Darjeeling Okayti Silver Needle White Tea Second Flush (Organic)

On this most frigid of nights with a gentle coating of snow and an endless supply of warm tea, I am researching Slavic mythology. It just seems apropos, but there is a reason for it, I am looking for a perfect name. Studying mythology is one of my favorite past-times, and I like to refresh my memory ever so often, the reason I went with Slavic is I want to name my new teapot something Slavic and earthy, either a nature spirit or forest god, conveniently there are a lot of options, it is all about matching the pot to its mythical figure.

Today we are looking at a quite pretty tea from Golden Tips Tea, Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling White Tea. Hailing from the Okayti Tea Estate, this silver needle is hand picked in the early morning and is really very pretty, but I am such a lover of fuzzy teas. I also have a great fascination with trying Silver Needles from regions other than Fujian, it is a passion of mine. The aroma of the surprisingly gray under the silver fuzz leaves is very fresh, notes of lettuce, pepper and sage, cucumber, and tarragon as an afternote, it is a very herbaceous tea with only a hint of sweetness.

I decided to steep this one in my steeping apparatus rather than in a gaiwan. The aroma of the wet leaves is a blend of melon, specifically honeydew, and sage with fresh bok choy, pepper, and tarragon notes at the finish. It smells very fresh and herbaceous, with the green notes accenting. The liquid is sweet with notes of honey, hay, bok choy and lettuce. At the finish is a touch of sage and pepper.

Tasting this tea is quite nice, it is mellow and sweet, with a smooth yet ticklish mouthfeel. Gotta love those fuzzy trichomes, they tickle ever so slightly, which I enjoy immensely. The taste starts with gentle sweet hay and honey with notes of melon and dried apple. It then moves to slightly yeasty bread and sage, and then onto the finish which is bok choy and lettuce. The aftertaste is a gentle honey that does not linger for very long, but at the very end there is a slight note of apricot which I found surprising. I only had a small sample of this tea, only enough for a cup, I would love to get my hands on more so that I could try it Grandpa/Bowl style and in my gaiwan, clearly I will have to go shopping!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/01/golden-tips-tea-okayti-silver-needle.html

Right now I’m sipping on a cup of darjeeling from Golden Tips that has completely blown my mind. It’s a white darjeeling, something I’ve never tried before, but what is so striking about it is how much more complex it is than the Chinese-grown Silver needle teas that I’m more familiar with. There are fruit and floral undertones that give it a sweet flavor and become more pronounced as the tea cools. With later steepings the flavors shift away from sweet and begin to taste more like freshly cut hay. While the flavors of the tea remind me of summer, I think this is a tea best suited to cooler months since it left me with a slightly dry-mouth feel.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/3/3/tuesday-tea-okayti-silver-needle-darjeeling-white-tea-golden-tips

Backlog:

A really lovely white Darjeeling. Then again, I love White Darjeeling teas! Probably among my favorite white teas because I love the stronger flavor they offer. It’s still a delicate flavor, but not as delicate as you might usually expect from a white tea. It has a very pleasant, thick mouthfeel, with floral notes and notes of melon and sweet grape. There’s also a nice honey-like flavor to this tea.

Later infusions offered a softer honey flavor and brought forward some nutty flavors and more of a wine-like taste. I could taste a more distinct floral note.

A highly recommended white tea experience. Read the review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/01/10/organic-okayti-silver-needle-second-flush-darjeeling-white-tea-from-golden-tips/

In appearance this tea consists of: long, thin leaves that are covered with silver hairs. Some are darker in colour though they still have the silver hairs.

They have a sweet, light and floral scent that is dry and almost perfumed.

Once steeped this tea is light orange in colour and has a light, floral and sweet scent.

Flavour is light to medium in strength and bares a floral sweetness. It’s dry and nutty which comes through in the after taste. Also elements of light peach which contrast nicely against the peony and honeysuckle notes. It has no astringency.

As it cools it becomes creamy though remains highly sweet and dry.

Overall: This was a delicious white tea, full of flavour and of great quality.

While I am not the hugest fan of white tea in general I do appreciate a nice pot of it from time to time. This particular type had more flavour and strength than I anticipated which made it a wonderful drink. At times it reminded me of a light Oolong rather than a white tea, and the quality blew me away.

For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2015/01/22/discover-indian-tea-with-golden-tips/

I grabbed this at random out of the box from Golden Tips. It will be my first from them and my first Darjeeling white. Golden Tips puts almost all the information even the most demanding label reader could want right there on the sample. The exception would a product description. If you ordered it you probably already know what it says.

Beautiful furry silver buds that smell like a field of sweet hay and clover. Once steeped I get an additional note of dandelion greens.

The taste is cucumber, nuts, and sweet hay. Late in the cup I detect a finish of clover. Golden Tips calls this fruity but it did not strike me that way. However, the important thing is this is a complex and excellent white tea.

For pictures see here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2015/01/golden-tips-okayti-silver-needle.html