This is a tea produced by Tillerman Teas and sold by Bon Teavant Market. It may now be out of stock as I can’t find it now on either web site.
Opening the package, I was hit by a very un-white tea scent. The tea is dark and has a heady, rich scent that reminds me of raisins. Is this really a white tea?
On brewing, it reminds you that yes, it’s a white tea. The liquor is very pale, a very light yellow, and it has the hay-like scent of many other white teas.
The flavor, however, is where this tea is special. I thought my first sip was fairly similar to some of the white peony teas I’d had, a slightly hay like flavor, refreshing and light. Or it did, until the finish, when a dark fruity flavor developed on my tounge. Like raisins, but not sweet. It’s a BIG white tea, where the flavors come as a surprise.
The tea does not have the buttery mouthfeel of some other whites I’ve had, like silver needle, but does have a nice body to it.
Overall, this is an emensely enjoyable white. It might help some of you who tend to think that “white tea is just slightly colored water” find a tea you like.
The Sun Dried Wild leaf is rare and because there is such a limited quantity, is being sold only as part of the “Wild Leaf” Tasting Room sampler at the Bon Teavant Market (market.bonteavant.com). This way people can try two wild leaf teas from the same tree, processed in very different ways. Thanks for your notes.
Tillerman Tea still has it and plans to continue getting it. It’s sort of more analogous to the Mao Cha used as the basis for Sheng Puerh, but from Nantou and processed without the same sort of kill green step.
Nice review – I’m going to have to get some more of this. It ought to age well, too.