I steeped according to the white Breville setting.

It was better at the recommended time and temp but the lower temp and shorter time didn’t render it entirely tasteless or weird.

In the tin, this smells very bergamot-y, like an Earl Grey. But once steeped it becomes pretty interesting.

Mostly, there’s a really unique coffee note in among the citrus, which mellows out quite a bit with the steep. The tea is brown, maple colored.

It tastes pretty much like it smells, except that the citrus is lighter and less intense. Mostly it creates a freshness in the mouth. The interesting coffee note remains. The tea has just a slight touch of sweetness. This is going to be fun to try again as there is something about it that makes me think it will be a bit of a chameleon depending on food pairings.

Another ATR sample white. I steeped according to the directions on the packet and I’m thinking this may be the way to go for white tea in the future. 190F at 6 minutes.

While I can’t go so far as to say this makes me get white tea, or it makes me understand it, or whatever, I can say that compared to the ones I’ve had lately this one is different in a good way.

It doesn’t have a planty smell in the packet, or after steeping. In the packet, it actually smells a tad like cantaloupe.

After steeping it smells more floral. It’s a clear, light golden yellow and it has a pleasant sweet taste that’s refreshing in the mouth. Actually, in reading the description ATR gave for it, I have to say I get pretty much what they say out of this, even down to the cherry. Maybe not the apricot.

My rating is cautious because I have white tea PTSD and I’m not sure I know what I’m talking about. It is just meant to reflect that I like this quite a bit more than the other white teas I’ve had recently.

Sipdown no. 80 of 2018 (no. 436 total).

I’m glad I have so many teas I like. The outliers that I really don’t care for I dispose of fairly fast, so I’m left with things that are all quite good to the point where grading them becomes an exercise in hairsplitting. Apart from the mega-standouts, most of the teas I have fall into the 70-90 range so when it comes time to follow my protocol for picking a cold brew, unless there’s one in the fast disposal category, I hit things I like pretty quickly. This is both sad and a good thing. Sad because making a huge pitcher of cold brew goes through tons of tea fairly fast, and a good thing because the cold brew is always yummy.

That’s where we are with this one. A yummy cold brew, and also yummy as a hot tea. Sorry to see it go.

Sipdown no. 79 of 2018 (no. 435 total).

It wasn’t my favorite Mariage Freres, so it went pretty quickly into the sipdown pile. I think I’m not huge on flavored darjeelings. I stand by the initial assessment that I’d have liked this better if it had a China black base.

It pains me to say this, but I think white tea is the only tea that I like better when it isn’t plain.

For most teas, I really enjoy the complexity of the flavors in a truly awesome non-flavored tea, and flavored ones are more a sort of a fun thing that adds spice to the experience.

To my dismay, my recent white tea experiment has done nothing to make me appreciate it more, or understand it better, or otherwise “get it.”

But I’m a sucker for jasmine, and white tea is a great jasmine delivery vehicle.

The smell in the packet isn’t anything to write home about. It’s a sort of planty smell that isn’t all that appealing, and I don’t really smell jasmine. But after steeping at the Breville settings for white tea (185F for 4 minutes), there’s a gentle jasmine aroma that is divinely juicy. The tea is a light yellow and clear, and the flavor is pure jasmine.

It turns out that not having much of a discernible independent flavor can make for a great base for a flavor you truly love.