Peony Tea S.

I have received the experimental samples from Peony Tea S! You know, the offer for people outside of the US to test the shipping procedure. Three things I got, and this one was the only one I asked for. For the other two I just said which types I’m not usually very keen on and let Derek Chew pick something out for me. I suspect he may have been looking at my previous posts on Steepster, and my general likes and dislikes. One is a Dancong, which is a type I’ve had very good experiences with recently and the other is a Wuyi Sacred Lily, which is something I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted before. I’m almost always up for something new. Especially something new coming from Fujian, om nom nom!

Now I’m just waiting for the two orders of the First Wave of Post-Wedding Shopping to arrive. A massive one from TeaSpring which I would be surprised if it didn’t result in a customs fee and a smaller one from a Danish tea shop I haven’t tried before. There’s a 100g of Panyong in the latter. If it’s even remotely as lovely as my beloved Tan Yang Te Ji, then I shall definitely return to that shop. Again and again and again. My debitcard will thank me for keeping the Te Ji as a special occasions kind of tea.

Anyway, that was a tangent. THIS one came to me for absolutely free because of Peony Tea S’ very friendly offer. (Customs people opened the box and apparently 150g total of tea does not land me with extra customs fees. Explain then the time I had to pay fees on a similar amount from 52teas! Anyway. That’s also a tangent.)

As mentioned this is one I had requested, because a) I would never say no to a Lapsang. b) I would never say no to a Fujian black of any sort, really. c) I have never had an unsmoked LS before.

This is a whole new territory for me. How exciting!

Now, you may or may not remember me having talked about the Perfect LS before, about how it must be smoky, not too much and not too little, and how it must have a robust, fruity-sweet substance to it underneath the smoke, so that it does not just become something akin to standing in a smoke-filled room with a mouth full of water. That is my Perfect LS.

Therefore, I am expecting from this one a lot of the robust, fruity-sweet substance, and perhaps something along the lines of floweryness or pseudo-smoke like in Keemuns.

The leaves certainly smell like I expected. They are fruit-y sweet and with a strong aroma. There’s something vaguely floral about it as well, and I am very pleased to say that it also has a lot of that special Fujian cocoa-y note. It smells quite similar to Tan Yang.

That’s a good start!

The similarity doesn’t end there, and the brewed cup also smells somewhat Tan Yang-y. It’s a bit grain-y now and still with the cocoa note to it, but with the fruity sweetness of the LS. I have never experienced these notes this clearly before, they’ve always been masked by smoke.

PTS describes the flavour as ‘fruity, light with a sweet aftertaste’. I agree, although I find it cocoa-y as well as fruity. There is fruit there. My brain thinks of fresh figs, which is odd, because I don’t actually like figs and I’ve never been able to tell what they taste like apart from ‘unpleasant’. Like my tongue just concluded they were no good and refused to finish tasting them. Apparently I like them as a naturally occuring note in tea. (I’ve had a fig flavoured oolong once. It was… not for me, really)

A flash of lightly prickly pseudo-smoke at first, like in Keemun, then the brief appearance by cocoa, and finally we slide into a long fruity note and aftertaste. Again, very reminiscent of Tan Yang, but a little drier. Not particularly astringent, mind. Just… drier. (Synesthesia report, dark, dull-y grey, like something black and shiny which has not been dusted for a while.) Not as smooth as I had expected, but then no Lapsang has ever been smooth, really. Smooth under the smoke, perhaps, but I can’t claim to say that smoke is a smooth note in itself. This just goes to show that it’s not only the smoking process that makes an LS prickly.

I find myself reluctant to share this one with my husband. My brain says it’s because I’m not sure he would enjoy that overall dryness much (he hasn’t in the past), but my heart suspects it’s because I want it for myself.

Until recently I had never even heard of unsmoked LS before. I wouldn’t even have been able to imagine such a thing. Now? This is definitely a type that deserves a lot more attention. And it is a type to itself. It feels like a completely different beast than your regular smoked LS. This stuff? Really very lovely.

