Laoshan White

Okay, first a Mea Culpa: Other than green pu erhs, I don’t do multiple steepings of teas. Yes, I’m an unrefined westerner, but here’s my reasoning:
1. I don’t have time. I’m lucky to be able to steep a cup of tea and drink it while chasing my two boys, 4 and 2, around the house/yard/street, etc.

2. The interaction between caffeine and flavor in tea is as important to me as the interaction between alcohol and flavor in beer. I don’t see the point of drinking tea once the caffeine is gone, in the same way I don’t see the point of non-alcoholic beer.

3. I don’t necessarily feel that tea “reveals” different flavors over the course of multiple steepings. To me it just seems weaker and less interesting.

4. Tea is an inexpensive luxury. I don’t feel compelled to extract every drop of tea essence from the leaves. My wife spends more on wine in two months than I do in a year on tea. I just spent $250 for a little hose for my motorcycle. And don’t get me started on the price of “artisan” meats and cheeses, local produce, or the price of books.

So maybe some day I’ll change, but for now most of my tasting notes are based on a single steep.

I found it odd that this was classified as a white tea, as it seemed more of a hybrid between a dragon well green and a white. It’s pleasant and light, and I was gratified that I detected the almond/vanilla flavor mentioned in the description. I don’t often notice the sometimes esoteric flavors attributed to teas. Anyway, while this tea is definitely not in my wheelhouse, I’m thankful to the folks at Verdant for letting me try it. It’s a nice summer tea that went well with pushing my four year old down the street on his new pedal bike.

Thank You to Bonnie for this wonderful sample

This was actually a very good white tea…Tasted very similar to a green tea, with a melon/peach taste that was very subtle, and left the palate with a rich creamy texture. Quite good for a white tea ;) ( I usually like green or stronger oolong teas better)

Thanks David, for the wonderful sample of Laoshan White you tucked into my most recent order! Bonnie mentioned how cute this is dry: like little ringlets of green leaves. I picked up a pinch with my fingers and it clung together in clumps like hair. Very fun.

I did a regular brewing with this (my gaiwan needs washing) and it’s just as wonderful as the previous reviewer says. I used filtered water and got a sort of greeny-gold liquor; the first taste yields sort of the hearty/vegetal taste I associate with gyokuro (or the yummy Laoshan Green I got in the same package from Verdant), but it goes on from there: lightness, coolness, expansiveness, and then maybe a little bit of astringency, which I admit may have come from my western-style brewing; I’ll have to try gongfu with the last of the sample. There is a sweetness all the way through the cup that is sort of vegetal (sugar snap peas? I dunno, I’m not fond of them, but I can kinda see where that description comes in) but reminds me more of the taste of fresh air after rain, if that makes sense. All in all, this has aspects of the brothiness of gyokuro or Laoshan Green, but without any heaviness.

This is really unlike any white tea I’ve ever tasted. I normally expect white tea to either have very little taste, or to be kind of a “lite” version of a black or green tea. This is not “lie down and be submissive” tea; this is white tea that can hold its own without extraneous flavorings. Laoshan White grabs the taste buds, yet it’s very, very drinkable; I could see drinking this all day and feeling not that I’d been drinking something on autopilot, but that I’d had a really nice day!

It being summer, I wish I could try this iced; I think it would probably not change in character (hard to say—I hope not, anyway), but it’d be VERY refreshing. Unfortunately the price of this, and the fact that I just spent too much money on two really lovely teas from Verdant, will keep me from ordering again anytime soon. But at least I can share my impressions so others will hopefully want to try this. It’s absolutely worth it.

I am so glad wheezybee sent me some of this to sample, it was a great way to start my morning, I only wish I had more.

My first steep was very lightly flavored, and had a wonderful silky texture I noticed with each sip. This tea is actually quite sweet all on its own, which surprised me, it tastes almost like honey; however, it took a few sips for me to notice it. What I immediately noticed was the vegetal flavor, it actually reminds me more of a green tea than a white because it is less floral and more vegetal.

Ultimately I ended up steeping this six times. It gradually became more vegetal and lost the sweetness I really enjoyed in the first steep. This isn’t like any other white tea I’ve had before, but I really enjoyed trying it.

