A top-notch white peony tea that I found a bit tricky to brew: aromatically complex, but easy to oversteep. If considering the aroma alone, this would be among my favorite white teas ever, but the experience of drinking it was slightly less than top-notch, I'd say only solidly good, not excellent.

The dry leaf is intensely fragrant, more so than any other white tea I have ever smelled. It has a fresh, springy fragrance, floral, and suggesting of sweet baked goods, but it also has some spicy notes...this is all before brewing! I just want to keep smelling the leaf.

Upon brewing, 3 minutes, this produces one of the most aromatic cups of white tea that I have tried to date. The aroma is mostly floral, but also has a hint of fruitiness, almost suggesting candied orange (not other citrus). Quite different from the usual melon-like tones that I normally encounter in white tea. The finish has notes of caramel, autumn leaves, and spice.

Flavor is clean, and slightly sour, without much bitterness and only a bit of astringency in the finish.

I find this tea is easy to over-steep. It does not become bitter, nor astringent, but the cup becomes oddly overwhelming. I find it makes me feel a bit off if I drink a cup that is brewed too strongly.

I felt good after brewing a weaker cup. I settled on using less leaf than I normally would for this type of tea (MUCH less than TeaVivre recommends). The leaf is so packed with flavor that not much leaf is needed.

I think I prefer the organic white peony sold by TeaVivre, but they're very different teas. That tea was more like a silver needle in its aroma profile, and it was harder to oversteep. This tea was slightly spicier and deeper, and a bit more finicky about brewing.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.