So, if you don’t care for Lapsang Souchong because of the smoke, don’t let that scare you away from an unsmoked LS.

Thanks so much to Peony Tea S. for their generous samples, which arrived safely and very quickly!

This is very nice. I went with four infusions in a gaiwan, and it held up admirably well, mellowing a bit in the third and fourth rounds. It’s quite bold. It has a nice, roasty Oolong flavour with a touch of spicy-sweetness. A little smokey, too.

Thanks to Peony Tea S for the free samples from their shipping tests. Much appreciated and enjoyed!
This is my first Dong Ding (if any of you find this review familiar, I got my dong ding’s mixed up and accidentally reviewed this one first under Fong Mong tea and then realized it was actually Peony Tea’s dong ding that I had tried and reviewed…)
Dry notes: Smell is like dry grass or straw… Not my favourite dry smell but intriguing all the same. The picture is exactly what the dry leaves looked like, and I used half the sample package and a cup and a half or so of 90 degree water for 45-60 seconds (didn’t time exactly).

Steep 1: Smells like straw, pale green colour. The taste is very earthy, slightly bitter (like fresh grass) with a delicious mineral aftertaste, almost salty, like soy nuts or something I can’t quite put my finger on.I finished the cup and then immediately put water on for more!

Steep 2: Cloying sweet smell. Taste- there’s the sweetness I missed in the first cup. This tastes like the first steep, only a good deal sweeter, and therefore (in my opinion) better.

Steep 3: So smooth, like a third steep oolong should be

Steep 4: smooth, but the bitterness from the first steep is creeping back in

My work day ended before I had an opportunity to do the last two steeps that its probably more than capable of standing up to…

mmm this is the perfect tea to steep and resteep on a rainy day. Also, I had an interview today! Fingers crossed, I don’t care that it’s a retail job, at this point I would rather work retail than a desk job – neither of which are related to my degree!

Ahem. To the tea!

First of all, the leaves are huuuge! The wooden tea scoop I got as a gift from Derek Chew & Peony Tea S. (THANK YOU!) is perfect for getting just the right amount of humongous, twisty, dark leaves. They are gorgeous. When the water was poured over them, the scent filled my kitchen! I steeped as directed on the package, 30 seconds at 185 F.

The first steep surprised me! The leaves had a slight bright green-ness to them, and smelled like sweet minerals. I usually go for green oolongs, but this tea gave me the same great sensation as a spring tieguanyin, surprisingly! Sweet and buttery, but with a darkness and a mineral taste and texture that reminded me that it is definitely a dancong.

Subsequent steeps become less buttery but more sweet and seductive.

Thank you so much to PTS for this tea – it has moved me!

The dregs of this bag, and the last cup of this was not as stellar, owing to the condition of the remaining leaf, I’m sure. Kind of more of a typical woody dark oolong flavour, not as nuanced, a touch astringent. To be expected; I’m glad I had previous more delicious cups of this tea!

Almost gone, but still good!

Thank you to Peony Tea S. for this wonderful sample! I brought it along on vacation so I could try a few new things in addition to the old standbys.

I think I may have underbrewed this tea a bit (used 1.5tsp for ~8oz.), but I’m quite enjoying it. It tastes like a dark oolong, with a delicious woody sweetness, and no bitterness or astringency whatsoever. Very tasty to have alongside some overly sweet caramel corn I just made for my dad.

I’m eagerly anticipating the next few infusions of this one. My mom liked it.

I’ve never had yellow tea before, so I have no basis to compare this to any other yellow, and so I can only describe how this particular tea is for me.

At first I was a little confused with the instructions. 5gr of tea for 100ml water. Seems like the quantity for gong-fu brewing. But the package also said a 2.5 minute steep, which is odd because that sounds like steep time for western style brewing – I had been expecting 30 seconds or a minute. But that’s what it said, so that’s what I did.

The leaves are light and fluffy and seemed to fill up almost half my little yixing pot. I added less than boiling water.

