White Peony with Blood Orange & Honey

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge 2023 – A flavoured white tea

Ok, this is the only flavoured white tea I currently have so it’s off for it. My initial impression way back when was one of intimidation because the honey aroma of the dry leaf is thick. It’s impressive that honey doesn’t dominate the actual cup once steeped up; it’s a pretty good balance between the tea base, a floral citrus, and the would-be tyrannical honey. I enjoyed it even though White Peony isn’t my favourite.

The thing this tea most reminds me of is an odd one though: White Rabbit Candy. Something about White Peony has always been papery to me (in the most flattering way.) It’s likely linked to the cucumber and hay notes that white teas have but Silver Needle doesn’t do this to my brain. When it’s paired with the thick sweetness and tactile memories of honeycomb and the subtle nuances of blood orange, it crosses wires into milk-sweet rice paper territory. White Rabbit candies reminds me of my childhood so we are good.

Steep Count: 3

Geek Steep S3E5 – The Music of Disney

So, we approached this episode like we have with past music themed episodes where each of us chose a song from a Disney movie that was meaningful to us in some way, and then we paired a tea to that specific song.

This was the tea I chose to pair with “I Can Go The Distance” from the Hercules soundtrack. Of the four songs I chose this episode, this was one of two that I knew instantly I was going to choose. I did, actually, have a different tea in mind initially for the pairing but I changed it to this one last minute and I’m very happy that I did.

Hercules was, at one point, my absolute favourite Disney movie and I actually burned out my childhood VHS of it because I watched it so much as a kid. So, the movie is very special to me overall – not just this song in particular. That said, the entire Hercules soundtrack is awesome and it’s one of my favourites of any Disney movie. I mean, the Black Gospel music is just so fun and upbeat and it really adds to the overall atmosphere of the movie. I Can Go The Distance sticks out like a sore thumb in contrast to it, so I get why Marika was surprised that this was the song I chose from such a killer soundtrack.

I actually really hated this song for many, many years. It wasn’t until rewatching the movie as an adult that I finally connected to the song and it became one of my favourite Disney songs of all time. Like, I kind of tear up most times I listen to it. So when I picked out my tea I decided I needed something that would start off quiet and subtle but really build on my palate over the course of the cup into something a little more grandiose – kind of echoing the structure of the song. White tea in general seemed like a good starting point, and following that train of thought this one in particular really jumped out to me because it has such a beautiful note of creamed honey and beeswax with just a hint of orange that strikes that fine balance of being delicate and refined yet rich and powerful. Plus, the honey made me think of ambrosia (food of the gods) so bonus points for that!

I don’t think that this would have worked with the entire movie at all, but for this song it was one hell of a good pairing. Maybe my best pairing overall for this season of Geek Steep so far. I felt like the flavour of the tea crescendoed at the same pace as the music and it really just highlighted the poignant desperation and hopefulness of the song. I definitely cried. It was beautiful.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgnHF2CwrPs

I cold-brewed some of this overnight & I found that the flavors really POP when it’s cold brewed. I like it as a hot tea as well, but I think I prefer it cold-brewed.

I really like this Fujian White Peony & how well the flavors played with the white tea. The blood orange has a nice tartness that contrasts with the sweet honey notes. A lovely iced tea – very refreshing.

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 274)

I wasn’t totally into this one – the orange was pretty light, although the honey and white base were noticeable. I just am not sure that I cared for the combo. Nothing wrong with it, just preference, and I’ll certainly still drink it.