White Symphony

Tea type
White Tea
Ingredients
White Tea
Flavors
Cucumber, Floral, Hay, Melon, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Vegetal, Astringent, Flowers
Sold in
Loose Leaf, Sachet
Caffeine
Low
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Michael
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 30 sec 3 g 8 oz / 230 ml

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60 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Sipdown no. 36 of 2014. The last pot is better than this morning’s, perhaps because in an effort to drink it up I went heavy on the leaf. It could also have something to do with having eaten pasta...” Read full tasting note
    66
  • “Disclaimer: Really out of my element on this testing. Having nothing to really judge it against, will just record impressions and opinion (but take it for what it’s worth right now). This is a...” Read full tasting note
  • “This is my first white tea and I really liked the flavors. The smoothness of the tea and the flavors reminded me mostly of green tea without the grassy flavors. Definitely a good anytime tea. 1.5...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “Meh. Nothing special. Had a few sips/half a cup and decided I wasn’t ready for this tea yet. It has a strong scent of something I don’t enjoy, but the taste isn’t too bad.” Read full tasting note

From Adagio Teas

An exquisite version of the White Peony variety, this is a delicate tea made from unopened leaf buds and the newest two leaves to open on the tea bush. For White Symphony, many more buds are included than is typical for classic White Peony. The liquor is very light, similar to Silver Needles. But the flavor is much more complex: faintly floral, warm and sugary like honeydew or white nectarine. Soft mouthfeel and clean, uplifting finish. If you’ve been enjoying White Peony, we invite you to savor this more refined version.

Ingredients: White Peony tea

Steeping Instructions: 195°F / 91°C @ 3-5 min

About Adagio Teas View company

Adagio Teas has become one of the most popular destinations for tea online. Its products are available online at www.adagio.com and in many gourmet and health food stores.

60 Tasting Notes

66
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 36 of 2014.

The last pot is better than this morning’s, perhaps because in an effort to drink it up I went heavy on the leaf. It could also have something to do with having eaten pasta for dinner, so there is no danger of this being heavy in my stomach (the pasta is taking care of that job).

The flavor this time still has that planty note that isn’t my favorite, but there’s a really nice, pleasant sweetness to the finish.

I am starting to think that how you react to a given tea must be as much about what the chemical balance in your body is at the time as anything else. Maybe there’s something about tomato-based sauce that goes particularly well with this. Who knows.

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136 tasting notes

Disclaimer: Really out of my element on this testing. Having nothing to really judge it against, will just record impressions and opinion (but take it for what it’s worth right now). This is a white tea (unusual for me) and I’m testing it without additions (eeeek, lol).

The brewed tea aroma is floral (can’t place which) and vegetal…mostly vegetal (like a pot of fresh green beans boiling on stove).

First sip impression: eh, going to take a few more sips to adjust to “no sweetener” added. Sip sip sip … this does taste like a vegetable broth of some sort (not green beans). There’s a slight bitterness to it (slight, slight). Not really liking the aftertaste, even though the tea itself is quite drinkable “plain”. While it’s still warm, going to run and add a little honey (wimping out, I know)…. Added a tsp. of honey, and it justs seems to get more vegetable-like. Since I’m not one to drink vegetable broth, this isn’t for me. Not going to give it a number rating (wouldn’t be fair). It’s probably quite good for what it is … not a weakling by any means.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 7 min, 0 sec
Autumn Hearth

For godsake woman shorten your steep time! ;) i can only imagine that’s why you were getting so much veg and that hint of bitterness. For a straight white I would steep 5 mins tops, I don’t trust package recommendations, especially after tonights green debacle.

Cheryl

Yea, and it’s not Adagio’s fault (they said 3-5). I was reading other tealogs about this tea and several said 7 (and liked it). So I do need to give it another try, perhaps at the other extreme :)

TeaBrat

I never steep white teas past 2 minutes usually…

Daniel Scott

Hi! Got here from my own tealog, and I had to laugh – I, too, am trying to kick a Coke habit with tea. Well, maybe not entirely (I can’t actually bring myself to imagine a life without pop), but it seems to have worked, largely, since I mostly drink tea now.

I “wimp out” on the no-sugar thing, too. I’ve gotten down to as little as one packet of raw sugar for a cup, but haven’t made it to clear; even when I promise myself I’ll drink a cup clear, I inevitably end up adding a sweetener anyway.

I would also try a shorter steep. A low-quality white might stand up to 7 minutes – I recently had a Tazo white that turned out to stand up to a combined steep time of 2 minutes, 4 minutes and 6 minutes on three steeps, but that’s a bagged tea. Better quality whites I also keep to 2 minutes, max. Sometimes I see reviews of tea where people are listing steep times that are so long that I think they’re just wacky!

Cheryl

Truthfully, I haven’t given up Coke either completely, but drinking a lot less now. My problem comes from being a sipper and I always end up drinking hot tea quickly, needing more : ) My water consumption is up though…ha.

