Mutan White

I’ve had this sample for a little while but am just getting around to trying it. It’s pretty neat the way it looks like a silver needle but then you also see some tiny green leaves in the package as well. :)

Everyone else is complaining about the heat but it’s chilly here today… brrr. Bring on some more warm tea!

This cup steeps up to be a very light yellow. It isn’t as floral or fruity as some white teas I’ve had recently, but it does have a sweet and rich mouthfeel, almost similar to a green oolong. There’s a slight butteriness and the sweetness really lingers in the finish. As my cup cools, the flavor here reminds me a lot of fresh honeydew melons with a bit of cream.

This is my first mutan white tea but I was very impressed with it, it’s lovely! I would definitely consider buying more of this if I could ever get through the other white teas I have at home…

Another log from tonight — I visited the Harney&Sons soho store (to buy a gift and restock my da hong pao) and figured i’d try to get a white tea. After having so many of 52teas flavored teas with a bai mu dan i’ve been trying to find it. The nice guy at the store pointed it out to me and made me some to try. It was SO delicious. The flavor was subtle and was not grassy or vegetable-like at all. I can’t wait to start steeping this for myself so that I can experiment with the steeping parameters :)

Nice mouth feel, a little thicker than you might expect from the color and aroma. The liquor is light amber, and there’s a hint of sweetness in the mostly vegetal flavor. A slight bitterness shows up as the tea cools. This is a pleasant, basic white.

Something this tea taught me is the usefulness of weighing dry leaves. We’re all told “one teaspoon per cup,” with that cup being six or eight fluid ounces depending on who’s talking, but that really only works if your tea comes in small particles. Some orthodox leaves, like Keemun, do that, but the big ones require a lot more tea by volume. Using a small electronic scale that can measure tenths of a gram, I try to measure out 2.2 grams of leaf per six ounces of water, which for Mutan white turns out to be a couple of tablespoons’ worth.

I approve of this tea.

A nice change from the alcohol-heavy teas of earlier. This one is mild, light, and pleasant. Some vegetal notes, almost a little grassy. Would have liked a little more flavor coming through but overall it’s fine.

I’ve had this sample for a while, but decided to do a sipdown after work today. I wanted a break from Pu-erh, so I figured a White tea would be the way to go. I tried it out in the new Gaiwan, which I find suitable for drinking tea. I enjoy my Yixing, but I am trying to use that solely for Pu-erh (Ripe Pu-erh, mostly).
Anyway, I really like the Mutan White from H&S. It’s light, refreshing, and after a few steeps, has a smooth hay-esq flavor. It almost reminds me of a Green tea by the color of the brew after the fourth steep, but still remains true to that White tea flavor (light, hay-esq, smooth, etc.). The mouth-feel isn’t dry at all, and the tea really opens up within the mouth, as well as the throat. I could drink this daily, if I had more; this was just a sample. However, when I decide to go all out with the tea purchase (I depleted the “tea fund”), I might grab a little more than a sample.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDY3rZ8g—e/?taken-by=sgsanders1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDY54gNg-0M/?taken-by=sgsanders1

PS. I’m still drinking this tea after 8 brews (and one rinse), so it definitely is a nice tea to have a long session with. My wife mentioned that it isn’t as “heavy” as other teas I tend to drink, so it’s nice as a “before or after dinner tea…Without getting that full feeling afterward.”

Pleasant, a bit grassy some vegetal notes, satisfying enough for a white