(Realized I had this on the organic, but my package doesn’t indicate mine is organic, so I’m moving the rating over here where it belongs)
When we lived in Chicago and I had ready access to the Tea Gschwendner retail shop, I got into the habit of drinking a lot of bai mu dan. Their premium Edmond’s Collection featured a truly magical pair of white teas, one of which had leaves so untampered with from growth on the plant to steeping in the cup, so whole, so intact, so unshriveled, that you could barely get 100 grams of them in a full sized tin that would easily hold a kilo of flour. These teas were shockingly perfect to drink on brutally cold days, and on the very rare occasions that I allowed myself to indulge in a criminally over-priced to-go cup from the TG shop, it was always in bad weather, and it was always these white teas I went for.
But I’m not reviewing those teas, here. I’m reviewing a tea from TeaVivre. So why did I bring all that up?
We have a tendency to think of white teas as light, floral, sweet, fruity and the kind of thing you’d want to drink iced on a hot day. But in my experience, peony/bai mu dan style white teas are quite the opposite, and this one from TeaVivre is no exception. Notes of fresh hay, autumnal leaves, roasted squash and sun warmed cabin wood.
Exactly the kind of thing to warm you up on a brisk, winter’s day.
This leaf in particular is soft, almost buttery but not at all sweet. There is a suggestion of astringency at the finish that warns you to never, ever over steep this tea. Given that this is nearly 1/10th the price of what TG would charge for a similar leaf, this is fantastic value for money.
Except that right now in Houston it is 80 degrees, humid and we’re having an apocalyptic mosquito infestation.
Not the tea’s fault at all, though.
