2002 White2tea White Whale

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Pu Erh Tea
Flavors
Astringent, Bitter, Smoke, Wood, Camphor, Menthol, Pine, Stonefruit, Tobacco, Wet Wood, Peach, Hay, Oak, Tart, Burnt Sugar, Cranberry, Resin, Spices, Berries, Seaweed, Caramel, Dark Wood, Dust, Malt, Roasted Barley, Scotch, Strawberry, Berry, Red Wine, Tannin, Earth, Tannic, Sweet
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by d11t
Average preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 4 oz / 115 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

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25 Want it Want it

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58 Own it Own it

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29 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Aroma: Old red wine barrels, cork, yogurt, old woodsy furniture, fine delicate cranberry smoked ham and camphor – Very magically sourly mouth watering. A hint of dark chocolate. Taste: This is...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “I missed this back when it emerged at $15 the brick. By the time I was looking at W2T the price had already escalated to a point where some cognoscenti were saying “not worth it,” and it kept...” Read full tasting note
  • “Strong with a good balance. Despite age still astringent and very spicy. Good mix of astringent, bitter, woody and smoky. Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2002-white-whale-w2t” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “There is something about this tea that always has me coming back for more. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but something about the smell and taste take me back in time. I remember hearing a...” Read full tasting note
    92

From white2tea

2002 White2tea White Whale Raw 100g
Smooth aged raw puerh tea brick. Ready to drink or age further. When we first drank this tea, we knew we had found the bargain of our dreams. Plenty of body, but aged enough that it has a smooth and inviting character.

The White Whale can easily go toe-to-toe with similar factory productions from the 2002 era, but the whale weighs in at a fraction of the cost. Those in search of a smooth daily puer tea with over a decade of age that doesn’t hurt the wallet need search no further.

About white2tea View company

Company description not available.

29 Tasting Notes

301 tasting notes

I have come to appreciate and admire Paul at White2tea because of his firm commitment to uncovering fine teas at very fair prices – this little guy is a great example. I actually picked it up months ago when I placed my first order with him. I could not believe that an aged tea at this low price could be worth drinking. This is definitely a tea to be valued and enjoyed.
I was able to pick off quite easily layers of tea from this little brick. There is definitely the aroma of smoke in the dry leaf but it is not overwhelming – more of an accent. Two short rinses and then let it sit for 15m while the leaves opened a bit. That low level of smoke remained but it was even more subtle when leaves were wet. The tea soup is rather clear with a solid brownish orange tint. The sip offers a woody flavor with that light smoke accent and a bit of camphor thrown into the mix – complex enough for my palate to make it very enjoyable. Note: I would not describe this as a “sweet” tea but the flavor is quite appealing.
Due to all the recent chatter about this tea, I used a lighter amount of leaf (5g) but I think I’ll increase the leaf amount by 50% during the next session just to discover the difference.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Sil

awesome. thanks for this! i’ll have to take a look at their offerings :)

Cwyn

I got a couple of these bricks too, they are so cute I don’t want to unwrap them.

mrmopar

Yep 2 in my cupboard also.

DigniTea

Given the 100g brick size definitely worthy of upsizing to the size of a real cake!

Stephanie

Exciting :)

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85

There has been a lot of buzz about this tea and I finally got a chance to break into my brick tonight. Is it the best puerh that I’ve ever had? Of course not. Is it the best $15/100g puerh that I’ve ever had? Absolutely! The taste was thick and earthy with lots of camphor and even a bit of piney smokiness. In a way, I’m reminded of the rosin that I used to rub my violin bow with back in grade school. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to indulge in a halfway decent puerh and this one went straight to my head.

Flavors: Camphor, Resin, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec
DigniTea

I too was curious about this one because of all the chatter (but I am a big fan of Paul’s selections anyway). Just picked off my leaf for the first time last night and I am enjoying a session with this little guy right now. Initial reaction - I like it very much!

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71
289 tasting notes

OK, I guess I’m going to be the one to disagree with all the hype about this tea. It is smokey. Really smokey, and stays that way through at least several infusions, after that I couldn’t take anymore. It is certainly a hearty tea, but the smoke is overwhelming. I personally don’t consider this quality good for a Pu erh tea. I did not enjoy this at all. If you like smoke, I’m sure you will.

mrmopar

It’s like an XiaGuan brick or a similar item.

Rich

Yeah, pretty much. I don’t like those either, so that explains it!