I returned from a weekend getaway to cooler weather in Atlanta, so before I even unpacked I was thinking about what tea I might be in the mood for. I don’t usually jump for the whites first, but for some reason, I pulled out the Laoshan White that I received in early August. I used 4 Gm for 6 oz water at 175 starting with a quick rinse followed by a 20 second steep, just as suggested. I increased the steep time to 25 seconds for steepings 2-3, and 35 seconds for steepings 4-5, getting plenty of flavor all the way through. I would agree with others who commented that this was unlike many whites; it had more flavor than I expected and literally filled my mouth with its juicy freshness. The flavor was reminiscent of the smoothness and lingering sweet aftertaste of something I’ve had before, but I’m not sure what—very satisfying though. Now, what to do next? Unpack, or sample another Verdant tea?

This came as my sample in my recent Verdant Tea order and once again Verdant Tea wows me. I’ve had a lot of white tea and they always seem so bland or are doused with flavorings to hide the fact that they are fancy water. This tea has a wonderful vegetal flavor like a green tea and has a wonderful tingly feeling as well. The snap pea flavor is definitely there, I wouldn’t have even thought about it until I read the description but now that I know that’s all I can taste. I really enjoy this, mostly because it reminds me more of green tea then white. If this was a blind taste test there would be no way I would think this is a white tea. Very enjoyable.

Thank you, David at Verdant Tea for this free sample!

I’m really excited to try this tea. I’ve heard great things about he Laoshan Black tea from Verdant, and loved the Aged White Tea Cake I got. Now here’s another white tea for me to try.

Leaf Quality
The leaves are thin, curly, and an almost black-green color, with little strands of white in the mix. When I opened the sample pouch, I could barely tell what the dry leaves smelled like. After some time, I began to notice traces of Cinnamon and Vanilla. When I brewed the leaves for the required 20 seconds, they showed a beautiful color. Light and dark green leaves intertwined with pale yellow leaves. The leaves smelled grassy, sweet, and slightly vegetal. I’ve reviewed quite a bit of vegetal teas lately.

Brewed Tea
As quick as the steeping was, the brewed tea yielded a very nice, but very light yellow color. It smelled sweet, but it tasted much sweeter, and silky. It was a very smooth brew, with a very light flavor. I got a honey-like aftertaste.
Second Brew
Again, the flavor of this tea was very light, as was the color. The second brew did not have the same silkiness as the first steeping. The vegetal notes only showed in this second steeping. However, the vanilla notes I mentioned earlier also showed up.

I’m glad I got to try this tea. It’s character was complex, flavor light, and was very sweet.

David at Verdant hit this spot on with his description. I followed his brewing instructions to a T and yielded wonderful results. Not much more I can offer that he didn’t clearly illustrate already. Just love this white.

Though different than other white I’ve tasted, this expresses a lot of Laoshan green qualities. A profoundly lingering honeysuckle-like sweetness remains between each sip, and hangs long after the cup is done. “Silky” indeed with a wonderfully soft mouthfeel. Not a huge fan of the aroma of the wet leaf, which is quite strong after that first steep. But it is true to other whites I’ve had in its subtle complexity. I don’t want to write anymore… this tea demands my attention and I’m fighting the urge to buy more.

I’m purposely not rating it, because I think something may be wrong with this batch. Maybe it was contaminated somehow, or I made it wrong. I used a second-hand shop gaiwan, put 2tsp of leaves in, and after 3 minutes it was only watery with a slight bitter taste. Wondering if I need to steep it more, I left it another three.

I’m trying to re-train my palate for green, so that may be part of the reason, but this… bleh. Even my dark pu-erh-loving husband agreed with me that this tasted bitter and somehow burnt. I don’t know if this one is even worth putting on my swap list, it’s so gross!

Update: Okay, I watched several different videos about using a gaiwan, did a conversion so I could use the correct amount of tea, and came to understand that the crazy quick steep time wasn’t a misprint! This is much better – actually palatable! The husband stole my cup, so I made myself another with (don’t hate me!) a little sugar and I actually kind of… may I say? Like it! The bitter and burnt taste must have been a combination of the over-steep and too many leaves.

This is such a pretty tea! I haven’t seen a tea with leaves like this.. it’s fluffy, curly, thin.. so nice. I’m tasting snow peas paired with a bit of butter and floral notes in the background. I have to admit that white tea isn’t exactly my favorite thing to drink. It’s a little astringent and flat unless it’s very flavored. I’m sure that others who enjoy white tea more would appreciate this one. I will still finish drinking this cup, but won’t purchase more.