Big beautiful fat white fuzzy needles. A little too perfect looking.
While I enjoy some white teas, differentiating tastes and aromas in white teas is difficult for me. Going to keep it simple here and muddle the tastes and aromas together… say sweet summer melons, something green but different than honeydew, oats, hay, a touch of malt, lychee and a very light cinnamon buttery glaze. Now that I look at that list, it seems like I have my gustatory and olfactory senses in order but all of it just kind of runs together unlike my experiences with aged white teas. Not musty like some other silver needles I’ve had. Thick mouthfeel early on from the fuzzies. Found that I prefer this brewed western style over gong fu with a lower temperature to bring out the more delicate flavors while at the same time getting that melon to pop. Good for 4-8oz steeps before it really starts to thin out and become too astringent for my liking.
I’d buy 25 gram packages in the future. Fifty grams, though removed from its original packaging and stored airtight in the dark, lost a good amount of brightness after several months.
Being the large-leaved species Camellia taliensis, I can’t resist unfurling the needles once they’re spent. Thick and rubbery and always want to curl back in on themselves.
While this is a clean silver needle, I’m reminded of supermarket produce. Generally large and blemish free like that perfect tomato or apple but lacking depth of flavor at the expense of looking good. This could be a fault of my own tasting abilities with white teas. I would buy this tea again, however, if I were in need of daily drinker.
