Precious White Peach

I finally got around to trying this iced – I dumped the last of the leaf in a pitcher and let it steep in the fridge for about eight or so hours. It’s definitely more flavourful and interesting than the hot tea, and I imagine it would make a really good base for tea drinks and the like.

It’s still on the bland side, though, and yet another reminder of why I go to Teavana for tea paraphernalia and not to buy actual tea. I’ll knock up the rating from 55 to 65, but that’s as good as this gets.

But PWP does acquire some semblance of immortality either way, because this is, in fact, the first tea I’ve finished since I returned to Steepster. Bag empty!

[Purchased at Teavana in Honolulu, January 2013.]
[Polished off in Rome, September 2013.]

So I tried this iced a while back, and really wasn’t impressed at all. I’m not sure if that’s because I accidentally watered it down too much, or what – I’ve got a bit of a routine down for flash-chilled tea, but I haven’t exactly got it down to a science or anything.

But I haven’t tried it since. I think mostly just out of subconscious fear that it would end up being a real disappointment, hot or cold. I mean, I did have to buy 50g of this stuff, what if it sucked?

Well, I finally gave it another go tonight, hot. It doesn’t suck. It’s not the best fruity white I’ve ever had, but it’s quite nice. The dry smell is lovely and peachy, and while the taste doesn’t exactly punch you in the face with peaches…it’s still satisfyingly peachy in a lighter and subtler way. A peach-flavoured white was one of the few things that excited me about Teavana coming to Canada, because I’ve never had a peach white before, and I think I’ve made up my mind to be quite pleased with this one for the time being. Although I’m also thinking I want to try blending it with the Imperial Acai Blueberry (blueberry whites, one of my other fruity white obsessions) or a strawberry white (the number one fruity white obsession right before blueberries).

OOH. Actually, hell, I think I’m going to go try a Strawberry Fields/Precious White Peach combo RIGHT. NOW.

Although I might have to backlog that one, because it’s getting super late here, and I need to work at 11 tomorrow. Which is early for a non-morning person like me.

“Another Traveling Tea Box?!?!”

I almost forgot to make breakfast because I’m trying all the teas this morning!

This is similar to peach tranquility, but doesn’t have as full a mouthfeel. I prefer peach tranquility.

My Breville came today, My Breville came today!!!!!!! Happy dance when I saw the brown box on my front porch today!!! Ok I have calmed down and decided to try it out. This is the first tea I made… I couldn’t decide which tea to make so I just closed my eyes and grabbed a tin and this was it. LOL I enjoy this tea hot or iced. Good peach flavor! Now I have to sit down and read the manual to see how to set this baby to auto start.

Tea #20 from Another Traveling Tea Box

This is a really lovely chill out tea. The peach is subtle, but well done and not gummy candy-like, and there’s just the tiniest bit of chamomille flavor in here. I’m surprised it came out a delicate as it did, seeing as there’s an overabundance of fruity bits in here.

I really wouldn’t want anything peachier, but I wouldn’t call this one overpowering. Yet. As this stands, it’s easy for the tea to get lost in here (and it does!) because it’s a soft, sweet white tea. Maybe a sweetly vegetal tasting Bai Mu Dan would have been a better base and add a nicer mouthfeel? Otherwise, I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Tea #5 from Another Traveling Tea Box

When I first opened the package I thought, hey, this smells just like Peach Tranquility. I didn’t dislike Peach Tranquility, it was just sweeter than I prefer my herbal tea. I thought that it might be nice blended with a white tea base, but I don’t think the white tea in here adds any flavor and if anything it makes the tea seem weak.

I tried this hot, but maybe it would work better as a cold-steep.

Ugh bitter bitter bitter brew. I wanted white tea last night, toddler wanted to have a tea party, this is the tin we grabbed. I made a little under 16oz hot and decided to try my hand at cold brewing the rest, knowing it was coming up on a year since I acquired it. I don’t know if it’s the age of the tea or the chamomile, but this is very astringent both hot and cold. Toddler says he loves it, after making a slight wince, go figure.

I had this iced and mixed with Teavana’s Jasmine Dragon Pearls and the two go together very nicely. For this great mixing ability I am going to up my rating :-)

1st smell: A very faint hint of peach
1st taste: Same. I know, white tea is not terribly distinctive, but I’ve had white teas that were much more distinctive then this. It isn’t bad, it’s just boring. I am thinking I will mix it with Peach Tranquility for more peachy flavor, or maybe with Berry Basil Blast just to make it interesting. I didn’t care much for BBB either, but maybe combining them will make it more drinkable til they both get finished. Truthfully, I am kind of surprised that this tea made it out to the floor, it being so…bland. Considering Teavana’s tendency to over flavor their teas.

okay, so i’m rating this one for both my wife and myself… Teavana is a very smart, well thought out franchise. they tend to be expensive, but overall their tea quality (in my opinion) is excellent, so maybe they’re entitled to be. what does that have to do with this tea? lots.

this is an expensive tea. wincingly so if you want a hundred grams versus fifty. white tea is more expensive, true. subtlety in taste and fragrance is also expensive. a truly balanced blend will always cost you. this tea has all of that. what costs a whole lot more? calm. peace of mind. no, i’m not digressing.

my wife recently had surgery. nothing but clear fluids 9 hours before surgery and nothing at all 3 hours before. this is the tea she wanted… and it settled her anxieties both before the big event and after, the low caffeine content didn’t keep her from sleeping and she wasn’t starving all night. it was great!

she still adores the tea and piped up some time back expressing how nice it would be if she could get a stronger peach flavour out of it. i stopped by teavana the other day looking for a herbal tea for myself and what do i see? a tea named Peach Tranquility. herbal, 1/4 of the price of the white tea and ideal for blending with the more expensive one!

why is this company so smart? because they create and deliver an expensive, elite tea that consumers want but also provide a reasonably priced herbal tea to meet the needs of average budgets. impressive all the way around; tea, service and planning.