Wow! This is so sweet! If I was one to sweeten my tea, I would have thought that I had already put in sugar. But since I never add sweetener, there is no chance of that. In the description of this tea, it says that it is initially slightly bitter. I got none of that. I got initial sweetness.

This is one great tea. It is delicate like a white tea, but it’s flavor is more prominent like a black. It’s slightly vegetal like a green. It has a hint of floral. Luckily not more than a hint, as I’m not a big fan of the floral teas.

Sweet and gentle, a little nutty, a little floral, a little vegetal.
Wonderfully balanced and refreshing. I am looking forward to seeing it develop in the next infusions.

I will be getting more of this!
Thank you Peony Tea S. for the sample

Free sample from Peony T S

First off I would like to thank Peony for including me in their shipping experiment. I received three very generous packets of tea in a very short time from them. I hope the experiment was worth it for Peony, because it certainly was for me.

So, I drank this last night and am only now getting around to writing it up. The dry leaf is a beautiful golden colour. Sticking my nose in the packet I get a whiff of hay. It’s that lovely smell of fresh hay that you get when stacking it in the barn. I think there is a bit of molasses in there too, so maybe it smells like the feed room when mixing up the horse feed more than the barn. Yes, that’s about right. I love that.

Drinking it, I am struck by its resemblance to Teavivre’s Fengqing Dragon Pearls. That’s probably not a surprise because the packet tells me, now that I look at it, that the tea is from Fengqing. The tea is malty, sweet and mellow. There is a hint of chocolate behind the maltiness and a smidgin of something citrussy. Most of all, though, it is smooth and thick. It seems like the perfect after dinner tea in many ways and could replace my post-prandial black coffee. I really like this tea and I managed to get three good steeps out of the pot too.

This is the second of the samples I received from Peony Tea S while they were testing shipping to Canada – Thank you! I have never had a yellow tea before, so this is a very new experience for me. The dry aroma put me in mind of delicate teas such as whites and greens, but the “leaves” were quite unusual. They were covered in a downy fuzz and looked almost like really thin pussy willows. They unfurled a bit during the inital steep and have more of a leaf shape now but they are clearly still buds.

Since I am at work I steeped this western style in my perfect tea mug. I gave it approximately 3 minutes to steep, which yields a lightly peachy coloured liquor. The aroma is reminiscent of sweet hay but it is a very light aroma, I had to hover over the cup to pick it up. First sips are mild but very tasty. It is very fresh tasting, and has a cumulative effect, with the flavour seeming more bold with every sip. There is no bitterness (which I like, even if I may have been a bit light on leaf) but a very light sweetness that is unassuming but refreshing.

This does remind me in some ways of greens (but lighter) and whites (but stronger) but not quite the same as either. There is a light, natural sweetness here, it reminds me a bit of fruit but without any bold flavour assocaitons. Maybe like the rind of watermelon, but not bitter? This is a weird thing for me, but I think this would be excellent iced. I don’t enjoy iced tea typically but this is so refreshing, it would be excellent on a hot summer day.

I didn’t really anticipate enjoying this one as much as I do, but it is lovely to have a new flavour in my tea cupboard, especially one that surprises as well as this. I really look forward to trying this at home with my gaiwan. Thanks again, Peony Tea!

Big 50th tasting note! And it has been a LONG time coming… Guess what happened in my city this week? My internet provider’s building caught on fire. (Actually, it caught on fire twice, according to my grandmother. I don’t follow the news as closely.) Luckily, it doesn’t sound as though anyone was hurt, but it has caused absolute chaos in the city, as that building was a big communications hub.

Home internet services have mostly been down, of course, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Radio stations were taken out, cable TV went down, city hall’s phones weren’t working, multiple online bank services were down, Alberta Health Services’ network went down… Think that’s getting bad? Oh no: 911 SERVICES also went down in the core of the city. Emergency services were frantically trying to get the message out to people that calling 911 on a landline would reach no one, and to use a cell phone if possible. THAT BAD.

