The pearls are elegant and have notes of caramel lingering in them from the start. There is a sweet and slightly floral grassy aroma and a hint of fruit and nectar.
My first steeping was only for 45 seconds in a gaiwan. I always enjoy doing a brief first infusion for white teas and seeing the almost colorless, slightly golden liquid that comes out into the cha hai. It almost looks like regular water but with a mysterious golden glow, and yields a full but delicate flavor. This is where you’ll catch most white teas’ sugary and honey notes without them being overshadowed by the earthier, grassier qualities. This infusion is smooth and subtle, a bit of sweet grass and floral notes. I’m reminded a bit of Ya Bao.
The second infusion was a beautiful pale gold. The leaves have opened up a lot more and offer heady tropical fruit and flower aromas. The liquor smells of cream. The taste is buttery and creamy, lightly floral, ending in cut wood notes.
The third brew is very buttery, the scent and flavor both have notes of caramel and cream. The woodiness and grassiness from before are mostly gone. The leaves have fully opened up now and the brew is a medium gold.
Whoa!!! By the fourth steeping this tea has become very salty and buttery but still sweet. Reminds me of kettle corn! I wasn’t expecting that salty quality to come out of these leaves so late in the process! This is really great! There’s a slight dryness at the end with just a hint of tannin, nothing too serious, also a very light floral lingering note.
On the fifth steeping the overall impression is lightly floral and sweet, but the flavor seems to be waning quite a bit, so I’ll stop here.
Overall, this tea brings a lot of changes from one steeping to the next for a white tea. Perhaps because the leaves are rolled this allows different aspects of the flavor to emerge as the leaves slowly unfurl from one steeping to the next. I really enjoyed this white tea and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a lightly sweet, yet grassy and woody tea with just a hint of floral. Overall the flavor is quite smooth and creamy, gloriously buttery, and easy on the palate. Give it a try!
Flavors: Caramel, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grass, Wood
