Tag: White Tea

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Teakan’s Cold Dew Shou Mei

Cold Dew Shou Mei by Teakan
White Tea / Straight
$38 for 61g

Cold Dew Shou Mei is part of Teakan’s Volume 6 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Cold Dew Shou Mei makes up 6g of the 61g kit.

First Impressions

Cold Dew Shou Mei comes in a kraft paper pouch that’s sealed and resealable. Being part of a Teakan collection, I expect it to taste good. This particular shou mei is from Fuding, Fujian, China and was harvested in autumn of 2021, so late in the growing season.

The bag tears open easily, and reveals some gorgeous leaves. There’s a mix of of shades of green, but they’re primarily a similar shade to a fresh, live leaf – which is pretty amazing. The leaves of Cold Dew Shou Mei have some downy feathery bits to the leaves, and the aroma is very similar to stone fruit – think plums and apricots. It has a sweet undertone – and look at the gentle, and natural curls to the leaves that occurred in the drying process.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Cold Dew Shou Mei in both western style (80°C/176°F for 1 minute) or gongfu style (90°C/194°F for 5-10 seconds).

I opted to do an initial steep of Cold Dew Shou Mei in 80°C water for 1 minute.

First Taste

Cold Dew Shou Mei steeps to a clear, pale yellow. The aroma is sweet, lightly floral, with a fruity undertone. The flavour of Cold Dew Shou Mei is crisp, sweet, and has a strong fruity flavour to it that reminds me of stone fruits, much like in the aroma of the dry leaf. Cold Dew Shou Mei has a pleasant mouthfeel, that is slightly drying after the end of each sip, but it’s not off-putting for me.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Cold Dew Shou Mei five times (six steeps total), by adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour became a darker, more golden yellow. The flavour gets more fruity and a bit less sweet.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Cold Dew Shou Mei. This white tea looks remarkably like someone just plucked some dry leaves off of a plant – especially considering how green the leaves are. The flavour of Cold Dew Shou Mei are a treat to the senses, and I find that the tea resteeps quite well so I’d highly recommend that.

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

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DavidsTea’s Nepal White

Nepal White by DavidsTea
White Tea / Straight
$21.98 for 50g

DavidsTea sent me Nepal White as part of a complementary Garden to Cup subscription package, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

Nepal White came to me as part of a complimentary Garden to Cup subscription package from DavidsTea. The pouch is silver, sealed and resealable. The label is light blue with tiny print across the bottom portion of the label.

Because it’s such an airy tea, the pouch size is larger than the usual pouches used for 50g portions of tea. Nepal White is an organic tea from Nepal. The leaves long, wiry, with a mix of cream to green – there are feathery bits to the leaves. The aroma of Nepal White is very floral and light.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Nepal White in 90°C (195°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to do do an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Nepal White steeps to a clear yellow. The aroma is floral and sweet. The flavour of Nepal White is sweet and floral. The tea itself is smooth, but it also has a quite the drying mouthfeel to it. Nepal White’s drying notes leaves me to wanting to drink more of it to wet my palate a bit more, which results in a cycle of taking a sip, and needing to take another sip of tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Nepal White a total of six times (seven steeps total), adding an additional thirty seconds for each subsequent steep. The tea got sweeter, a bit more floral, for the first two resteeps. After that, it got a bit less weaker in flavour. Even by the sixth resteep, the tea was still quite flavourful.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Nepal White. Nepal White smells lovely, is pretty to look at and steeps (and resteeps!) really well. I find it was easy to drink, as long as you don’t mind the drying mouthfeel. I enjoyed Nepal White both hot and iced, which is a great way to continue to enjoy the tea’s repeated resteeps (and a great way to fill a big pitcher for the fridge!).

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

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DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong

Silver Bell Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea, White Tea, & Green Tea / Flavoured
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

One of the reasons that Silver Bell Oolong made its way into my online shopping cart because the reviews compared it to a previous blend (Monk’s Blend). This obviously meant that I needed to give it a try. But when I first unboxed the order, I was subjected to this label. I’m not sure who decided teal was easy to read on a medium shade of blue, but it isn’t (at all). Silver Bell Oolong comes in a sealed, resealable pouch.

Silver Bell Oolong consists of: white tea, milk oolong with natural milk flavouring, and jasmine green tea pearls. It’s a beautiful blend, and has a great aroma to it. I can smell the jasmine and milk from the milk oolong. Silver Bell Oolong is really pretty to look at and admire the different leaves. Silver Bell Oolong has identical ingredients as Monk’s Blend (a retired blend), with a slight change in price  ($12.98 versus $11.50), but comes with a different name that makes me think that it’s a holiday or seasonal tea (so keep that in mind if you’re wanting to get some).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Silver Bell Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the temperature recommendation, and did an initial steep of Silver Bell Oolong for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Silver Bell Oolong steeps to a beautiful yellow colour. There’s a strong aroma of jasmine and milk. Silver Bell Oolong has a smooth liquor. I find that the flavour is floral, milky, and grassy. Silver Bell Oolong has a certain level of creaminess to it, that I would attribute to the milk oolong. It has a nice mouthfeel to it, with zero astringency or bitterness.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Silver Bell Oolong two times (three steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I find that the flavour stayed fairly consistent to the initial steep, with the milky flavour waning as I resteeped the leaves. It is quite tasty though.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong. I still find this oolong, white tea, and green tea blend to be tasty. It has a great mouthfeel, flavour profile, and resteeps decently well. I think that Silver Bell Oolong coming back is nice for fans of the original Monk’s Blend, and I think it’s very similiar (if not identical?) to the original blend. I wish I still had some in my tea stash so I could do a taste comparison between the two. I would highly recommend resteeping this blend because it does hold up to resteeping, and Silver Bell Oolong has a great flavour. The creaminess of Silver Bell Oolong would lend itself well to being paired with a meal or dessert.

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