Smallish pearls unfurl to olive-colored leaf with lots of tip. Tea seems much more oxidized than normal for a tippy white tea.

I did not like the steeping recommendations; the cup came out quite bland when steeped this way, but this is always true for me of delicate white teas, like silver needle and others. I found steeping for 10-15 minutes produced a more flavorful cup. Brewed this way, the cup had a pinkish-olive color.

Flavor profile was similar to a silver needle, slightly sweet, almost completely without bitterness, and very slightly astringent, with the astringency building as one drinks more of it. Aroma was more muted. Initially, mostly melon-like tones (honeydew?), becoming stronger as I drink the cup. Towards the end of the cup, a hint of cinnamon, and a faint hint of the autumn leaf characteristics that are common among shou mei and darker pai mu tan. Oddly sweet finish, leaving a sweet flavor and cinnamon smell.

I recommend drinking apart from food. This tea is subtle and can be easily overpowered by food.

I'm not crazy about this tea, although the experience I had drinking it was interesting. As a general trend, I tend to prefer the lower grades of white tea. Although this was full-bodied, and had considerable complexity, especially with its surprising cinnamon-sweet finish, I found the aroma was too weak overall. I also would have liked more of the autumn-leaf character, which I can obtain more of from lower grades of tea for a much lower price.

I am someone who tends to think all silver needle is overpriced, so if you like this style of tea, you might enjoy this one. But I personally felt that this tea did not offer as much value when compared to other white teas, or the green and black teas in a similar price range from Simpson and Vail.

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