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The Subject: White Peony from The Boston Tea Company.
Water temperature: 175˚ F
Steeping time: 2 minutes
Tea type: White
Scents, flavorings, etc.: N/A
Aroma, dry tea: Raisiny, apricotty, nutty
Aroma in the cup: Planty
Taste in the cup: Mild, not bitter, aromas not present
Additional Infusion(s): Did one, slight tang, still mild, not bitter
Comments:
This is a large tea leaf tea, so even if you prefer bagged teas, be bold and try some of this steeped loose. You will find the bit of effort well worth it.
The instructions on the label were written for both bagged and loose tea, making them a tad confusing. I am very thankful, though, that they sent the loose version. We followed the instructions when preparing the tea. As it steeped, we sniffed the liquid a couple of times.
This is a tea that needs to be treated with respect, not just because of its quality (which is very good), but also because this is not a tea to steep and then let sit around until you could get around to drinking it. Steep it with the clear intention of consuming the tea liquid fairly quickly before it has a chance to become tepid and the taste goes flat. You also should let it cool enough (about 15 or 20 seconds) after steeping so that it doesn’t scald your lips and tongue. The tea is at its flavor best when hot but not scalding. Tricky, but if you sip it once or twice after pouring, you’ll know when it’s right. Because of the tendency of the tea flavor to be fleeting, we rated this a “4” but don’t mean that in any way to indicate lower quality. On the contrary, we highly recommend that you include this in your supply of “sipper” teas.
Price per cup calculations make this tea not as out of range as you might think at first. At the time this review was written, the price on the tea vendor’s website was:
$13.99 for 50 grams (about 1.76 oz.) tin
$21.99 for 1/2 lb. pouch
Based on using their recommendation of 1.5 tsps. per 8 oz. of water and guessing that we used 1/20th of an ounce (about 3 tsps.) of the tea in our 16-ounce taste test, the price per cup is:
40 cents per cup if you buy the tin
14 cents per cup if you buy the larger pouch
Despite the economy of size, don’t go for the larger package unless you are prepared to indulge your drinking of this tea a lot.
NOTE: This pouch is what the Boston Tea Company uses for samples. Their normal pouches are opaque, not clear, and block out light, very important for preserving your fine teas.
Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.
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