The White2Tea 2016:
I purchased samples of all the 2016 new line up this year, and I started at the bottom (cheapest) and worked my way up. I did this to taste the profile improvements and variances. I brewed in the same pot with same leaf water ratio. Also, this helps to hone in my palette to identify what’s a good deal and what’s not. At the conclusion of my tasting I will be placing my cake order.
I opened up my packet and gave a nice long inhale, for it’s been a long day. I can take in a familiar sweet heavy scent of fruits and some mineral. I pick up an odd tarragon tone along with some petrichor. The underlying leaf gives off a fragrant scent of honey kiss melon. I warmed up my pot and threw some in. The tea smells wispy and surrounding. My teapot lid opens followed by a musk with spicy undertones; I can take in some dark grass and a little bit of hot hay. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste begins with a strong floral background. The brew is sweet yet abrupt. The sweetness fits into the sugarcane category, for it is nice crystal sweet but it carries some woody tones as well. I can note a possible lychee note, and a light astringency follows, The brew still carries an odd haltering characteristic. The floral background pushes to the forefront in later steeping blooming into lily and daises. The tea is very delicate with a nice qi. The brew gives me a good rush and body feel that predominantly stays in the head. When I state halting, I mean that the tea gives a texture or enjoyable sensation then it pulls it away. The tones and scents flourish but stop. This tea kept this pattern throughout the session. It was odd, but I have seen it before.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJlDpTqgCSJ/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en
Flavors: Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Hot Hay, Lychee, Sugarcane, Sweet