Hello everyone. I’ve been on a bit of a computer cleanse, so now that we are quarantined on a global level, I am returning. I also owe Alistair some reviews. (THANK YOU FOR THE WHITE RHINO! THAT ONE IS A FAVORITE!)
Anyway, this is from an older order that I mostly got Nepal floral blacks and white teas. I was really curious about this one because it looked more like a white tea than a usual black, and I had a feeling it would be fruity. Trying it out for my own, the dry leaf smells like dried leaves that you rake in the spring, lemons, cotton, and oaty grains. Brewing it up, the aroma is very floral and a touch fruity, retaining the oatiness I was talking about earlier.
Drinking it up, I used western timing while savoring it in a small porcelain cup at a time. At near 180’s F after I just brewed it, the flavor was dominated by heat, cotton, and then a little lemon wisp snuck by to say hello. The heat was hiding the flavor a little bit, so I let it cool off. The cooler temperature gave way to the same dry oat note I was thinking, being almost bready in its astringency. Then, it reminded me I was drinking the juice of dried leaves and transitioned into the white grape I expected from Alistairs description. I also got persimmon, but that’s just me.
In terms of the florals, it has the viscosity of rose water, but the flavor profile of osmanthus and the lightness of a white peony. That could be from my limited scope of florals, and the tea’s very light yellow brew, but that’s what at least makes sense to me.
The tea can get astringent, so I used a very light 3 grams. I got 3 more rebrews, and let the last steep way to long. Fortunately, it was not too astringent and had a pleasant lemon flavor after a the bready kick of astringency.
Out of the order I got, this tea was the easiest for me to balance out. I also liked this one one the most because of how unique it is. This tea is definitely snob, or more advanced territory because it is a lot more like a first flush Darjeeling or a white tea, so the elements like the dryness and weird astringency can be off putting to some, BUT, this is a lighter, refined tea overall. I tend to like lighter and naturally fruity/floral teas without additives, so I love it.
I definitely recommend it to white tea drinkers and the curious.
Flavors: Astringent, Bread, Drying, Floral, Lemon, Muscatel, Oats, Sweet, Tart, White Grapes
Welcome back!
Also, White Rhino is the best.