Snow Peak Downy Tips

It’s a cold, wintery spring day here in Colorado – though the sun is shining now :) We have snow peaks on the downy tips of our trees here, so this tea seemed appropriate. The taste is vegetal, leafy green, today. I still don’t taste any peach, but it’s warm, so it’ll do.

Not what I was expecting. You can smell the peach blossom in the aroma, a little, but there’s something odd and unexpected happening with the flavour. This does not taste like a white tea. I’ve been sitting here, trying to work out how to describe it, and the best that I can come up with is that this tastes like a very mild, lightly steeped black tea.

I’ve just added a little milk to the last of it, even though that’s something that I’d never normally consider with a white tea and… it sort of works. It isn’t totally awful, anyway, and it does give a bit more balance to it. I’m thinking that maybe a touch of sugar might be worth trying, too. Weird, weird, weird.

Backlogging (and, based almost entirely on my longer term memory)

Experience buying from Teavana http://steepster.com/places/2895-teavana-st-louis-missouri

Date of Purchase/Age of Leaf: Purchased at their 2010 end of year sale at a discount, and brewed up during much of 2011.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: At first it looked (and smelled) just like a green tea to me, but later I was able to tell a few differences: it’s lighter in color, and has a more fruity scent than a green tea. Although it looks nothing like Silver needles, or Bai Mu Dan, it is an attractive looking tea.

Brewing guidelines: six-cup ceramic teapot, tea in large, metal tea-ball; stevia added (parameters below are all from memory)
……….1st: 160; 2’
……….2nd: 165; 3’
……….3rd: 170; 4’
……….4th: 175; 5’
……….5th: 180; 6’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: a very light soft-pink color; pleasantly fruity aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: pleasant: light and surprisingly fruity for an unflavored white tea.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: not very impressive looking (similar to Teavana’s Three Kingdoms Mao Feng): the leaf was pale and shriveled looking, and had lots of broken leaves, a number of bits and stems, and very few whole leaves or buds.

Blends well with: This blended very well with one of Teavana’s flavored white tea blends: Emerald Bamboo Forest.

Value: Expensive at regular price ($6/oz), but reasonable at 75% off, or $1.50/oz, which is what we paid for it.

Overall: I am not certain what kind of white tea this is (as it seems to be neither Silver needles nor or Bai Mu Dan), but it was tasty. Their description says it was grown amongst fruit trees (peach, I think), and the flavor certainly seems to demonstrate this. We often enjoyed this tea in the evening. I bought way too much of it last year, thinking at the time that white tea had high levels of theanine in it, as many green teas do, but this didn’t seem to be the case, at least not with this tea. Luckily, I was able to give lots of this tea away to a friend whom seems to appreciate it. One interesting thing to note: when I first bought this tea I was able to get three or four good steepings out of it. But, recently, the second steeping has an odd taste to it: not stale, but more like bitterness. So, I guess that’s what happens when this tea gets too old (even while carefully storing it, as I do all of my teas). That’s OK though, I enjoyed it while it was still fresh (and a lesson learned about not buying too much white tea!).

This is one of the cheapest teas I currently own but there is something about it that I just love! I drink this almost every night. It has a good flavor and is relaxing. It’s also cheap enough to drink all the time while not breaking the tea budget! It’s still on sale for $3 per 2oz or $24 for 16oz! I’m not a big Teavana fan but I like this tea…

So I like this tea a lot. Its got sort of an earthy taste to me. I usually add some white honey or regular honey as a sweetener instead of a sugar because the taste can be really delicate, what with it being a white tea and all. Its really sad that Teavana doesn’t sell it anymore, but maybe they will bring it back. Over all one of my favorite white teas.

Brewed this lovely white tea (graduation gift from a friend) on a mild June afternoon, during a bit of down time. It has a lovely golden color and a lovely smell that reminds me of clear spring days in Japan (cherry/peach blossoms). Very sweet for a white tea in the way that olong teas often are. Very short brewing time and mild heat (around 155F). Thanks Christine! 2nd and 3rd brew was also good, less sweet.

This is by far my most favorite tea… EVER! My nanny is a tea fanatic and got me hooked on teavana! Luckily she had some of this tea lying in her cupboard and was kind enough to give it to me. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I use it all. This is my most favorite tea ever and I don’t think there will ever be another I will love as much. It is a light, sweet tea that is the perfect sidekick to a snuggly blanket or a good book! There isn’t much flavor to it, but it is so soothing.

May have steeped this slightly too long… Like almost a minute too long… But it seems to have not made the tea too astringent, which I find is a common problem with some whites. The liquor was definitely darker than I remember. I’ve had this tea for a while, which may have something to do with that. I also steeped it in my cast iron pot, which could have caused it to be a little darker.

Anyway! I digress. This tea is a pretty standard white. Nothing too special. It’s good for when I want something unsweetened but don’t have the time (or attention span) to devote to a more delicate tea.

This is a pleasantly subtle tea. I like how the peach flavor ghosts through it – was it there or did I just imagine it? One of my favorite whites, and you really can’t beat the price on this one!

Complex flavor profile. One review was dead on with “lightly steeped black tea”. I only steep for 3 mins to keep it more like a white and less of a black tea flavor.