This is indeed a very tasty tea! no surprise there… I knew the same tea combination from Davids was amazing so I expected more or less the same. One day, I’ll do a side by side comparison to see which I like better.
Sadly, the Davids tea may win that battle. Apparently places that do blends like this usually use flavoured oils to enhance the tea, and this shop, being more “pure” has decided not to indulge in such unpure practices.
Also, the white peony from Tea Dynasty is a little rounder, and not as delicate in flavour… which is part (just a small part!) of what I love about the Davids version.
Does anyone know why some white teas have that delicateness, and others don’t?? I’m curious!
That said, the TD version uses freshly dried strawberries that really punch through on the first steep. They come out nice and tart, while DTs is only sweet and far from tart, compared.
By the second steep of the TD tea however, the strawberry is mostly gone… leaving the barest suggestion of strawberry, and mostly in the aftertaste.
On another note, I just love that the shop owner will make whatever blend I want! this wasn’t on the menu so I asked him to do it up for me and he did! one of many things that sets this place apart from the other shops :)
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white teas are often harvested only in the spring from buds and new growth, this leaves the plant little time from a period of relative dormancy, to spring flush, and so the plant has little time to translate flavors from the soil and surroundings to the new growth…the tea is also only plucked, steamed, lightly oxidized and dried, this doesnt allow for a period of chemical transition in the leaf that can also add additional flavors
interesting! so the “rounder” whites have been more oxidized then?
bai mu dan/pai mudan, white peony, white eyebrow all are slightly oxidized (like black teas and oolongs) you can see it in the ‘browning’ in the leaves….white bud teas are rare and lack the oxidation
hmmm. I will have to look out for this browning.
So what makes the white peony at David’s and Tea Emporium taste fresher than that of Tea Dynasty’s? is it the region where it is grown?
could be they source the tea more directly or have higher turn over of that product, could be they are sourcing from a more organic dealer, or they are choosing a less oxidized, more ‘green’ version from the many sources they are cupping from…i was surprised how different rooibos could be when I requested simple, plain, non-flavored sourced from the same region…the flavors ranged from ‘fruity’ to almost ‘fennel’ strange and wonderful how the plants can offer such a flavor profile difference from subtle changes in climate, soil, processing…
I agree, it’s fascinating how different one tea can be, even between batches from the same retailer.
My mission of trying every tea out there is proving impossible. There are just too many!
journey of a lifetime..enjoy each sip and each footstep
indeed! that very much fits the way of a tea drinker Kashyap :)
white teas are often harvested only in the spring from buds and new growth, this leaves the plant little time from a period of relative dormancy, to spring flush, and so the plant has little time to translate flavors from the soil and surroundings to the new growth…the tea is also only plucked, steamed, lightly oxidized and dried, this doesnt allow for a period of chemical transition in the leaf that can also add additional flavors
interesting! so the “rounder” whites have been more oxidized then?
bai mu dan/pai mudan, white peony, white eyebrow all are slightly oxidized (like black teas and oolongs) you can see it in the ‘browning’ in the leaves….white bud teas are rare and lack the oxidation
hmmm. I will have to look out for this browning.
So what makes the white peony at David’s and Tea Emporium taste fresher than that of Tea Dynasty’s? is it the region where it is grown?
could be they source the tea more directly or have higher turn over of that product, could be they are sourcing from a more organic dealer, or they are choosing a less oxidized, more ‘green’ version from the many sources they are cupping from…i was surprised how different rooibos could be when I requested simple, plain, non-flavored sourced from the same region…the flavors ranged from ‘fruity’ to almost ‘fennel’ strange and wonderful how the plants can offer such a flavor profile difference from subtle changes in climate, soil, processing…
I agree, it’s fascinating how different one tea can be, even between batches from the same retailer.
My mission of trying every tea out there is proving impossible. There are just too many!
journey of a lifetime..enjoy each sip and each footstep
indeed! that very much fits the way of a tea drinker Kashyap :)