Forest Berry Silver Needle

I’m clearly being very indulgent tonight. I think I just drank three of the most expensive teas in my stash (this, Cantaloupe & Cream, Quangzhou Milk Oolong). Who cares though, I’m sure it’s far cheaper than indulging in alcohol! And all of them re-steep very well. And there’s no hangover. And almost zero calories. Yep, I’m convinced.

Anyhow, this tea really is quite lovely, although I am still getting a huge cotton candy association. This infusion had a big fat raspberry in it, so I’m also tasting that, which is delicious. Looking forward to the next infusions, where I expect the raspberry to be more prominent.

I steeped at 180 for 4 minutes and that worked for me! This is lust! This is satin sheets and champagne! Frank better put this in his perm stock PLEASE Frank I beg of thee or you will ruin something magical, beautiful! I want more of this!

WOW this was SO sweet today, no sugar added. Ahhhmazing! like berry cotton candy.
Actually, it reminds me of the Cotton Candy tea by 52Teas, only with a white base and a bit creamier
Rating: 92!

Only one more brewing of this left after this one and ill be sad to see it go. Received this as a sample from either kittena or indigbloom and love it. I’m not allowed to hold on to teas anymore though so drink on! N more saving everything for a spatial occasion lol

2nd cold brew of the day…

I’m seeing a pattern with the 52teas (fruity teas) cold brews. The fruits are softer compared to a normal hot brew. I taste mostly the berries and a little less of the tea.

For this one I think I prefer the traditional-hot-bath-with-an-icy-shower brew as an iced tea.

I cannot believe that there are still 12 pouches of this tea left. It is SO GOOD. What are people waiting for?

Anyway, the berry flavor is delicate, in keeping with the delicate notes of the white tea. I like that the flavors are very well-balanced here, I taste the Silver Needle – sweet, fresh, light, airy, notes of hay – and I taste the fresh, ripe flavor of berries. I taste the strawberry as the strongest note, but other berry notes come through as well. Sweet with a tart tingle at the tail.

This is so yummy. If my subscription wasn’t going to have to be renewed next month, I’d probably buy another pouch right now.

I totally caved to peer pressure. After all the rave reviews, I just had to buy a pouch of this tea!

The dry leaf aroma is pure berry! Blackberry, raspberry, and yes, even strawberry is detectible in the aroma. The brewed tea aroma is nearly identical, which is very cool! So far, so good.

First taste…hmmm, the white tea actually isn’t overpowered by berry. And the berry is still very present too. The white base adds a slight nuttiness, while the berries are both sweet and tart. Blackberry is the most prominent of the berries in my opinion. This is an interesting blend of flavors and perfectly balanced. I’ve definitely never had another tea like it.

Second infusion was steeped at 180 degrees for 4 minutes. I know it’s a drastic change. Normally, I would only increase the steep time by 30 seconds with a white tea. But I really wanted to see if I could intensify the flavor. I was probably a little light on the leaf, but 1 ounce doesn’t go very far.

Mmmm, I like this better. It’s not a huge difference in intensity, but I can pick up on the difference. This second steep is definitely my favorite. It’s going to be interesting to see how many steeps it can hold up to before the berry disappears. Of course, I usually get full on tea before the flavor runs out. So, maybe I won’t find out the answer.

This is good, but when it comes to 52teas white tea blends, I have to say that I enjoy the Ginger Ale Bai Mu Dan better. Don’t get me wrong; I am enjoying this too! But at the steep price of 52teas’ Very Important Teas, I just can’t afford to restock it. That’s probably better for the Steepster tea community anyway. Gotta’ spread the love around, not horde it like a dragon! Oooh, now I’m totally picturing Smaug sitting on a pile of tea leaves and furious with Mr. Baggins for stealing his prized Darjeeling!

this one surprised me… thus far my experiences with 52teas have been very western: not subtle, not layered (my interpretation). if the name is ‘pancake breakfast’, then that’s what it strives to be. so imagine my surprise when i found myself filing this one under ‘other’.

the white tea, predictably, is very gentle… but the forest berry essence caught me offguard. it’s virtually undetectable when you think about it… but when you don’t think about it it’s absolutely clear. the word i will choose is nuanced which is not a word i have applied towards 52teas before.

it is a non denominational forest berry… it is logan berry, blackberry, strawberry and even a hint of salal. again, when i was paying attention to my tongue i got hardly a hint…. and then i realized something. it wasn’t a taste, it was a smell.

now this is a guess on my part… the timing of the tea hitting the upper back of the tongue diffuses the scent that i perceive as taste. however, when i alter my swallowing to try and capture the taste more clearly i shift the blend to the front of my tongue where i can’t detect the aroma at all. that is my layman’s guess. how frank managed to pull this off (if i’m correct) is far beyond my understanding.

very cool. i enjoyed my sample from CHAroma hugely of this one… thank you so much!

Thanks to Azzrian for sending me a sample of this! I can see from her review how precious this tea is to her. :)

I think I used too little leaf in this brew, but despite that I’m finding it pretty tasty. The white tea is the most prominent flavor. It’s hay and sun dried grass. Smooth and slightly toasty. The berry flavor is just an enhancement. A very tasty enhancement.

It’s like sitting on the summer meadow with a bowl of mixed berries. What a romantic flavor.

I think I’ll try cold brewing this next. :)

I enjoy coldbrew Silver Needle, so that’s how I prepared this. It’s really enjoyable; I get a sweet red berries flavor during the sip, but at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste it turns to a tangy cranberry (probably the most notable I’ve tasted cranberry in a tea). The Silver Needle itself tastes of hay, honey, and pollen; the floral notes go nicely with the soft berry tones. It’s very thirst-quenching and refreshing!