First of all, thank you Teavivre for the free sample pack! This was my first time trying silver needle white tea, which is supposed to be even better than White Peony, so I was a bit excited. I’ll admit that I babied the tea just a little bit, brewing it at a very low temperature to avoid astringency, but the result was exquisite. The color of the tea was a very light tan, but it leaned a bit toward peach. The aroma was very pleasing, with lots of flowers and something sweet dominating. The flavor of the first infusion was delicately flowery and sweet, like a more refined version of Bai Mu Dan. There was also a nice aftertaste that lingered on the hard palate and which tasted flowery as well.
The second infusion was steeped for about 25 seconds as this tea seems to steep quicker the second time. It also was a bit darker, and had a stronger aroma. I also used warmer water, about 165 degrees. The taste of the tea was very good, and was a bit stronger than the first infusion, with the flowery flavors dominating the sweetness. The aftertaste was the same, but it lingers for a bit longer.
The third infusion was pretty much exactly like the first, so I’m not going to repeat everything.
The forth infusion was similar to the third, but everything was muted. The taste wasn’t as pronounced, especially the flowery flavors. The aftertaste that had been present in the earlier infusions was almost nonexistent, and the aroma was greatly reduced.
All in all, this was a very good tea, something that would probably be good during spring or summer, and I’m seriously considering buying more of this in the future.
