Country of Origin: India
Leaf Appearance: small, covered in silvery hair
Ingredients: white tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 195 degrees
Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Tea Maker
Liquor: gold
Some of you might remember that I reviewed a Muscatel Darjeeling, also from Okati, from Golden Tips Tea Co Pvt Ltd late last year. I’ve always enjoyed Darjeeling white teas so I was excited to dig into this one. The taste almost reminded me of dry white wine. It was fruity and sweet but had a refreshing crispness to it. Floral notes provided a soft background that came more to the forefront in the second infusion. I tend to brew my white teas loose in a glass teapot, leaving just enough water to cover the leaves. That is also my method for Chinese green teas because I find that it helps to maintain the flavor. Although there was some grassiness it never became unpleasant. I do wish that they called the tea lightly oxidized rather than fermented but that’s one of my tea nerd pet peeves. There are also some doubts as to the claim that the caffeine level is negligible. Caffeine is concentrated in new buds so theoretically this tea would have quite a bit.
Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling White Tea Second Flush (Organic) 2014 sample provided by Golden Tips Teas.