58
drank White Tea by Clipper
1737 tasting notes

I’ve been trying to figure out why Clipper teas, with organic and fair trade credentials, cost about half as much as Pukka, also from the UK and also boasting organic ingredients. Clearly Pukka employs a team of graphic designers and artists for their packaging, and they also spend a lot more on marketing text. But are the teas (also in filter bags, not sachets) really any better?

One big difference between the two brands is that Pukka gives a detailed breakdown of the contents of its blends, while Clipper is pretty vague. When I contacted the company for more information on the identity of the green tea—called simply Green Tea—I was told that they buy from Indian and China. Like I said: pretty vague.

Today’s Clipper selection is the white tea, also generically named White Tea. It’s perfectly potable, if a bit generic, but come to think of it, don’t I say that about every unflavored white tea? Okay, I do have some haute blanche varieties on the horizon, so perhaps I’ll undergo a conversion. We shall see…

In this afternoon’s steep-off chez sherapop, I tried something new. I brewed one bag of Clipper White Tea using boiling water—as most grocery store tea shoppers would do—and a second bag using 76C water.

The liquor of the tea prepared in hot water was a bit darker—more of a brownish than a golden amber—but the big surprise was that the more carefully controlled brew actually tasted more bitter than the one prepared using boiling water! This result would appear to corroborate my long-standing suspicion that the companies which produce filter bags for the mass market test their blends as they would be prepared by Joe or Jill Q Consumer—that is, using boiling water!

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 5 min, 15 sec 2 g 9 OZ / 266 ML
KittyLovesTea

Clippers White Tea isn’t great but they do have some nice teas, their Earl Grey being a favourite of mine. :)

sherapop

KittyLovesTea: I don’t think that it’s bad; but it’s not very memorable.

Angrboda

Clipper also have a higly pleasant assam with vanilla.

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KittyLovesTea

Clippers White Tea isn’t great but they do have some nice teas, their Earl Grey being a favourite of mine. :)

sherapop

KittyLovesTea: I don’t think that it’s bad; but it’s not very memorable.

Angrboda

Clipper also have a higly pleasant assam with vanilla.

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Bio

I have fallen off the “tea log boat”, as I am now in New Zealand and was really flailing about for a while, having depleted all of my Chinese and Japanese green tea supply! Fortunately, my first order of 2015 has now arrived! I should begin writing very soon about tea at my new blog, sherapop’s tea leaves. Please stop by and contribute your ideas—all viewpoints are welcome!

A long-time tea and perfume lover, I have recently begun to explore the intersections between the two at my blog: http://salondeparfum-sherapop.blogspot.com//

The scent of tea can be just as appealing as—sometimes more than—its taste! Tea also offers boundless visual beauty in its various forms and states of preparation.

A few words about my ratings. In assessing both teas and perfumes, my evaluation is “all things considered.” Teas do not differ very much in price (relative to perfumes or any luxury items), so I do not usually consider the price when rating a tea.

What I do consider is how the particular tea compares to teas of its own type. So I might give a high rating to a fine herbal infusion even though I would never say that it is my favorite TEA. But if it’s good for what it is, then it deserves a high rating. There is no point in wishing that a chamomile blend was an Assam or a sencha tea!

Any rating below 50 means that I find the liquid less desirable to drink than plain water. I may or may not finish the cup, depending upon how thirsty I am and whether there is another hot beverage or (in summertime) a source of fresh water available.

From 50 to 60 indicates that, while potable, the tea is not one which I would buy or repurchase, if I already made the mistake (I have learned) of purchasing it.

From 60 to 70 means that the tea is drinkable but I have criticisms of some sort, and I probably would not purchase or repurchase the tea as I can think of obvious alternatives which would be better.

From 70 to 80 is a solid brew which I would purchase again.

From 80 to 90 is good stuff, and I probably need to have some ready at hand in my humble abode.

From 90 to 100 is a tea (or infusion) which I have come to depend on and look forward to imbibing again and again—if possible!

If you are interested in perfume, you might like my 2400+ perfume reviews, most of which have been archived at sherapop’s sillage (essentially my perfumelog):

http://sherapop.blogspot.com/

Finally, please note that after a great deal of debate with myself, I have decided to use the cupboard here at Steepster as a “museum” of sorts—to commemorate all of the various teas which I have purchased and truly enjoyed since December 2013.

I do not currently possess all of the teas listed in this cupboard, but am using the function as a way of recording how many times I drank every tea which I did own at some point and wish not to forget. Teas found both in my “cupboard” and on my “wishlist” are those which I did own and intend to restock. Teas best forgotten have been removed from the cupboard once depleted (in some cases tossed…).

I have also decided (beginning in 2015) to use the tasting note function to maintain a chronological record of the teas I’ve consumed since December 15, 2013. Most new reviews will now be posted directly at my blog, sherapop’s tea leaves.

Location

Curio Bay, South Island, New Zealand

Website

http://salondeparfum-sherapop...

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