Tangerine Peel White Tea

Sipdown 66

Not a favorite. Like hay and old oranges. Not fresh or vibrant and a bit stale tasting.

Tried again this time at 186˚F for first infusion. 2nd infusion at 193˚F.

Tea is much more fragrant this time, a sort of mild sweet citrus aroma like kumquat. Unfortunately tea itself still tastes quite dull. Not one of my favourites from Teavivre. Will not be purchasing full size.

I followed up the hakka orange oolong with this when I was sick, and it was an interesting drinking experience. I remember the taste of stewed tangerine zest more than anything. The tea was there, but didn’t really assert itself.

The tea itself was apparently harvested in 2010 and I’m not sure when it was stuffed into the tangerine itself, but I see myself most likely using this as a tea to experiment with in the future. Not bad, and fine for sick tea, but a bit too “old tangerine-y” for my preferences.

My first tasting of this tea was in my gaiwan with about 3 grams of tea and 2 grams of tangerine peel. I did a 5 second rinse then 3 infusions. From the beginning this was a very fun tea just from the packaging. It is so much fun (albeit also frustrating) to open the tangerine and get the tea out. The aroma of the tea was sweet and citrusy to begin with. The taste was light, oily, buttery, and smooth with slight orange/tangerine flavors. The second and third infusions became sweeter than the initial one. The tangerine flavor becomes more subtle and more cohesive. The flavors meld very well. Overall an excellent sweet and refreshing tea for those who like flavored stuff.

Angel sent me this sample a few weeks ago. I was very curious to try this out when I saw it on the website. I was so excited to open this up! I had never tried a tangerine peel white tea… not even an orange peel tea, though I have seen them in the past viewing tea sites, chats, and blogs. So I used a very small clear glass teapot for this – approx 200mL. Upon opening this up, I poured the contents into the teapot. I saw two large pieces of dried, tough, dark orange tangerine peels mixed with fluffy white to medium green leaves that were small to medium sized. Some pieces were smaller I am assuming due to the packaging and me opening it up so excitedly! The scent of the dry leaf was fragrantly sweet but not overly so.

Brewing this tea – I didn’t use a timer but it was under 1 minute (approx 40 seconds). I loved observing the tangerine peel and tea leaves unfurling and dancing in the water. The brew was a light to medium yellow with a citrus scent. YUM! I love citrus. I did two brews only for this tea as it is late. (Just watched Copa America – Argentina vs USA! Messi is amazing!) Talk about tangent… anyway, the taste of the first brew was light, delicious, citrus with a mild walnut/nutty taste to it. I also detected a trace amount of floral tones to it. Maybe its just me. I love the sweetness this imparts with a hint of astringency toward the end of the cup. The second steep was a lot lighter. I steeped for 1 minute. Perhaps I could have gone longer but I am always wary of doing that. I don’t want to “burn” the tea. The wet leaves had a sour/sweet citrus scent. The liquidy goodness was still good but at this point the acidity of the citrus prevails – but not in a bad way. There is a hint of metallic-ness to it just like how some oolongs give me that flavor. Almost reminds me of lemon and water. The first steep was my favorite for sure. Good overall! I need to look up how this tea is made. I love the picture – I can imagine the tea being packed in that tangerine peel. I will definitely be trying my second sample of this soon.

Water: 17oz

Leaves: white/black small twisted leaves

Steep: 4m

Aroma: sweet,citrus, orange

Color: Copper

Clarity: Great!

Taste:The aroma of this tea is great upon opening the packet i noticed a huge piece of tangerine peel surrounded by the white tea leaves. Although i can say these looked different from other leaves i seen in the past they were much darker. As with the last tea this time i used the whole packet. Once brewed it was now time for a taste this is where i probably went wrong b/c I found this tea to be bitter & lacking flavor. Maybe i used too many leaves? After a few more sips the bitterness fades & i can’t pinpoint the flavor. There is also a bitter after taste left on the tongue when finish. Over all didn’t like this tea.

An Ark update is headed my way that has me full of excitement! Not because of the horribly hard caves or wooly rhinos, not because of breeding phase 2 or the Eurypterid, no my friends, it is for the Dunkleosteus! One of my favorite deep sea monstrosities from the Devonian age, this giant fish had no teeth, instead it had interlocking bony plates and an armored head, but more importantly it had a crazy fast bite speed, making its mouth deadly. Since the only real fossil record is of its bony face, we don’t have a clear idea of what its body looked like, it could have been a longish fish or if you are like me and come up with wild theories, it could have been an eel! Like I said, wild theory that is wildly unlikely, but very fun, I love the Dunkleosteus and I am glad it is getting some Ark love, can’t wait to tame one!

Time to put down the dinosaur geeking and move on to my other major geek out source, tea! Today I am looking at Teavivre’s Tangerine Peel White Tea, a Shoumei White Tea from 2010 shoved into a tangerine peel and then dried in the sun, at least I think these are dried in the sun since that is how Shou shoved in a tangerine is created. It is said that the tangerine peel is good for cough and chest complaints, and white tea is known to have cooling Qi, so I was thinking this would be a great tea to drink during allergy season, plus I love tangerines, so blending the flavor with white tea seems most excellent. The aroma of the leaves and peel is intensely sweet, the comparison the website makes to orange candies is not far off, though conveniently it smells like tangerine and not artificial flavor like so many candies have. Actually candies is not entirely fair, it is more like candied orange peel with a strong honey note. There are underlying notes of hay and melon, but mostly the dry leaves really showcase the citrus.

I tossed the fluffy leaves and peel bits into a teapot and gave them a steeping, the aroma of the leaves is still heavy on the tangerine and intense honey sweetness, but now there are also notes of lettuce and a touch of celery. The liquid is a blend of lettuce, freshly broken hay, tangerine, and sticky sweet honey. It smells warm and sweet and I cannot wait to drink it.

The first steep is very mild, I was expecting a giant tangerine explosion in my face, but the tangerine is more in the aroma and aftertaste. The main notes in this steep are gentle melon sweetness, lettuce crispness, and a sun-warmed hay finish. It has a smooth mouthfeel and a gentle cooling feel in my chest and stomach, refreshing on a warm day!

The aroma of the second steep manages to be even more tangerine, mixing fresh juicy tangerine and candied orange peel with honey and a touch of lettuce and melon. Wow, this steep brings the citrus! It has notes of honey drenched tangerine, slightly sour orange (hello salivary glands) and a definite candied peel note that lasts forever. This tea is not all citrus goodness though, there are also strong notes of lettuce and hay with a slight melon note at the midtaste. It is delightfully sweet and smooth and has a bit of a thickness to its mouthfeel.

For the third steep, the aroma does not change really, pretty sure you could stick the second and third steep under my nose and I would not know the difference. Tasting is pretty similar too, it lacks any sour notes and is all candied orange peel and tangerine sweetness, with strong honey notes and delicate melon. It manages to be both warming and cooling, though the warming comes mostly from the sunny notes present in the citrus, it always registers as summery and warm in my mind. The sensation of cooling is pleasant, not as intense as some shengs can get, but certainly feels soothing on my insides. This tea went for several more steeps, eventually the orange notes faded and I was left with lots of sweet white tea, I really enjoyed it and plan on saving the rest of my sample for a cold steep experiment come summer time!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/03/teavivre-tangerine-peel-white-tea-tea.html