This arrived in the mail yesterday. I had had an unimpressive day of tea up until that point—I steeped some peach white too long, making the taste of peach gummi rings stick in my mouth; I then tried a 2010 shu pu’erh that I haven’t figured out exactly what works best for it yet. It wasn’t bad, just unremarkable, which I’m sure is because I’m still figuring it out. So I had some of my new Yunnan White Jasmine.
It smelled heavenly right away—sweet, floral, not overly so. The first steeping was fresh and pleasantly jasminey. I may not have been in a mood for jasmine white tea yesterday—I’m not sure, but I think I was looking for something roastier and darker. I enjoyed that steeping, though, and I decided to come back to the same leaves the next day with a fresh mind.
“Fresh mind” is putting it generously. I just finished a dialogue final paper for one of my classes, and I got to bed late (for me) last night and finished it this morning before handing it in. I’m kind of dragging this morning, a little spaced out, and generally tired-feeling, so a nice hot cup of tea (without caffeine!) is very welcome at this point.
So it’s the first steeping of the day, but it’s the second steep. Sweet goodness, the second steep. I feel like I’m strolling—maybe hovering a little bit—through a garden in early June, a garden full of cascading white blooms, with my mouth hanging open. This is sweet, smooth, creamy bliss. I’m sitting here half-awake with my hands wrapped around my mug and my chin stuck down into it, absorbing as much of this delicious warmth as I can.
If you’re just not in a jasmine mood the day you try this…do what I did and save the leaves for the next day. It’s more than worth it.
What is this that’s suddenly on my tongue? I’m not making it up—it’s sweet and slightly caramely. This might be the powdered sugar sensation that Geoffrey mentioned, although I’m sure no two people will get the exact same experience out of this…(for the paper I just finished I’ve been talking about Kant, so this connects in a surprisingly analogous way.) This tea is full of surprises.
If that was just the second steep…gosh, what will the next ones be like?
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Update: This lasts about 5 Western-style steepings—maybe even more. Impressive.
Great tasting note! I love this one so much. It has serious staying-power, which is indeed impressive for a white tea. I sometimes reach for this one when I’m in a rush or otherwise know that I’m not going to be able to exhaust the leaves in one sitting, and it always delivers unfazed when I return to it hours later or the next day. I haven’t experienced many teas that can hold up to such a hiatus like this one can. So glad you loved it too! Cheers!
Update: This lasts about 5 Western-style steepings—maybe even more. Impressive.
Great tasting note! I love this one so much. It has serious staying-power, which is indeed impressive for a white tea. I sometimes reach for this one when I’m in a rush or otherwise know that I’m not going to be able to exhaust the leaves in one sitting, and it always delivers unfazed when I return to it hours later or the next day. I haven’t experienced many teas that can hold up to such a hiatus like this one can. So glad you loved it too! Cheers!