Tea: Season's Pick Shou Mei
A Shou Mei White Tea from Upton Tea Imports
This tea has been retired/discontinued.
| Brand: | Upton Tea Imports |
| Style: | Shou Mei White Tea |
| Region: | Fujian, China |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 1 View All |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 7 of Shou Mei White Tea
✓ 60 of White Tea
✓ 173 of Upton Tea Imports
✓ 97 from Fujian, China
✓ 382 from China
Review of Season's Pick Shou Mei
October 13th, 2009
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 7 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 73 of 100 |
| Very Good | Good | Outstanding |
This is one of the naturally sweetest teas I have ever tried, with an aroma of cinnamon, honey, caramel, and autumn leaves. Rich, warm, and very gentle. Absolutely no bitterness whatsoever...just a hint of astringency in the aftertaste.
This is one of 3 of Upton's Shou Mei teas of very similar price and I want to emphasize that this tea barely resembles the other two. The leaves of this are the browest of the three and this one is by far the sweetest and darkest--in fact I would say it is the sweetest and darkest Shou Mei I have ever tried (making it the darkest "white tea" I've ever tried). Also, this tea has a complete absence of the fresh vegetal tones present in the other two.
I'm not a big fan of sweet-tasting teas, but people who love naturally sweet teas would love this one. This is an astonishingly complex tea for how in expensive it is!
The brewing instructions are important; if you use hotter water the result is drinkable but you lose some of the aroma. I find you can steep longer and the aroma becomes stronger, but the tea also acquires more astringency. This tea is usable for multiple infusions, however--more so than typical for Shou Mei. Perhaps this is a function of the fact that it is mostly large, whole leaves and contains fewer smaller particles.
