Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tea Review: White Peony (Teahouse Kuan Yin)

White Peony Organic
Teahouse Kuan Yin
Type:  White
Origin:  China, Fujian Province
Product Description:  Our White Peony creates a gentle full-bodied brew, with scents of sweet straw, almond, and citrus. Its mouth-feel is smooth and velvety, and is prized for its low astringency and savory finish. It brews to a light shade of amber. Our current White Peony is IMO certified organic.
White Peony is a popular white tea consisting of buds and two leaves picked early in the spring. It is also referred to as Bai Mu Dan, and is grown in the northern region of the Fujian province. White Peony is darker than Silver Needle, but tends to be lighter than Shou Mei.


Temperature:  175° F
Amount:  2.5 grams
Steeping Time:  3 minutes

The dry leaf was sweet with a hay-like aroma.

The infusion was a bright, light amber with an aroma of spicy honey and hay.  The flavor was full-bodied and had a marine quality, with a savory-sweet characteristic similar to mirin and a velvety finish.

The flavor actually reminded me of the seasoning on inari sushi which is where I picked up the mirin quality.  I would feel comfortable serving this to my guests for at least three steepings as it holds up well throughout.  It was a surprise to find the flavor notes were unchanged while becoming milder with each steeping, yet the aroma became largely floral by the second infusion.

This tea was purchased by me.




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