Thankfully, I understand that things are mostly back to normal now, and the whole incident has generated serious discussion about our city’s electronic infrastructure. As for me, I’ve been able to get on Steepster little bits for the past few days, but my dash would not load well until now. So this review is backlogged from, like, last Thursday. (Yes, embarrassing late, circumstance of “free” considered.) Don’t worry though, I have a few pages of notes on the tea tasting in my tea notebook to draw from, so it should be fairly accurate.

And kind of an exciting 50th note, eh? Apologies in advance for the length. Hope you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, but I have a lot to say this time. (Steepster really needs a “Read More” function.)

So I went to pick up that package from the post office, and it was indeed my package from Peony Tea S. (Yes, that’s Peony Tea-space-capital-S. My brain keeps trying to read it as “Peony Teassss” with a long, drawn-out S.) Initially I was slightly miffed about it not just getting dropped at the door, but I suppose it’s nice to have the extra security measure of signing for it rather than potentially have it disappear and wonder forever where the tea went. And the post office it was left at is a pleasant stroll away.

When I emailed my mailing address for this promo, I added a note that I’m less fond of pu-erh and green tea thus far. (I completely spaced on the asthma issue, but thankfully didn’t end up getting sent a lapsang souchong. Would have served me right if I had!)

So I got sent these three:
-https://www.peonyts.com/shop/index.php/product-categories/jade-oolong.html
-https://www.peonyts.com/shop/index.php/product-categories/phoenix-dancong-heavenly-fragrance.html
-And this one, https://www.peonyts.com/shop/index.php/product-categories/yunnan-black.html

Also, it came with a measuring “spatula” which is free with all first-time orders: https://www.peonyts.com/packaging-measurement/

Which, if I’m honest about it, I was almost more excited for (in advance of their arrival) than the tea itself. The website may say, “It may not be the most gorgeous or exquisite instrument around,” but I say that it’s a far cry from the metal teaspoons I’ve been using, and I think it’s pretty. Not sure what it’s made of, though. I’ve actually been finding it extremely useful for large-leaved teas that I already own and previously found hard to scoop even with a pot-bellied spoon. DAVIDs Nepal Black, for instance.

So now that it’s here, review! Including a review of the overall package I got. I decided to start with the Yunnan Black, as that’s basically a safe starting point for me based on past experience.

Delivery Time: Peony Tea S. wants to know how long it takes to deliver to Canada, and I think Calgary, Alberta is a pretty good test because my area is notorious for slow and misplaced mail and packages. I received an email saying that my package had been sent out on July 1st. The post tried to deliver the package first on the 9th. That is, in my experience, exceptional delivery time under any circumstances. I’m even more impressed given how far it had to go. At the risk of sounding like a complete boob, I had literally no idea Peony Tea S. was based in Singapore – not having heard of them yet, I vaguely presumed they are based in America, and didn’t realize otherwise until I picked up my package stamped “SINGAPORE” in four places. Well, this tea arrived faster than any from America, so…nice, and whatever postal service they’re using at their end they should keep using.

(I should also note here that I was provided with a tracking number for the package. I originally intended to check up on it; but as I have never used a tracking number, I completely forgot. I looked up the number after the delivery guy came Monday though, and all it said was that the package was dispatched to Canada. Presumably it now says that the package has arrived, although I can’t get it to load. Kiiinda already knew that, so I’m not convinced the tracking number is worthwhile.)

Packaging: The teas and spatula arrived in a flattish cardboard box and wrapped in bubble wrap. Not that I don’t bash my own tea around an embarrassing amount of the time, but it’s nice to see the tea protected before it gets to me.

