Reading the Tea Leaves

(Parts 1 & 2 covered a selection of Black teas, Green, Jasmine, and Oolong teas served cold.)

If iced Ready-to-Drink White teas came late to market shelves, manufacturers behind this category have certainly made up for it with the sheer variety of flavors.  Among all the tea categories White tea stands out for the high proportion of flavors in which the tea appears.  I will have more to say on this later and begin with unflavored White teas in their original, natural form.

Silver Needles White (hot)

I’ve stated on several occasions that Silver Needles White tea tastes very mild and subdued.  Some would even say that is a charitable view.  Part of the pleasure this tea gives derives from its leaf form.  This is one instance where the blurbs about White tea being rare, unopened buds — and in one stroke excluding the much bigger quantities of other non-bud White teas that are produced — are accurate.  Brew the needles in a glass mug or pot to make the most of the visual enjoyment.  It’s sometimes hard to admit for a tea costing upwards of $120 or more a pound that the flavor is subtle, but I would own up to the fact that this tea is too tame for an iced version.

White Peony (Bai Mudan) and Shou Mei (Longevity Eyebrow), on the other hand, offer intriguing possibilities.

Peony White (1st grade)

A Shou Mei White (Longevity Eyebrow); tea shown is a Special Grade

Both teas, and especially the latter, possess a slightly toasty quality that is nicely balanced with the delicacy of Green teas.  In the higher grade Peony White, the tips and younger leaves lend the tea a “greener” flavor, which depending on your preferences, may or may not be a plus.  These are not shy teas; after all, Shou Mei is the White tea of choice when Chinese have dim sum.

The White Peony iced; ingredients = water & White Peony tea.

White Peony leaves

One might easily mistake the bright orangey color that Shou Mei brews up as a weak Black tea, but it is much more than that.  Not as deeply flavored or pungent as a Black tea, Shou Mei still carries with it a mild briskness, yet allied with the “unfinished” or less finished notes that White teas have; this is what makes the iced drink more refreshing.

I am fairly sure that the women and men who pluck and process White tea in Fujian might smile or be amused to learn that iced White tea is becoming ever more popular on market shelves in this country.  The exporters know this well, of course, but I wonder about the reactions of those who actually work with the tea if they saw the myriad flavors (honeydew, blueberry, and so on) sharing the White tea name — the many guises in which their product appears.

Each time I’ve taken part in a tasting in Fuding, Fujian’s premier growing and production center of White teas, someone in our group (not our hosts) has remarked how tasty a Peony White would be iced.  This is no longer a novel idea, but most of the RTD White teas on the market have had flavors added.

Continuing my series of home experiments with various iced teas, I brewed a 1st Grade White Peony, a tea that can be found at around $20/lb (20cents a serving) in NYC, but be prepared to see it higher along with fervid testimony about the “rarity” of White teas.  I’ve seen another White tea, Shou Mei, for $15/lb (also NYC) although yesterday I saw this selling online for $65/lb.  (This price was so high it made me wonder if the vendor was correct in identifying the tea.  Shou Mei, after all, is served with the usual nominal, token charge at Chinese restaurants, and I am familiar with the export price.  This particular vendor also gave the name “Big White” to the Shou Mei.  “Big White” is a literal translation of the Chinese name for one varietal that is made into White tea [and Green too], so in theory it could well be more inclusive than just Shou Mei.  In any case, quite a sticker shock for me.)  Another online tea store prices White Peony (no mention of the grade) at $5.70 for 1.76 oz (50 grams), or $51.75/lb, which is too high.  Look for a Special or First Grade at a more reasonable price.  The leaves are very light; several ounces will give quite a bit of tea.

The White Peony showed a light tawny, apricot color — really lovely.  I would not want to dilute this with ice, if possible.  (Those pitchers with a separate compartment for ice come to mind.)  The wet tea showed more green than the dry, and gave the fresh smell rain leaves on trees and plants, balanced with a nice toasty fragrance.  I have to admit the appearance of the dry leaves does not inspire confidence, but then if one knows how White tea is made, its appearance makes perfect sense.  (Remember – no steaming!)

The tea was almost lush in its fragrant flavor, something I’d not expected.  The finish was a lot gentler than that of a Black tea; there was no astringency or bitterness.

To look at the color, and if one is not familiar with White teas, one might think it a wishy-washy or tepid Black tea, but White Peony offers more layers of taste to be dismissed this way.  True, it was softer than a Black tea.  I could taste some “green” but there was more: there was a nutty bouquet that stayed in the mouth, lingering a bit that lent a nice touch.  This balance of leaf and a slight earthy nuttiness gave this iced tea some zip or zing, some verve, and I think it would be food-friendly.

And just think: all this might have been masked or missed if the tea came with melon or peach flavor added.

(I have a follow-up post about RTD White teas in a later post, “A Quibble with a Label.”)