Friday, November 2, 2012

Nature's Tea Leaf, Silver Needle White Tea

Nature's Leaf Tea Description:
Organic Silver Needle White Tea has exquisitely shaped buds enveloped in white down. This white tea excites with its savory aroma, rich body and a sweet flavor with rounded finish that is soft and airy on the palate. White Teas which include our Organic Silver Needle variety are known to promote weight loss and stimulate the metabolism. This low caffeine antioxidant packed tea is delicious hot or cold and can be enjoyed any time of day.

My Review:
The one ounce sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. The pouch is stuffed with beautiful white and grayish-green leaf. Not only does it smell so fresh and amazing but it also is the softest silver needle leaf I have encountered. I love silver needle. I am looking forward to this cup and trying not to get my expectations too high.

I used my wooden scoop to gather a generous portion of lovely leaf and placed it in my press with 12oz of water heated to a cool 175F. I steeped for about 2 1/2 minutes. The instructions say 4-5. This brewed up to the lightest of tinted liquors. The wet leaf still has a lot of white down in it. The smell of the leaf makes me think of a field of grain, maybe alfalfa.

The sip is a light, refreshing, white tea with a lingering fresh aftertaste. This is a nice complex cup, much more so than a white peony. I find it most refreshing when it reaches room temperature. It is kind earthy, a little fruity with some oats thrown in for good measure.

Next I added a little leaf and a little time to see how that would affect the taste.
While the second cup is steeping, I want to comment again on the aroma of the leaf in the drained press. The whole time I was sipping, this wonderful scent was rolling out of the press, keeping me distracted. Wow, this is fresh.

Ok, adding more leaf and time makes for a darker and bolder cup. It does not bring out any new flavors. I like my white tea to be delicate, so for me the shorter steep is the correct one. Either way this is a very nice silver needle.

Visit Nature's Tea Leaf on the web.

5 comments:

  1. Hello, Kevin - I've just found your blog. Happy to meet another tea lover! I'm originally from the rural Midwest, so I understand your dilemma! Thank goodness for mail order.

    White teas are so forgiving, I find they have a place for all types of tea preferences.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Steph - glad to be found :) Mail order is not only a great equalizer, it's a great liberator! Hard to believe, I actually know the names of a few people selling tea in China. By the way, your site is spectacular.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Loving your reviews!! Thanks for the tips on my blog about the formatting. I had to change it back though because it made the posts come out funny. Sorry you had a hard time reading it. I tried viewing it in Internet Explorer, Safari and chrome and it looked okay though. So not sure

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations... I enjoyed your blog this past week and I've listed your tea post at my weekly link up. Hope you don't mind! :)
    Enjoy the extra traffic and feel free to share.

    You can find my post here:
    http://the-teaist.blogspot.nl/2012/11/tea-talk-link-up-every-wednesday.html

    The Teaist

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Teasist,

    I'm honored, and what a great idea. I added you awesome site to my links section.

    ReplyDelete