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Teakan’s Rare Willow White

Rare Willow White by Teakan
White Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 60g

Rare Willow White is part of Teakan’s Volume 4 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Rare Willow White makes up 10g of the 60g kit.

First Impressions

Rare Willow White comes in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with a very familiar label. Unsurprisingly, Rare Willow White is a white tea. This particular one comes from Maipokhari, Ilam, Nepal. Fun fact, the tea industry began in that region back in 1863 and Nepal is responsible for producing 16.23 million kilograms of tea every year – with the majority being grown in Ilam. Rare Willow White is a 2nd flush tea harvested in 2020.

The leaves are long, wiry, with a great mix of colorus from cream, spring green, olive, brown, and a deep brown that’s almost black. There’s a great range in colours here, which makes it a such joy to look at. There’s a light floral sweetness to it, which makes it kind of enticing.

Preparation

Teakan recommends two different steeping temperatures for Rare Willow White. For those steeping western style, Teakan recommends 75°C (167°F) water for 1 minute. For those opting to go the gongfu route, they recommend 80°C (176°F) water for 15 seconds.

I opted to go the western style as it’s easier for me to pour and steep for 1 minute versus 15 seconds.

First Taste

Rare Willow White steeps to a light yellow. The aroma is lightly floral. This white tea steeps smooth – it has a nice mouthfeel to it with zero astringency or bitterness when steeped for 1 minute. The flavour is floral, with a hint of fruitiness and just a touch of sweetness. Nothing too overwhelming, but it helps accent the floral notes. It has a bit of a crispness to it, and it’s just a very easy tea to drink.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Rare Willow White six times (seven steeps total with the same leaves). The tea itself became a darker golden yellow as I went, and the floral notes got stronger, with a heavier fruity undertone as I steeped. It was still very easy to drink, and I liked tasting the very subtle differences between each steep. I found that the flavour began to wane by the third resteep (fourth steep total), but it was still palatable by the sixth resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Rare Willow White. Honestly, what a treat to try a white tea from Nepal – especially one that just resteeps so well and has a great flavour to it. I love the light sweetness that mingles well with the floral and fruity notes. Rare Willow White certainly has a great flavour, aroma, and the leaves are pretty to look at as well. I definitely enjoyed this one hot, but also had a cup of it cooled down with ice and it does well as an iced tea as well.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Masters Teas’ Bai Hao Yin Zhen

Bai Hao Yin Zhen by Masters Teas
White Tea / Straight
$29.00USD for 1.5oz

Masters Teas has provided me with Bai Hao Yin Zhen for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Bai Hao Yin Zhen came in a sealed, resealable pouch. I’m tickled at the opportunity to try the April 2021 harvest of this tea, after having had the April 2020 harvest. The leaves come from Fujian, China, and were harvested in this year. As with most of the teas from Masters Teas, the teas are single origin and description of the farmers and location – which is a nice little touch that you don’t get with a tea that isn’t single origin.

Bai Hao Yin Zhen is also known as Silver Needle, and one of the trademark characteristics for a good Silver Needle is to be covered with those fuzzy feathery parts on the leaves. These leaves are green or fuzzy white. The leaves are soft and have a very faint, sweet and floral aroma and are just really pretty to look at. I do wish that the aroma was stronger, to give me a better idea of what’s to come, but I’m still eager to taste it.

Preparation

Masters Teas recommends steeping Bai Hao Yin Zhen in 170°F (77°C) water for 2 to 3 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Bai Hao Yin Zhen for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Bai Hao Yin Zhen steeps to a pale yellow. It has a sweet floral aroma. It’s a faint colour, but the flavour is interesting. I find it to be a blend of light floral sweetness, with a hint of hay or grass. It makes for a complex blend, as I find it difficult to determine where one flavour ends and the other begins – it’s so well blended with a nice hint of sweetness to round it all out.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Bai Hao Yin Zhen seven times (eight steeps total with the same leaves), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The flavour deepened – more grassy and straw and less floral as I steeped. It lacked sweetness by the end of my steeping session of the leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved Masters Teas’ Bai Hao Yin Zhen. This was definitely pleasant to drink and experience from the dry leaf to steeped tea. I admired the beauty in the dry leaf, and then getting to taste the tea as I went through the steeps was a real treat. I would definitely recommend resteeping these leaves, and enjoy having it hot or perhaps cold steeped or iced – it certainly has a pleasant flavour to it with the grassy notes throughout.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Dessert by Deb’s Cocoa Lavender Latte

Cocoa Lavender Latte by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

First Impressions

Cocoa Lavender Latte came to me as part of my subscription box from Dessert by Deb and it is an exclusive blend for members of the Tea Society (what Deb calls subscribers). This is a black tea blend that came in a sealed, resealable pouch. The name intrigues me because I love the aroma of lavender, and enjoy a good tea latte from time to time (hello, London Fog).

The aroma of Cocoa Lavender Latte is a beautiful blend. It smells like chocolate and lavender and basically like a treat. Cocoa Lavender Latte consists of organic: black tea, vanilla, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, lavender, natural cream flavour, pink cornflower petals, and calendula petals. The colours in this blend (purple, pink, yellow) is gorgeous.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cocoa Lavender Latte in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 6 minutes.

First Taste

Cocoa Lavender Latte steeps to a deep reddish brown and has an oily slick across the top – thank you from the cacao nibs and dark chocolate. It tastes of lavender, chocolate and hints of vanilla at the tail end of each sip. Dessert by Deb does recommend having Cocoa Lavender Latte as a tea latte, which I opted to do.

I added some frothed soy milk to the tea. It does add a level of creaminess to the tea itself, and Cocoa Lavender Latte does become a lovely tea latte and has a lovely sweetness to it.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt to resteep Cocoa Lavender Latte, but there was a lack of chocolate flavour in the first resteep. I would recommend steeping Cocoa Lavender Latte for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cocoa Lavender Latte. This black tea blend definitely comes together with all my favourite things – lavender and a black tea, all in a tea latte. I enjoyed the flavour, aroma and taste – the lavender really ties it all together. I’m not sure if Dessert by Deb created this blend just for me, but it really does feel like it because it contains all things that I enjoy and I had a fine time drinking this up.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.