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“So cozy! I’ve only got 5 more teas left to try in the GM sampler, which makes me sad. Somewhere down the line, I’m definitely going to need to order more of their stuff, since it consistently falls...” Read full tasting note
“This is a tea that I ended up getting an ounce of for free with my Golden Moon order because they mistakenly shipped me this tea instead of the tea I ordered. So I figured I would try it! It is a...” Read full tasting note
“This elegant dry leaf brews up to a somewhat lackluster tea. I have tasted green teas that had tons more character and I’ve even had white teas that offered more. I think, however, that the...” Read full tasting note
“I had a nap earlier, which means my brain is pretty worthless right now. Decided to have some of my GM samples in the ever popular endeavor of cleaning out my tea pantry so I can order some...” Read full tasting note
As the most gentle among white tea, Snow Sprout delivers tender young buds that give a light infusion of serene clarity. Delicate herbal notes are followed by a lingering sweetness.
Ingredients: First Flush Bai Hao Yinzhen Tea Buds
Where it’s Grown: Fujian, China
Golden Moon is dedicated to offering outstanding, whole-leaf teas of the greatest quality and finesse. All Golden Moon Teas are hand-plucked and meticulously crafted to enhance leaf character, aroma, color, clarity, body, complexity, and above all, flavor.
Sipdown! My kettle is being weird again because of the weather, so all temperature notes are approximate today. This looked really delicate so I brewed it low like a white tea. It claims to be a green but I’ve seen snow sprout classified as a white before, and it has flavors like both… Huh.
It’s moderately grassy but more in a hay way than a vegetable way. It reminds me a little of snow peas, actually. The end of the sip and aftertaste blend together into a sweet green taste that’s almost floral. Not a bad cup but not a favorite for me.
I’ve never tried this variety before, so I’m excited to see what it’s like. The smell and appearance are both quite attractive. The leaves are thin, slightly curved, and light green – they remind me of the needles from last year’s Christmas tree that I find when I pull out the box of ornaments again. There’s a sweetness to the scent, and maybe even a fruitiness? I’m not able to put my finger on it.
Let’s see, I didn’t burn out my taste buds at lunch with spicy food…what’s going on here? I can’t really taste much of anything. The mysteriously sweet and fruity aroma is gone, and the very light yellow liquor is perhaps just too subtle for me latch onto. I’m getting a very small bit of astringency, a little more mouth feel than a plain cup of hot water would give me, but that’s about it. Ah well.
It seems like you’ve had a run of “meh” to “ick” GM samples — I look forward to when you get to the good ones! :)
Part of that might be because I think my ratings run conservative in the numbers (ie something in the 90’s for me is really, really good). Probably a good idea to put up a guide to the scale so it doesn’t look too out of whack. In any case I’m looking forward to good teas too!
I want to start by saying that I thought Snow Buds were white tea, but these are classified as green, go figure. Anyhow, the leaves are long and pretty, they smell light and faintly sweet. The sweetness is unidentifiable, it is not floral or sugary/caramel, but a natural, honey-like sweet aroma.
The brewed tea does not smell like much of anything, but I don’t mind that too much. The tea tastes very gentle, it is light and very white flavored, I would not have picked this as a green; there is no vegetal or normal green flavors. Oh well. The tea is sweet without anything having been added, it is smooth and light and goes down easy. Good for an easy-going, relaxing day.
Overall, it was very good. Brewed hot, three minutes, no additives.
Looks like a white, smells like a white, tastes like a white. The tea I got looks different from laurenpressley’s pictures. They are longer leaves twisted and no fuzz.
I do get a little minty feel at the end of a sip, more of the sensation of mint than flavor. Interesting. It’s a very light tea.
My review would of leaned towards why this tea wasn’t for me, but then when it cooled down, it opened up. I really need to stop judging so quick! I don’t think I would buy, but it’s a likable tea. Very shy in flavor, just be patient for she’ll be flirting with your taste buds in no time!
I wouldn’t use hotter water, 180 max. I’d increase the leaf amount and the steeping time. You could try 3g tea/180 degrees/3 min. But most whites are light.
I had to change my review, when it cooled down, the flavors came out. Thank you for the advice, you know your tea! :)
I was preparing some games for my best friend’s bridal shower when I realized I needed a basket…. I looked around and saw Golden Moon Tea’s pretty container. The top cover is perfect! I decided to take a break to read some steepster reviews and was totally inspired by laurenpressley’s Golden Moon Tea post with photos. I haven’t touched my digital SLR in over a year and had been content with point and shoot.
I went back into my pantry, picked Snow Sprout and was finally exposed to Golden Moon Tea. I set things up and started shooting again :) and tea tasting of course! The dry leaf… I didn’t realize that the tea was barely enough for one sample with multiple steeps. The leaves were curled long and light green. The scent was faintly floral. Pretty! I’ll post the photos up on my flickr at another time!
After steeping, the liquid was a light pink brown tinge. It is so light and I almost thought that this was a white instead of green tea. There is a hint of florals and greens and sweetness to it. Very nice and delicate.
GM Sample 14/31
This tea is very light and airy. Very pale green color. This tea has a very sweet and refreshing scent to it. The hot tea wasn’t very impressive to me. However as the tea cooled down there was a nice faint grassy taste mixed with honey. Personally I prefer something a with a little more taste, but a nice change from the very complex pu-reh and lapsong I had recently.
I’m having this today since it’s a Chinese tea, and it’s Chinese new year. It’s a lovely cup of green tea, though as @teaplz said, it seems awful close to a white tea. I, too, was surprised to see the hairs on the leaves and the twig-like look they developed in water.
The tea (and wet leaves) has a great smell to it. It’s almost floral. As the tea gets cooler it becomes more obviously green, though still not as sharp as a typical Chinese green. It’s a great cup!
Update! here are the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauren_pressley/tags/snowsprout/show/
It’s ok. It’s not bitter, and it just smells like tea. Not sweat, not fruity or flowery, just tea.
It’s probably my untrained palate, but this doesn’t taste like much at all to me. It’s just kind of eh. I wouldn’t turn it down as a gift, but I don’t think I would seek out this tea.
