88

Moonlight white tea with snow chrysanthemum flowers, the orange ones that as of late, I’ve realized can be a polarizing flavor due to pickle perception.

I’m not going to lie about what the dry leaf smells like. It’s stinky — perfume, stale urine and dill. Care to read further? Stewed in my work thermos with water off-boil, the tea is fantastic. Brilliant orange-red with a strong aroma. Aging white tea taste with a hearty melding of the snow chrysanthemum taste. Medicinal, savory, sweet, thick, tannic, tangy and tingly; tangelo, hay, forest floor, Demerara sugar, white florals, pastries, minty cooling, black pepper, ginger and yes, I finally taste the dill pickle, quite strongly actually.

More, please.

Flavors: Black Pepper, Brown Sugar, Citrus, Citrusy, Dill, Floral, Flowers, Forest Floor, Ginger, Hot Hay, Malt, Medicinal, Mineral, Mint, Pastries, Perfume, Sweet, Tangy, Tannin, Thick, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 3 g 20 OZ / 591 ML
Martin Bednář

That aroma doesn’t sound good, but the result sounds great.

White Antlers

I remember when WPT was carrying this. Many folks who purchased complained about the dill smell/taste. I think I tried a sample; the toilet paper-iness of the chrysanthemums and the negative associations I had with them from acupuncture/TCM made this a no drinker for me. So glad it worked for you, derk.

derk

A small amount will be heading your way, Martin.

White Antlers, I can see how this would be jarring to people not expecting such a flavor! The pale yellow chrysanthemum is not something I care for at all, but these orange ones… something soothing about them. Thanks for passing this one on. I did really enjoy it.

Roswell Strange

Haha, I’m with you Derk – Snow Chrysanthemum is one of my favourite straight herbs, and I adore them in this tea. Didn’t realize how polarizing they were until recently though.

tea-sipper

Oops, my fault on the pickle note! Hopefully some people actually like the flavor, now that I have pointed it out. haha

White Antlers

tea-sipper Don’t blame yourself. So many people got that dill note, not just Steepster-ites but folks who reviewed the tea on the WPT site, I’m surprised WPT didn’t rename the tea-maybe Pickle Sonata.

tea-sipper

haha. okay. I hadn’t seen any WPT reviews. Just as long as I’m not the sole ruiner!

Roswell Strange

tea-sipper I taste the dill in it too; it’s just a positive for me ;)

tea-sipper

Ros – that’s good that you enjoy it anyway!I think you also noticed the dill before I did anyway. haha

derk

Oh cool, I can see my notices now. Time to catch up on comments.

tea-sipper: annie (Where have you been annie?) also says pickles regarding the buds. And yeah, there’s a whole posse of dill or pickle proclaimers hiding in the 3 pages of reviews here for Moonlight Sonata.

If this were pressed again, I’d buy a cake for sure.

tea-sipper

OH okay. I didn’t see any other notes for this tea. I thought it was my other note recently about another Chrysanthemum tea that did it.

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Comments

Martin Bednář

That aroma doesn’t sound good, but the result sounds great.

White Antlers

I remember when WPT was carrying this. Many folks who purchased complained about the dill smell/taste. I think I tried a sample; the toilet paper-iness of the chrysanthemums and the negative associations I had with them from acupuncture/TCM made this a no drinker for me. So glad it worked for you, derk.

derk

A small amount will be heading your way, Martin.

White Antlers, I can see how this would be jarring to people not expecting such a flavor! The pale yellow chrysanthemum is not something I care for at all, but these orange ones… something soothing about them. Thanks for passing this one on. I did really enjoy it.

Roswell Strange

Haha, I’m with you Derk – Snow Chrysanthemum is one of my favourite straight herbs, and I adore them in this tea. Didn’t realize how polarizing they were until recently though.

tea-sipper

Oops, my fault on the pickle note! Hopefully some people actually like the flavor, now that I have pointed it out. haha

White Antlers

tea-sipper Don’t blame yourself. So many people got that dill note, not just Steepster-ites but folks who reviewed the tea on the WPT site, I’m surprised WPT didn’t rename the tea-maybe Pickle Sonata.

tea-sipper

haha. okay. I hadn’t seen any WPT reviews. Just as long as I’m not the sole ruiner!

Roswell Strange

tea-sipper I taste the dill in it too; it’s just a positive for me ;)

tea-sipper

Ros – that’s good that you enjoy it anyway!I think you also noticed the dill before I did anyway. haha

derk

Oh cool, I can see my notices now. Time to catch up on comments.

tea-sipper: annie (Where have you been annie?) also says pickles regarding the buds. And yeah, there’s a whole posse of dill or pickle proclaimers hiding in the 3 pages of reviews here for Moonlight Sonata.

If this were pressed again, I’d buy a cake for sure.

tea-sipper

OH okay. I didn’t see any other notes for this tea. I thought it was my other note recently about another Chrysanthemum tea that did it.

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. Yet I persist.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, and Nepal. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possesses off flavor/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s puerh, I likely think it needs more age.

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