Meghalaya Limited Edition Silver Needle

Sipdown

A lovely tea for sure. I had two cups today since after the first there was very little leaf remaining. The first cup was western brewed and the second was gongfu’d in my 60ML gaiwan (3.2g).

- Western brewed was definitely stronger. I brewed the leaf with 205 F water and steeped 3 minutes. There were heavy jasmine and floral notes. A mild bitterness lingered, but it wasn’t off-putting.

- Gongfu’d was lighter, but more balanced. The jasmine/floral notes weren’t as heavy. I could really tell there were more layers – such as cucumber, earthy, and mineral notes – which made for a more pleasant experience.

Gongfu!

I love trying new tea companies, so I was super excited to receive some tea mail this week containing several gifted samples from Herbs & Kettles to review. Thank you!! I’m starting with the limited edition Meghalaya Silver Needle white tea because that seemed appropriate for a very early morning tea session before work, watching the sun come up. The dry leaf smells just lovely. It’s little bit brothy but in a creaky sort of way with subtle vegetal elements to it. Steeped up I found that the creaminess really carried into both the thick, lush mouthfeel as well as the taste. It was met with very gentle notes of cucumber pulp and mellow herbs, timothy hay and more of an umami nuttiness – cashew or macadamia, perhaps? The herbaceous quality slowly built over the steeps, though the creaminess of the taste waned.

Thanks again to Herbs & Kettles for sharing this tea! I’m even more excited now to taste through the remaining three samples!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiP6j58upQN/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIXoIIF9C8g