The teas are in opaque, white bags similar to the bags you get at DAVIDsTEA for those familiar with the latter company. They are a comfortable size for the tea, which is not squished. On one side is a pretty blue-and-white logo/label with artwork featuring peonies; on the other side of the bag is a label with tea info and brewing instructions. On the Yunnan Black, the label looks like this:

Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan, China
Harvest Season: (left blank)
Shelf Life: (left blank)
Best Before: (left blank)
Quantity: (left blank)
Recommended Brewing Instructions:
1. Water Temperature: 95 C/203 F
2. Quantity: 3g/1 spatula per 100mL
3. Infusion Time: 1.5 mins.
4. No of Steeps: 3 times

…After scratching my head over the blank spaces for a bit, I came to the conclusion that what is already on the label must be pre-printed and the rest (which would naturally change more often) are printed later. But for the purposes of this promo, Peony Tea S. didn’t bother(?). I would obviously have to actually order more tea to find out. I think it’s cool to have a label with space for all that information, as I have had to repeatedly ask some vendors even to get information like the origin.

Now, I must note the brewing instructions. One-and-a-half minutes seems a bit short for a black, doesn’t it? Only 100mL of water seems a little low, doesn’t it? A whole spatula/3g (since everyone who orders with them presumably gets sent a spatula the first time, there is a standardization there to work with) seems like a lot of leaf for that amount of water, yes?

I puzzled over this for a minute until it clicked that these have to be gong fu brewing instructions; that’s the working presumption here. So I went to go find my gaiwan. (Which is luckily exactly 100mL.) But if you typically brew Western, these brewing instructions are going to seem a little crazy. Have no fear, you can brew this one Western as well if you really want, using common steeping parameters for blacks.

A Note: Before I get to the actual tasting, I would like to point something out. In the past, before tasting a tea – and certainly before writing a review of one – I am horribly, horribly guilty of always reading other reviews first to see what others thought of it. Sometimes this is useful, but I have an ugly feeling that it is not always a good thing. Maybe even usually not a good thing. What it means is that you have certain taste expectations before you even put the tea in your mouth, which I’d argue can alter how you perceive the tea to actually taste.

In this case, I was not able to get online to check reviews for this tea before I drank it. So I was making hard-copy notes and I essentially wrote this review completely “blind.” Which had…interesting consequences that I will get to later.

Also, while perusing Chapters a few weeks ago, I found this cool-looking book on tea. I could sadly not afford to buy it, but I did flip through it, and read some bits about tea tasting. When tasting tea, the book recommended that you:

1. First, exhale completely.
2. Take a sip of tea.
3. Hold the tea in your mouth across your entire tongue and inhale deeply through your nose.
4. Swallow.

It really seems to make a difference in the taste, and I tried to do that as much as possible through this review.

The Tea: Dry Smell: Not at all subtle. When I opened the bag, this tea’s smell was a real smack to the face. And it smacked of chocolate. Rich, dark chocolate. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, whoa chocolate. And something unidentifiably fruity underneath.

(“Unidentifiably fruity” is an ongoing problem for me. I should note here that not only am I still a real novice to tea drinking, I am also not a foodie of any description. My diet largely consists of mac ‘n’ cheese and tacos. Learning to identify various notes in tea is an ongoing process, and often something like, “fruit, but I don’t know what kind,” is the best I can manage.)

Wet Smell: More fruity than before. Also, there is a distinctly “tea,” smell about it, but I note that it is a different “tea” smell from the Assam I often have for breakfast. Lighter, of course, but different in other ways I cannot currently articulate. Maybe this is a distinctly Yunnan “tea” smell? I will need to compare more straight blacks in the future.

1st Infusion: (I assumed that the time on the label was for the first infusion, so this is 1.5 minutes.) Dark, midnight dark, with deep dark chocolate notes. I’m actually blown away at how chocolate it is without actually being flavoured. This is tough to explain – it is not like a chocolate-flavoured tea in the sense that you put it in your mouth and immediate identify “chocolate!” Rather, it is more like a really strong impression of chocolate which is completely natural to the tea. I think the thing which is most making me think of chocolate is the almost-bitterness to it which good quality dark chocolate has without shading into actual, unpleasant bitterness. There’s something sweeter and lighter riding on top of the cup as it cools that makes me think of caramel. And even though I tasted no berries in this infusion, I noticed that the bottom of the cup seriously smelled like – or reminded me of – the raspberry-flavoured dark chocolate a now-ex gave me once.

