Take Togo’s tasting notes (thanks for the swap sample!) and combine it with eastkyteaguy’s praises and quibbles and you have my experience of the 2017 harvest of this tea. I wanted to love this tea for its unique savory, grassy and fruity, well structured and complex profile but I found it lacking in assertiveness in any one flavor and in mouthfeel at times. The bright minerality of this tea is stellar if you’re into that kind of thing like me.
Of the Kenyan teas I’ve tried so far — Silver Needle, Purple Silver Needle, Purple Green and Golden Tips Black — I find they offer a liveliness, whether its citric or fruity, that isn’t necessarily found in their Chinese counterparts. This Purple Silver Needle is like the subtle swells of Lake Superior with a slew of sun-ripened stonefruits bobbing in the ebbs and flows. That’s probably not an accessible comparison for most people interested in this tea, oh well. If you’re a fan of soft, subtle and well rounded teas or are looking for a fruity silver needle without the weight of mustiness, I can definitely recommend this one.
To keep the review the focus since my current life happenings don’t tie into this tea, a bit of an update here at the end: one of my ailments was found out and I’m on a hefty antibiotic regimen. There are a few other things I’m being tested for that could be related or not and I have been referred to a specialist. The issue that’s requiring a specialist is, um, disconcerting. But I’m here and able to actually start my new job next week and luckily Doc didn’t say NO TEA, so I’ll keep the reviews coming. <3
Flavors: Apricot, Blackberry, Butter, Cut Grass, Dry Grass, Floral, Fur, Leather, Mineral, Muscatel, Nectar, Peach, Plum, Popcorn, Strawberry, Vegetables, Zucchini
I am glad that you feel better derk!
Being referred to a specialist is always an alarming thing, derk. You’re in my thoughts and I really hope they can help you and get you to a 100% recovery. Glad they didn’t say no to tea <3.