But yea, this is in my “try again” pile (not the “OMG no!” pile) so will go for 2-3 next time. Matter of fact, a lot of things I tested as a newbie probably needs retested (now that I have a vari-temp kettle and realize time and temp do matter a lot).
p.s. chocolate brownies are better with (homemade) peanut butter icing (tell your Mom…lol).

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80
46 tasting notes

This is my first white tea and I really liked the flavors. The smoothness of the tea and the flavors reminded me mostly of green tea without the grassy flavors. Definitely a good anytime tea. 1.5 tsps in 12oz cup, 180º for 7 minutes.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 7 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

You don’t use much leaf. I average about a TB per 6oz of water. Have you considered backing off substantially on the steeping time instead of using less leaf? After a lot of people commented on Adagio’s excessively long suggested steepage times, I’ve tried a few at 3min and found that oddly enough the flavor pops even more. If you decide to try a short steeping time, let me know what you think of it:)

Kyle Stern

While I agree that I probably don’t use as much tea as I “should” I kind of wonder if using more tea in less time is just the same as less tea with more time. I’ll have to explore that. For the time being I’ll enjoy using less leaf so I don’t go through it as fast and get my money’s worth. Thanks for the input though.

Cofftea

No problem Kyle. The delete buttons came back so I used them:) The one thing I’ve found is using more time vs. more leaf produces a bitter, boring taste even though it isn’t strong while using more leaf makes the flavors more vibrant… to me at least, and my taste buds can be quite odd sometimes lol. I always joke that they’re ADHD:)

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558 tasting notes

Meh. Nothing special. Had a few sips/half a cup and decided I wasn’t ready for this tea yet. It has a strong scent of something I don’t enjoy, but the taste isn’t too bad.

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70
639 tasting notes

The first steep at 180 degrees for two and a half minutes was kind of bad. It wasn’t completely bitter, so I’ll say it was halfway bitter. Not great.

The second steep for five minutes began normal and then went downhill. I think I might be letting the tea cool off too much as I drink it. It doesn’t taste nearly as good lukewarm as it does piping hot.

This is the last of my sample, and I’m not too sad to see it go. Though I am sad that I could never duplicate the same experience as that very first cup of tea. It was complex and beautiful.

Unfortunately, it never was again. Because of this, I’m lowering the rating from 80 to 70.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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84
14 tasting notes

I’m back to regular steepstering!

The leaf appearance before the brew was actually quite lovely. Large, long needle tea leaves were accompanied by full-sized, open brownish leaves. I saw many two-leaf one-bud pairings, which I found interesting in this white tea that’s supposedly second-third flush.
The dry leaves had a woodsy smell, with an almond-nut undertone. After the brew, the needles opened to reveal subtle greens, and in the strainer, they had the appearance of army camouflage, pre digital BS.
The colour of the tea itself was a light amber, glowing in my glass cup.
The nose was earthy and moist, the nutty undertones from the dry leaf scent coming to play and promising a wonderful undertone.
Flavour: A full bodied, earthy white tea with almond undertones and a smooth, cleansing finish. Almost had a mouthfeel like a homemade mead, smooth and thick.

Overall, I was thrilled with the results of this one. Here, I opted for a two minute brew at 175, which is my standard for white teas.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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1271 tasting notes

Sip down!

This is an old sample. I can smell even from the dry leaf that this tea is gonna be flat. Actually, I recalled this tea was kinda flat to begin with. So I cold steeped it with a lemon slice, yah! Not too bad, the lemon did save it. I’m moreso happy that this tea is finished. I’m back over 200 teas after Monday’s flood of tea order that came in. Must sip down stuff!

Preparation
Iced

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84
26 tasting notes

I just had 8 cups of this tea. Haha, easy to do with my Zojirushi heater.
It can withstand 4 steeps but really you should only steep this tea 3 times max. Otherwise the last steep tastes like weak and watery chicken stock.

Watch out for over-steeping too, 3:30-45 should be the limit on your first steep, especially if you’re getting down to the crumbs and shake. Bleh anything over that and no bueno.

Hope you guys are having a good day~ Anything interesting going on? :)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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57
111 tasting notes

Okay I guess my taster is just off today! This one is is sweet, florally, woody and what I was thinking to be peppery but instead of pepper it maybe peony I don’t know what peony tastes like so I’m going to have to assume that flavor to be peony but I wouldn’t bet money on that. I don’t get melon but as it cools I get a small hint of sweetness at the end of the sip. Thanks to Erin I get to try this one (Thanks Erin).

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 7 min, 0 sec

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12 tasting notes

I LOVED this tea. Its basically the White Peony ‘with more silver buds’. I feel like maybe this should be the regular white Peony and the other one a lower quality. From trying other brands I found that the ratio of buds to leaves is not that special.

It is still a pretty good tea as long as the packaged is working properly. This has been my worst problem with adagio. many of the bags don’t really seal close after the first time opened. I did solve it with their containers but I feel like if you spend $30-50 in a bag of tea it should seal closed at least a few times.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C

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