Tag: White Tea

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Teakan’s Bai Mu Dan

Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) by Teakan
White Tea / Straight
70g for $30.00

Bai Mu Dan is one of five teas from Teakan’s Tea Exploration Kit (Volume 2) and makes up 10g of the 70g of looseleaf tea in this curated collection.

First Impressions

I had such a great experience with Teakan’s premiere collection (previously reviewed, it was sold at the 2020 Vancouver Tea Festival), I basically jumped at the opportunity to try the second curated collection from Teakan. The packaging for the kit is printed cardstock, with Teakan tape over the opening and each tea comes in a kraft paper pouch with similar minimalism labeling as the original collection. The packaging includes a tasting wheel, which Teakan has generous offered as an online download from their website, so you can get another copy if you’ve misplaced your box. I’ve opted to review each tea individually because each tea is single origin, and I did the same for the Spring Exploration Kit.

Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) is a white tea. The leaves themselves are fuzzy and green, with a light floral aroma to it that also has that scent of fresh cut grass and just smells really fresh and new. Bai Mu Dan is from Fuding, Fujian, China and was harvested in spring 2020 (so brand new for the year!). The tiny hairs on the leaves are so delicate.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Bai Mu Dan in 80°C (176°F) water if you’re doing a western steeping method for 1 minute. For those doing gongfu method, it’s 90°C (194°F) water for 5-10 seconds.

I opted to use the western style of steeping because that’s my general preferred method of making tea.

First Taste

Bai Mu Dan steeps to a very pale yellow for the initial steep. The aroma is lightly floral and fruity, it’s pleasant. The tea is a bit sweet, but not sickeningly so, just a hint that goes well with the fruity and floral flavours. At the recommended water temperature and steeping time, Bai Mu Dan is smooth with a lightly thickened mouthfeel and zero bitterness or astringency.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Bai Mu Dan five times, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour became deeper and more of a golden yellow. I found that the flavour became stronger as the colour deepened, but skewed more floral than fruity, which I enjoyed.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Bai Mu Dan. It was a lovely way to begin my journey through the Exploration Kit. This is definitely a white tea that I recommend resteeping, to truly get the full experience of this young white tea that was just harvested and processed this year. It’s a nice little treat to get to experience such a recent harvest, as well as enjoying a tea that has been so minimally processed. The flavour is enjoyable and this tea is easy to drink with a really nice smoothness. This would be a great ‘starter’ white tea for someone who’s new to them.

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

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Masters Teas’s Bai Hao Yin Zhen

Bai Hao Yin Zhen by Masters Teas
White Tea / Straight
$34.00USD for 1.5oz (43g)

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

First Impressions

You know who loves a good white tea? Me.

Masters Teas kindly sent me some Bai Hao Yin Zhen (better known as Silver Needle) that was harvested this year. It just doesn’t get any fresher than this! Bai Hao Yin Zhen comes in a sealed, resealable pouch that has a label across the front (and more information on their website!). This one is from Fujian, China, and is grown at 450m above sea level and hand picked from 5 to 10 year old trees (how amazing is it to get that level of information?).

The leaves of this tea are so lovely – white fuzz with some pops of spring green. It has a very light aroma to it – a pleasant blend of floral and grassy notes. I can’t tell which one is stronger than the other, it has a nice balance to it that I feel like they both play nicely with each other and I’m really hopeful that it continues to the steeped tea.

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 in 175°F (79°C) water for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Bai Hao Yin Zhen steeps to a very pale yellow. The aroma from the steeped white tea is a very light floral aroma. It’s very much a spring aroma to me. I found the taste of Bai Hao Yin Zhen has a nice sweet floral flavour, and subtle grassy notes in the background. It’s a very delicate tasting tea, and I wouldn’t add anything to it – the natural sweetness does so well on its own.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Bai Hao Yin Zhen an additional 3 times (4 steeps total with the same leaves). I found that the tea leaves handled being resteeped very well, as it had a more fruity note by the end of it – although the floral flavour was still very much present. It had some hints of what reminded me of melon, which has a nice crisp brightness to it.

My Overall Impression

I loved Masters Teas’s Bai Hao Yin Zhen. This white tea does not disappoint from the fuzziness of the dry leaf, to the aroma of the tea as it steeps, to the process of enjoying it. I found it did really well with resteeping, which I do think is a must to really enjoy all of the favour from these leaves. It’s such a treat to experience a new white tea and I think it’ll continue to be a treat as I finish up what’s in the bag.

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

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Adagio Teas’s Motherhood Teas (Collection)

Motherhood Teas by Adagio Teas
Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Honeybush, Tisane / Flavoured
$24.00USD for 6 0.5oz tins

Adagio Teas has provided me with Motherhood Teas for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Motherhood Teas is a super sweet little set of six limited edition blends designed for moms and the mother figures in your lives. The adorably illustrated tins slide open and are jam-packed with the tea/tisane inside. The tins neatly fit into a dark pink box and it’s basically already packaged up for you to gift to your mom (and Mother’s Day is coming up, so you best go and order now if you haven’t already gotten your mom a present!).

Each tin is adorable – there’s Love, Admiration, Hug, Hero, Wisdom and Truth.