2nd Infusion: (2 min.) Not nearly as chocolate, but even deeper and darker than the first. Seriously. I described the first infusion as “midnight dark” in my notes, and it was lighter than this. That doesn’t mean that this is a “strong” tea like a Kenyan black. Just dark! There’s a slight astringency that I picked up, but nothing to the point that I would mentally knock a tea down from “good” to merely “interesting” to drink. (Not a fan of astringency, me.) I didn’t notice at all if the first infusion had any astringency to it, so I guess it must not be terribly noticeable if it is. There’s something fruity riding on top which, again, comes out as it cools – this is one of those teas that will always get more complex as the cup’s temperature drops. I can still taste the caramel-like note I found before, but it’s faded well into the background.

3rd infusion: (2.5 min.) The brief astringency is gone – this is a very smooth cup – and here’s the fruit at last! The chocolate is virtually gone, coming out occasionally and unexpectedly at the back of a few sips. The impression of something dark and juicy – like maybe a dark berry, not sure – is strong. If the previous infusions were dark, this is like sunlight shining through the top of the forest. This is not an “earthy” tea, this is a “leafy” tea. Which may seem like a stupid thing to say about a beverage which is made by putting leaves in hot water… But the taste associations are bringing me back to hiking up mountains in Banff with my dad as a kid. This tea tastes like those times when you were about two-thirds of the way through the forest, and you could sense the approach of the moment when you would break through the tree line into blazing sun and chilly air. There’s a natural sweetness here that comes out more – say it with me now – as the cup cools.

4th infusion: (3 min.) Yes, I know the label said three infusions, but I’m a rebel!

…Except that no, no, you really shouldn’t infuse this more than three times. I can faintly taste chocolate again, but I swear I can also taste my kettle. (Is that what my kettle tastes like? Ew.) It’s still drinkable, but there’s nothing interesting going on. This tea goes hard, and stops suddenly.

Western style: Okay, by the time I got to this I was terribly reviewed-out, but I never consider a tea completely reviewed until I’ve had it Western style. This is maybe hypocritical, as I don’t consider tea un-reviewed if I haven’t had it gong fu style, but Western is what I’m used to. So after brewing it the way I was suggested to by the vendor, I still need to test it in the way I find most comfortable to drink. I don’t necessarily hold it against a tea for not having the flexibility to be drunk Western style, but it will add additional points to my rating. In this case, 1 spatula of tea per 250mL brewed for 4 minutes turned out a charming blend of the gong fu infusions, with strong fruity notes that blended well with sweetener.

So, the rating: my first feeling was that this was somewhere in the 80s, but I bumped it up a few points for being entirely pleasant to drink clear (I’m the sugarhound, after all) and a few more for the pleasant Western cup. So that put me at 90. And I hope I have convinced you that this tea is worth a 90 on its own merits and not because I got it for free. (Also, the packaging and delivery time, while I mentioned them, did not factor into the rating. Had they been bad, I still would only be rating the tea itself.)

So. One last thing. I mentioned earlier that I wrote this review blind. Well, once I got internet access back enough to look up this tea on the website…here is the description:

“Yunnan Black or Dian Hong is one of the most beloved of China’s black teas. It’s rich aroma, full flavor and natural citrusy taste makes it an excellent choice of lovers of black tea.

[…]

Taste:

Sweet, citrusy with hints of red dates."

Citrus?! Citrus. Citrus? The hell. Where did I get chocolate from, then?

I could, of course, go back, try another cup and then declare, “Well, I’ll be! It does taste like citrus! Now I look like less of a boob. I can taste it after all; must have been sick that first time.”

Thing is, I spent a good hour or so concentrating on the taste of this tea, and didn’t come up with “citrus” even once…so that wouldn’t be honest, would it?

Oh well. This is a really good tea, and I am happy (based on my experience thus far) to recommend Peony Tea S. I’m sure that any lover of blacks will enjoy this one.

Even if it doesn’t taste a thing like chocolate to you.

