May Flowers! So I decided to try something a bit different tonight. I have never tried a Silver Needle white tea before (I’ve had Bai Mudan and Shou Mei varieties), and I’ve also never tried chrysanthemum as a floral, so I was curious about this one. It was one of the teas I picked up in my big Tea Chai Te birthday haul this last March.
The scent of the dry leaf was very herbaceous and didn’t give me many clues to the taste. I still find I have a hard time eyeballing whites, so I opted to just measure out just under two and half grams on my scale for my 400ml cup and western brewed this at around 180 F for three minutes. The scent from the yellow liquor was a lot sweeter than the dry leaf, with almost a honeysuckle quality, but there was also a very subtle grassy note to the aroma, too. It was a very soothing scent.
I found the flavor a bit mild, but not unpleasant. There was this slight earthy quality to the brew that has a vegetal/mineral quality that I also taste when I drink butterfly peaflower tea, as well as notes of dry grass, a floral sweetness, and a warm touch of honey on the close. It’s a very light and delicate tea, but there is also something very relaxing about it.
I wouldn’t say this sort of tea is my favorite flavor profile, but I don’t dislike it, either. For me, it’s a mood tea, and when I’m in the mood for it, I find it really hits the spot.
Flavors: Dry Grass, Earth, Floral, Honey, Mineral, Sweet, Vegetal
