Sipdown no. 41 of 2017 (no. 322 total). A sample that I’ve been eyeing and meaning to try for a while. And the last caffeine of the day.
Stupidly, I viewed the preparation notes for the wrong tea, so I steeped in what seemed like the sweet spot, but it was for the Bai Mu Dan. Fortunately, it wasn’t that far off from what the only note that gave a temp and time had for the Bai Hao.
White tea continues to be mostly a puzzlement to me. Preparation instructions on the internet are wildly divergent, some sources advocating long steeping times and some advocating multiple short steeps. Some say use hot water, some say use cooler.
I’ve basically given up trying to figure out how to steep it. If I get lucky and it comes out tasty, that’s a win.
Same with the taste. Sometimes I feel as though it’s basically a cousin to black tea. Sometimes I have no idea what it is — it’s a sort of very light, dewy or hay flavored hot water.
But I keep trying to hit on some unifying principle that can help me understand it better. And I keep failing.
Honestly, I’m not sure what to say about this one. I don’t get much flavor out of it at all. Maybe it’s an age thing (but white tea is supposed to age well), but I think it’s more likely a preparation thing. There’s a bit of sweetness but honestly, I’m getting mostly hot water here.
Not rating it.
Preparation
Comments
Totally get you on this front. White tea is a mystery. At times, it has been flavourful floral pillows of delight and then, other experiences have been mostly hot water. So yeah.
Still on it though.
Totally get you on this front. White tea is a mystery. At times, it has been flavourful floral pillows of delight and then, other experiences have been mostly hot water. So yeah.
Still on it though.
I keep hoping that I’ll crack the code some day and white teas will make sense to me.
I am sure that we will both get there one day, or at least have a better idea of which ones work for us and which don’t.