Sipped on this all day. Today I got something a bit different than last time. The charcoal smoke flavoring is the most obvious flavor. Beyond the obvious is a grainy bread flavor. This may be what the description is calling caramel. Occasionally I got hints of cinnamon. At one point and ever so briefly, there was a fruity flavor that immediately made me think peach. It didn’t last long and did not repeat. This never develops anything approaching a tiguanyin oolong taste or bright floral notes like the alishan oolongs. It does have a lingering sweet aftertaste and offers a nice cooling sensation on the breath. A nice Dongding.

I apologize Derek and Peony Tea S for not getting a review up on this one yet. I have been beyond stressed. I went over my notes and can’t make heads or tails of them. Luckily I have more tea to sample and will have another go at it hopfully this week.

What I do know is this was lightly charcoal flavored in a good way with darker floral notes in the first cup that get brighter and sweeter as it is re-steeped. This makes for an abundant amount of leaf in the press. Do not attempt to use a tea ball with this one. Way too much leaf expansion for brewing in that manner. It is one of only a couple I have steeped in my French press that I did not push the plunger all the way down before pouring so as not to stress the leaf.

Ok, so I had more to work with from my notes than I thought. Not giving this a number until further study but I did love it.

This is an excellent White Peony. Sweet, slightly grassy, but more hay-like than of grass. It is very delicate, but even though it is delicate, there is such a pleasing complexity to it that develops as I continue to sip it. Such a sweet and memorable tea.

Toward the finish I notice a slight dryness, with the aftertaste that is sweet, dry and tasting a bit of the clean, mountain air in the winter. Cool and crisp like that.

As I said at the start, this is an excellent white peony… I highly recommend this one.

I finally tried this…thank you Derek Chew for sending me the sample! I agree with K S as to the smell of hay, but I was also getting some fresh cut grass in there too. I’m not a huge fan of white teas and no I don’t know why…so this was new for me. I liked it, but I think I might see if I like it better cold brewed.

read full review here http://wifeywoman.teatra.de/2012/07/14/two-out-of-three-isnt-bad/

I received this sample today as part of Peony Tea’s shipping test. They graciously sent along this one, a puerh and a yellow tea but this is the only one I am familiar with so I thought I would try it out first. The shipping took just under two weeks from Singapore to Canada (which is impressive!) and everything arrived safe and sound. They also included a wooden measuring sppon which I am actually quite enjoying. It feels more like tea ceremony than my typical metal spoon. : )

The dry aroma of this tea was that of a very green oolong, it reminded me of some Tai Guan Yin I have had in the past. Sweet smelling, with a hint of hay or grass. Some sort of plant life. I am at work so I steeped this up western style in my perfect tea mug, resulting in a lightly yellow liquor with a green tinge. Steeped, the aroma reminds me of boiled corn. Mmm – surprisingly appealing, considering my usual tastes (I’m more of a dark oolong or black tea person).

First sips are surprisingly sweet, light with a lingering taste and aroma that I still find reminiscent of peaches and cream corn. There is no bitterness at all, but the flavour stays with you, light though it is. It has a cumulative strength of flavour and makes me want to keep sipping. Very nice! : ) I’m impressed it doesn’t end up tasting too “green” as that can be a real turn-off for me, but this works.

I woke this morning craving a good China green. While this was steeping I tried to fix my wife’s computer and toast a bagel. Pretty sure the steep time was ok. However, this marvelous tea does not go with bagel/cream cheese/blackberry preserves. Not even a little. It was like sucking on a dandelion stem. I made faces. So I shoved the bagel in my face and slowly tried cleansing my palate. I was halfway through the mug before it became the sweet buttery veggies with a cleansing bite cup I remembered. This is an excellent tea and I am lousy at pairings.

I have been going full speed since Tuesday. I spent this morning in the library watching video lessons for my college course. The instructor did send out an email saying he knew the first class session was like drinking from a fire hose. Pretty much sums it up. He gave us an extra day to complete our first assignments. I have just completed the background prep work so I can try to start on homework this afternoon.

