Wild White Tea

2024 sipdown no. 31

This one is a nice cup to drink without really thinking about it, which I essentially what I’ve done to my entire package. These is a definite hay flavour here, reminiscent of many white teas, but with the most subtle savoury aspect to it. A lovely warm cup to enjoy.

This little beauty carried the lightest whisper of umami on the nose… fresh cucumber and steamed zucchini. The first few infusions were fresh-cut grassy, with the mild bitterness of cucumber skin. Looking for floral or fruit in these inital steeps turned up nothing, but the plucky vegetal notes are light and refreshing.

And then whoa, suddenly a drop of floral. Something white… what is that?

Then a dandelion kind of flavor, the greens and yellow petals together. I think this was the 6th or 7th steep… totally unexpected that it began spreading out like this. I expected it to gas out much earlier. There was even later a taste like raw wheat kernels, or uncooked steel-cut oats.

Lasted forever, I didn’t count steeps. Blissful little session to lose one’s self in. Thank you, derk.

We had one of those spring days that was warm and chilly all at once…perfect for yard work, especially when the riding mower is in the hospital on life support waiting for a new carburetor and you’ve got to use your own horsepower. Husband trimmed around our 100-plus-year-old maple; that’s a half mile in itself; it’s an Ent just waiting to break loose and trudge down the block.

I tackled the tilty, tippy, ditchy part of the yard with the push mower, and was walking about as slow as an aforementioned Ent by the time I finished. This light little cuppa, courtesy of derk, was perfect for putting up the aching feet and surveying the acreage.

While steeping, it looked a little like cooked spinach and mulch from the push mower, but the coloring and flavor palate was much lighter. Definitely some sweet hay in there. Ashmanra mentioned a little mineral in there—I got that, too.

Not one to wake up with; not one to wind down with; just one to savor when you have a few delicious minutes to put your brain on autopilot.

Yesterday I put some dispenser hot water into my glass thermos and let it cool. Put the steeping basket in full of leaves for several minutes and drank 3/4 of the way down. What a light tea! Barely any taste, sweet water but pleasant. Went back to dispenser to refill. Realized I never put the leaf in the steeper basket to begin with.

uh-guh-guh-guh-guh

So a redo today! And I don’t think I let the water cool at all, so it was pretty hot maybe 195F? Not much attention paid but holy moly is there a difference! It’s perfectly silky and oily-spring water?, with a gentle taste that ashmanra described as sun-warmed hay in her later steeping. I’d also say flax seed, which is a note I picked up on in another Georgian white tea Martin gifted me. Honeyed undertone. This is really good and I will come back with a more detailed note before this leaf is gone.

Ashman really loves white tea, so I especially wanted to have this one when he is home. Today was the day! Thank you, derk, for sending this my way!

We are so sad at the loss of one of our elderly dogwood trees, and Ashman is cutting it down today. It is quite old, and was half dead last year but we left it up. This year there is absolutely no growth or bud of any kind, and it is bare while the others are starting to bloom. It has provided beauty year round, and shade in our hot, humid summers. It bore a disc swing for the children many years ago, and gave us beautiful blooms each spring. The berries attracted flocks of robins in late fall and winter and we enjoyed watching them and hearing them chatter. During storms and high winds, its branches would sway and cast shadows on our bedroom window at night, and by day I would sit on the bed and watch the leaves tossed by the wind.

We have three dogwoods left, all about the same age. We have a new one ready to plant near where the dead one had grown, and it is time to start thinking about how we can get some planted so that they can start growing to replace these that will also see the end of their time. It is so sad when a tree dies. I have always said that the trees were the best part of our home. I will not live long enough to see the new ones attain the size of the one we are cutting today. But someone, someday will enjoy them.

Sad tale over

NOW THE TEA!

These are such new, tender leaves. The wet leaves in the steeping basket have an almost luminous bright green color with some tippy looking leaves that are soft and pale. A few slightly larger leaves have a bit of faun color on them and pretty little serrations on the soft leaves. I pull a few from the basket and smooth them out. Yes, two leaves and a bud, with a tiny bit of soft stem on some. Then another pair, one unfurled, one folded in half still.

When I filled our cups, I was really surprised by the color. Well, by the lack of color. My white peony and shou mei teas steep up to golden and even light brown, but this is so clear. First steep is mild and has light flavor of steamed snow peas, no butter. I think…minerals, too? Reminds me a little of a silver needle white.

Third steep is now approaching a golden color but still pretty light. Now I detect notes of sun warmed hay. I shouldn’t be drinking this much caffeine this late in the day but I don’t want to waste these leaves. I can nap tomorrow.

Ashman liked it a lot. He prefers mild teas and has always loved white tea, so this was a good one for today.