Tea: Pai Mu Tan Imperial
A White Peony Tea from Upton Tea Imports - 
Organic
This tea has been retired/discontinued.
| Brand: | Upton Tea Imports |
| Style: | White Peony Tea |
| Region: | China |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 1 View All |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1448 teas reviewed
✓ 17 of White Peony Tea
✓ 60 of White Tea
✓ 173 of Upton Tea Imports
✓ 381 from China
Review of Pai Mu Tan Imperial
April 6th, 2010
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 5 of 10 | 3 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 47 of 100 |
| Fair | Fair | Overpriced |
A darker white tea. This doesn't even resemble ZW56, Upton's other organic Pai Mu Tan offering. Much darker; if you just gave it to me I'd probably guess incorrectly that it was a Shou Mei.
Aroma is mostly of autumn leaves, with only a hint of peony and a faint suggestion of some other vegetal tones. Also, unusual for white teas, there's a hint of roast in the aroma as well. I'm not noticing the "melon" claimed by Upton. Cup is a dark amber color. Only a hint of mild bitterness, and almost no astringency, but some slight sourness.
This was not what I expected, and honestly I'm still not sure what to make of it. You need to use a lot of leaf, and by weight the leaf is quite expensive; in my opinion, overpriced. I very slightly prefer ZW56, but I more strongly prefer all of Upton's Shou Mei's that I've tried.
