Country of Origin: Taiwan
Leaf Appearance: large, lots of stems and bud, bright green
Ingredients: white tea
Steep time: 45 seconds
Water Temperature: 175 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: very pale
Ever since Geoff at Steep Stories put the idea in my head, I’ve been trying to hunt down a Taiwanese white tea. I was running low on samples to review (GASP!) so I placed an order with Norbu Tea and happily discovered that they had one in stock. The dry leaves were pretty unusual. They were huge and most of them were still in whole bud sets. The taste was soft, light and delicate but grew stronger with each infusion. There were sweet vegetal and floral notes along with an interesting hint of melon. There was no bitterness or astringency, regardless of the how long the leaves were in the water. I did five infusions in my gaiwan and then also prepared it “grandpa style” because Norbu recommended it in their steeping guide. I think I actually preferred it that way because the leaves were really able to open up. This was a really exquisite tea that I will definitely be revisiting.
You can find out more about this tea here.
I'm honored for the mention, Nicole. And glad my little diatribe influenced a white tea quest. Believe it or not, this white tea was the first I tried to hunt down, but the new shipment hadn't come in yet. I'm also glad this lived up to the purchase.
Your diatribes often have a bad influence on my tea budget, lol. It was definitely worth the purchase. Hopefully you can grab some next time around!