Don’t you love unexpected surprises? Especially nice is when you are digging through your stash and find a tea you don’t remember having. Even better is when you find said tea to be extraordinary! The leaf scent is slightly sweet, slightly sour, and altogether aromatic. This brews almost clear with a clear yellow tint. The leaf aroma is buttery vegetables. The taste is sweet, creamy, and nutty. I seem to love this way more than the other reviewers but I think the same was true of the Teavivre version. Oh well. This is my idea of green tea.

Sweet buttery goodness. Maybe the naturally sweetest tea I have ever sampled. The brew is so pale yellow it is almost clear. Really nice. Thank you Peony Tea S for the sample.

While infusing I’m picking up an aroma combo of Veggies, Flowers, and Mushrooms! I went the suggested 45 seconds.

On the tongue – it’s floral and vegetal but also slightly sweet. I can pick up honey-notes but they are more of the malty-side of honey and not-so-much the sweeter-side of honey, if that makes sense.

It certainly DOES have a unique taste/flavor. I appreciate that very much! I can’t really compare it to anything else I have tasted…and I LOVE that about it, too!

It has certain traits of an oolong but also certain traits of greens and blacks, too! I think that is why I am pondering this one so much! It’s really neat!

As it cools at room temp I can taste it morphing into more of a greener oolong.

Excellent Oolong to Stew over :)

Know what you get when you don’t really wash out your press from the last spicy pu’er you had and then brew white peony in it? Yeah, that’s right. White peony with a light ginger taste midsip. One of those stupid moments that actually didn’t turn out too bad even if it isn’t what I was going for. 3:00 and its the first tea I have had all day. Too busy.

I never see reviews of Peony Tea S anymore. I suspect shipping is the culprit as their tea is very good. This is 2 years old and still very fresh tasting.

I have only reviewed this once? That doesn’t seen right….

I read a review I had written a year ago on another tea I had again a few days ago. What I was getting now was no where near as complex as then. I know it was a year ago but they were not even close. In fact almost none of my reviews in the last 6 months compare to a year ago. The big difference is the water source. A year ago I was using municipal water at work in town. Now I am using county water at home. Two different filtration plants, though they both source the water within a 1/4 mile of each other. So today I grabbed a bottle of drinking water and used it. It would be kind of expensive to do this all the time but it really seemed to help.

The leaf on this one is the most beautiful Bai Mu Dan I have encountered thus far in my journey. Once steeped the wet leaf has a warm spicy scent. The liquor is a sparkling clear yellow. The taste is gentle, woodsy, with some bite at the edge of the tongue. The aftertaste is lingering and sweet. A very nice cup for year old leaf.

Pretty sure its the water. Expensive filters are out of the question. So, what works besides getting a job in town :D I have a Brita filter somewhere that years ago when I bought it I could not tell any difference. Should I give it another try? What about adding a pinch of salt to counter the extra hard water? What do you chunky water people do to get a good cup?

First off, the picture does not do this leaf justice. This is exquisitely gorgeous. Long and slender. The dry leaf smells like fresh mown hay – back when we used to get rain and the hay fields grew, but I digress. The taste is very much like it smells. This is an awesome white peony. I got 4 steeps from the leaf before I stopped. I posted a bit more on my blog http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/07/peony-tea-s-white-peony.html
Thank you Derek and Peony Tea S. for sharing this sample.

The following cracked me up in the description!!

*Personality:

White Peony is like the little sister of the Prom Queen (Silver Needles), you can hardly mention her without referencing her more illustrious sibling.

Removed from the shadows however, you will be pleasantly surprised at how well she stands on her own merit.*

Awesome description!

These are some of the more (if not most) long and winding and stiffer peony leaves I have infused! I appreciate that about it.

My co-worker thinks I am crazy for drinking all this HOT tea when it’s 95+ outside…I keep telling her it’s cold inside because of the air conditioning and it’s moot-point. LOL

This smells slightly floral and slightly perfumy. It tastes floral but it’s pretty and crisp. One of the more NATURALLY flavorful Peony’s I have tried! Top-Notch Quality!

This is beautiful!