Taste of Tea :: White Peony from Rishi Tea and Botanicals

Hey there, tea drinkers! I hope you’re having a great weekend. Today’s post is another Taste of Tea entry in which I’ll relay my tea-tasting journal entry for the White Peony organic loose leaf tea from Rishi Tea and Botanicals. I purchased a sample packet (5 g) of this particular tea so that I could give it a try.

Type of Tea: White Tea, loose leaf

A quick bit about White Peony: Traditionally known as Bai Mu Dan [1,2], White Peony tea is a type of white tea from China. There are two different cultivars that each produce a distinct variety of White Peony Tea [1]. The northern district of Fujian is home to the Zhenghe Dai Bai cultivar [1], which produces the Zhenghe variety of White Peony tea [1,2]; the White Peony from Rishi is sourced from this cultivar [2]. This tea is only harvested for a few weeks each year [3], usually in the early springtime [1].  The tea is handpicked in budsets made up of a bud and the first one or two leaves [1, 2]. After picking, the buds and leaves are processed by an air-dry withering process [2]; as a white tea, it is not pan-fried [1].

Tasting Notes 

Dry tea: Out of the package, the scent off of the dry tea was sweet with an element of dry hay. The colors were a mix of greens and light browns. Many of the leaves were mostly intact, but some had small portions missing. There were some stems to which many of leaves were attached. There were also some fuzzy buds in the mix.

I warmed the teapot and added the dry tea to help further activate its scent. The activated scent was even an even stronger dried hay with a little less sweetness.

Preparation: 1 slightly overfilled tablespoon in 237 mL/8 oz of roughly 85 C/185 F water for 4 minutes.

Tea liquor: After infusing, the scent coming off of the liquor was that of wet hay with a mild sweetness and a slight bit of a fruit note. The color of the liquor was a light golden yellow with a sort of diluted honey quality.  

The taste of the tea liquor was relatively mild but had elements of wet hay with a strong sweet finish. The finish was also a little dry. There was also a hint of dried fruit in the flavor, but I couldn’t quite place exactly what it was. The tea went down smooth but had a dry and sweet finish. I let a portion of the infusion cool down to room temperature and tasted that as well. The flavor was similar and remained nice at the cool temperature; it did not go bitter.

Quick Summary

• Tea: White Peony, loose, white tea, organic
• Pick: bud with one or two leaves
• Processing: air-dry withering
• Origin: China, Fujian Province, Zhenghe town
• Retailer: Rishi Tea and Botanicals
• Flavor Notes: hay, sweet, some light fruity elements
• Finish: dry and sweet with a lingering sweetness

Final Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this white tea. With its nice lightly-sweet hay flavor that goes down smooth but finishes with a strong sweetness and mild dryness, it makes for complex and enjoyable tea experience. And having experienced some teas tasting a little more bitter if allowed to cool down too much before drinking, I was also pleased to find that the tea still tasted great even when cooled to room temperature and it did not become bitter at all.

Thanks for reading! As always, these are my tasting notes, and since the perception of taste and aroma can be quite personal your experience will likely, and indeed probably should, differ from mine. But regardless, I hope this post inspires you to get out there and to keep trying new teas. And if you don’t already, I’d encourage you to try making your own tasting notes as you do!

What tea should I try next? Drop me a line down in the comments and share your suggestion.

And don’t forget to Like, Share, and Follow. Your support is greatly appreciated! It really does help me (i.e., my motivation) and the blog! And once you’re done here, be sure to head over to the BlakesTeaJournalBlog Zazzle store and check out my awesome tea-themed designs.

That’s it, tea drinkers. Until next time, keep enjoying the wondrous taste of tea! — Blake – the tea drinker behind Blake’s Tea Journal

References

1. “About White Peony (Bai Mu Dan) White Tea.” TeaVivre. Accessed February 24, 2019. https://www.teavivre.com/info/about-white-peony-tea.html
2. “White Peony.” Rishi Tea and Botanicals. Accessed February 24, 2019. https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/white-peony-organic-white-tea/loose-leaf.
3. “White Peony Tea.” Art of Tea. Accessed February 24, 2019. https://www.artoftea.com/white-peony.html.