This guy has a bit of buzz and mystique around it. I certainly get it – it definitely is a departure from your typical white tea experience, but after having a few other purple tea experiences, including black and raw pu’erh, the mystique is losing a bit of its magic for me.
From what I’ve experienced, purple tea (this one included), comes with a big whallop of funky fruit flavors, sort of the like what you get with papaya. Funky but sweet.
So, it is delicious. But, it is also STRONG. For me, these purple tea flavors are so strong that they sort of bully the other “standard” flavors of the tea. It’s a little difficult getting past them.
Anyway, as far as white tea is concerned, I think I’ll stick to silver needle. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of peach iced tea, you will definitely dig this tea.
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Dry leaf – strong fruit – peach cobbler, melon; autumn leaves, a fruity-funkiness you get with some tropical fruit (like papaya), green leaf; hints of malt and nut. In preheated vessel – more dark honey and honeysuckle notes
Smell – almond nuttiness, malt sweetness, wood, peach, fruit funk, black tea blend with milk, hints of cucumber and mint
Taste – milky black tea blend, peach and berry compote, melon, cucumber, raw almond, honeysuckle, potpourri
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This one seemed interesting to me too (combo of purple tea cultivar processed like a Moonlight white. But, I think the latter’s characteristics is what got to me. I think that flavor profile is for black tea lovers—and I am not one of them. I am more for the classic Chinese white tea. It’s actually not easy to find very good bai mu dan or silver needle. Folks in the West just haven’t had enough exposure to the good stuff.
I have to say that I was surprised when I first explored white teas (particularly those with leaves, i.e. non-Silver Needle) and noted how much they reminded me of milky black tea blends.
Yeah, Moonlight white isn’t really a true white tea. It’s its own category since it’s processed differently (via heat in a tunnel). Both can be aged though!
This one seemed interesting to me too (combo of purple tea cultivar processed like a Moonlight white. But, I think the latter’s characteristics is what got to me. I think that flavor profile is for black tea lovers—and I am not one of them. I am more for the classic Chinese white tea. It’s actually not easy to find very good bai mu dan or silver needle. Folks in the West just haven’t had enough exposure to the good stuff.
I have to say that I was surprised when I first explored white teas (particularly those with leaves, i.e. non-Silver Needle) and noted how much they reminded me of milky black tea blends.
Yeah, Moonlight white isn’t really a true white tea. It’s its own category since it’s processed differently (via heat in a tunnel). Both can be aged though!