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290 tasting notes

Thar she blows! Aharr, me hearties, today I laid into the White Whale that Paul of White2tea sent me. I fear the whale has harpooned me and now I be mixing up me sailing books. Should it be Treasure Whale or White Whale Island? Perhaps it’s just the tea drunk talking.

The dry leaf has an aroma of wood and camphor. Wet, the leaf adds smoky and pine resin notes. The liquor is orange. I can feel the kick as I drink it. It is powerful with strong wood and camphor notes, an element of smoke and pine resin, and a chilli bite in the aftertaste then a fine cooling on the tongue. I’m enjoying this tea a lot and finding that the aftertaste lasts nicely, unlike the aftertaste that Moby Dick left in Captain Ahab’s mouth. Let us hope that it has the legs of all those sailors it has encountered, because I hope to enjoy it for the rest of the day.
http://imgur.com/gallery/9izYW55
This is indeed a dancing white whale and at a great price too. I have to say that I really like the wrapper that White2tea has come up with for it. Minimalist but pleasing just the same.

Thank you White2tea. This is now on my want list. That’s like a wish list but I am more likely to pester my wife until she gives in and buys me a brick or two.

Flavors: Camphor, Pine, Smoke, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 9 g 4 OZ / 130 ML
DigniTea

This is definitely a fine little gem!

Cwyn

Oh help, the lad had none of this on him the other day at the tea tasting, and now Roughage’s wife gonna buy it all. I better get cracking!

Roughage

Fair’s fair. You got to do the tea tasting with Paul. I got some samples. It balances out. :)

I doubt very much that my beloved will permit me to buy more tea right now, but it would not hurt you to get in ahead of her/me before we buy up the entire stock. ;)

Cwyn

The worst of it is that tea lad has a stash he might buy up soon leading to more good cakes and nothing in any of our wallets!

Roughage

Tea will get you through times of no money better than money gets you through times of no tea. :)

Cwyn

Now that is the wisest sage advice I have ever read.

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94
5 tasting notes

Really good aged tea & with a good price. Favorite of my whole order from White 2

Flavors: Malt, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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90
3 tasting notes

So this tea came as something of a shock to me. Having only really gotten into puer a couple of months ago I’ve been sampling widely the selection of reputable vendors. Most of what I’ve had is fairly young stuff, so a necessary caveat emptor for this review is that I don’t have a lot of experience with aged teas. (Other than the White Whale under review here I’ve had some Mid 90’s CNNP Red Mark and a tea whose name or producer I don’t know, from 2001).

Anyway, this is aged tea and it’s very reasonably priced (I would say its downright cheap, but that sounds so derogatory). That calls for skepticism. I guess the reason for the pricing must be the lack of wrappers, for in terms of quality this really is a very good tea. It is earthly and deep, with a pleasant aftertaste. I didn’t find it all that complex, but it’s very smooth and it really has a lot of endurance (in terms of how many steeps you get out of it). This latter point surprised me the most, as I found myself really liking the first few brews I thought this might be one of those teas that dies before you’ve reached double digits. But no, this one delivers. I actually kept it in the gaiwan overnight and continued next day (something I normally don’t do) just to see how it would fare. Not bad at all! For reference I brew gongfu style with a good amount of leaves, not the most economical way (but at these prices, who cares?)

To repeat myself, I don’t have a whole lot experience with aged teas, and I certainly don’t know much about the differences between “dry stored” and “traditional stored” (or even wet stored) other than what I’ve read … But this really is a fine tea, justifying the name.

Preparation
Boiling 8 g 2 OZ / 70 ML

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91
104 tasting notes

This was a sample sent to me by Paul at White 2 Tea. This is another excellent Sheng and at $15.00 for 100g, it is a steal. The color of the liquor is a deep bronze. The taste, well let me just say, it is incredible. There are a lot of undertones that lead to a very deep, complex, yet very smooth taste. The two most prominent flavors to me were earthy and smokey. Right after steeping it was earthy and after it cooled a bit the smokey flavor really took over. For a 2002 Sheng, I still can’t believe it is only $15.00.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 tsp 5 OZ / 147 ML
boychik

im itching to place an order with them. How long did you wait for your order to arrive?

SWApilot

About 8 to 9 days.

boychik

Wow so quick. What else would you recommend to try ? im on a budget kinda, so not too expensive and not too bitter;)

SWApilot

As far as recommendations I will have to think about it. Most of my favorite Shengs tend to have a lot of kuwei because I really like my pu’er that way.

boychik

I don’t mind when it’s pleasant.

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