From left to right: Hug, Admiration, and Love.

Love has a slight rose aroma, I can also smell the black tea base and it has some vanilla notes. Love consists of: black tea, heart sprinkles, rose petals, rose flavor, and natural creme flavor.

Admiration is a honeybush blend, but it does have some rooibos qualities to it and I can definitely smell that medicinal quality behind it. There’s a nuttiness in the background though, which I find intriguing. Admiration consists of: honeybush, flower sprinkles, cocoa nibs, natural hazelnut flavor, and natural chocolate flavor

Hug has a lovely aroma – lemongrass, berries, roses and ginger are all mingling in there. Hug consists of: rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, rose petals, blue cornflowers, lemon grass, natural creme flavor, licorice root, blueberries, strawberries, raspberry leaves, natural strawberry flavor, natural blueberry flavor, raspberries, ginger root, natural blackberry flavor, peppermint leaves, safflower, and blue cornflowers.

From left to right: Trust, Wisdom, and Hero.

Hero has the cutest tin, by far! This green tea blend smells grassy, floral, and has some lovely vanilla notes to it. Hero consists of: green tea, hibiscus, confetti sprinkles, natural vanilla flavor, orange peels, natural bergamot flavor, and blue cornflowers.

Wisdom is a white tea blend – I can smell vanilla and chocolate, I don’t really smell the white tea base or the coconut that exists in here, but bonus because I can’t smell the rooibos either. Wisdom consists of: white tea, rooibos, apple pieces, white chocolate chips, hibiscus, blueberries, natural strawberry flavor, strawberries, blue cornflowers, coconuts, rose petals, and natural vanilla flavor.

Last, but certainly not least, is Trust. Trust smells like apricots, vanilla, and cream to me. This green tea blend consists of: green tea, butterfly sprinkles, lavender, vanilla pieces, apple pieces, natural apricot flavor, strawberry pieces, apricots, and marigold.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends steeping Love, Admiration and Hug in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes (Love) and 5-10 minutes (Admiration and Hug). I followed the steeping instructions and did 3, 5 and 5 minutes.

For Hero, Wisdom, and Trust, Adagio Teas recommends steeping in 82°C (180°F) for 2-3 minutes (Hero), 3-5 minutes (Wisdom), and 2-3 minutes (Trust). I used 80C (175F) water to steep these three and did the initial steeps for 3, 5 and 5 minutes.

First Taste

Left to right: Love, Admiration, and Hug.

Love steeps to a golden brown colour. I found the aroma to be very similar to the dry leaf – I get the rose, vanilla and black tea base. The flavour is pretty good, I found it to be sweet with some light floral notes without being over the top perfume. It’s pleasant and I think it’d be great with cream and sugar, or paired with an afternoon tea.

Admiration tastes like rooibos, which is never my favourite ingredient. I found it to have some light chocolate flavours with a honeyed sweetness. I do like the sweet part of this tisane, and I think fans of rooibos and honeybush would enjoy this one.

Hug has a really strong lemongrass and ginger aroma and flavour to it. It steeps to a lovely yellow-brown colour. There’s some nice warming qualities about it that I think are really enjoyable and would be nice for busy moms who want something to drink while unwinding after a long day of balancing working from home and home schooling.

Left to right: Hero, Wisdom, and Trust.

Hero has a great aroma to it – it steeps to a peachy yellow, which was surprisingly not pink despite the fact that hibiscus is in the blend. There’s some grassy and vanilla notes to Hero. I found the flavour to be grassy, with hints of vanilla and a nice creamy quality to it. It’s quite light enough that I think it’d be nice as an iced tea too – since if you’re a hero, you’re a hero throughout the year and that includes different seasons.

Wisdom steeps to a golden orange with some oils floating on top – I think it’s from either the chocolate or coconut (or both). I still can’t taste the coconut. It has some nice vanilla and chocolate notes to it. I found it to be smooth, with a lovely texture despite the oils floating on top (it doesn’t taste heavy at all). It’s sweet too, and reminds me of a dessert. I think this one means to be paired with some strawberry shortcake or a freshly baked scone with strawberry preserves.

Trust steeps to a light yellow – I love the colour. It smells like apricot and vanilla. There’s a very pleasant sweetness to this that I enjoy. I found it to be light and pleasant – the apricot flavour is the best. I think this one would be a great iced as well, as it’s just got that lightness to it that goes well with iced teas.

A Second Cup?

I found that Hero, Wisdom, and Trust resteeped the best (for one resteep). A lot of the added flavourings were missing in the second steep of the same leaves.

Left to right: Love, Admiration, and Hug.

For Love, I found a lot of the rose flavour to be missing. While for Admiration and Hug, the flavours were just a bit muddled and didn’t like the initial steep.

Left to right: Hero, Wisdom, and Trust.

My Overall Impression

I loved Adagio Teas’s Motherhood Teas collection. I think it comes well packaged, with adorable illustrations, and a nice collection of blends that allows moms to try something new and perhaps find a new favourite. Hug, Hero, and Trust were my top picks/favourites out the six – and if I had to pick an absolute favourite, it’d be Trust.

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