White Symphony

I got two new white teas to try from my swap with TastyBrew

I am going to compare them all here (with my original white tea) and post the same note to the others.
I brewed 2 tsp of each in small teacups, steeped for 3 min at 180F

Monkey Picked White – The Tea Spot: Still my favorite white. It has the most pale liquor of all three and the most amazing creamy texture, with just a hint of citrus. When I say hint, I mean that it is so slight that I don’t always detect it.

White Symphony – Adagio: is this even a white tea? wow, the liquor is really dark golden and the flavor is strong of hay and barley. It kind of reminds me of brewers yeast (I had a lot of that (mixed in cups of water) growing up because my father was obsessed with the stuff). I actually like this one, but I don’t think of it as a white tea. It’s in a unique league of its own. I don’t know that it’s a tea that I’d want all the time, but I could be in the mood for it sometimes.

Snowbud – Adagio: My least favorite of the three. Liquor color is in between the other two. Flavor is slightly bitter and its not as creamy as my Monkey picked. There is another flavor, I don’t know if its nutty or mineral, maybe a blend of the two?

I like this tea well enough, but I don’t really notice much of a difference from White Peony by Adagio, a tea I had just yesterday. Maybe a side-by-side would help with this. So, I’m giving it the same score as White Peony.

I really like this tea, I feel like this should be their White Peony. I have white peony from other vendors and the silver buds ratio is about the same. Good welcoming tea for people who are just starting to try white tea and good for those who love the subtle notes.

Fresh out of the bag, this tea reminded me of my days in the barn, picking through leaves of hay. What an unexpected wave of nostalgia and longing. I spent about three minutes just breathing it in. Literally. But I did my best to not allow that to color my opinion of the tea overall.

The directions call for two heaping teaspoons steeping for three to five minutes at a temperature of 195°F. I elected to use one mostly-heaping teaspoon in a smaller teacup, steeping four minutes at the recommended temperature. I also want to note that I did not add anything to this tea; I often find that white and green teas rarely beg to be sweetened. White Symphony was no exception.

After steeping, this tea – in both smell and taste – reminded me of a Jasmine green tea I have. The floral scent is quite calming, and the taste is what I would expect from a good (floral) white tea. While it’s nothing spectacular or out-of-this-world, White Symphony is nonetheless a wonderful choice.

Want to give this tea – or any of Adagio’s other teas – a taste? Let me know and I will send you a $5 gift certificate to use for your first purchase! :)

2nd resteep, 190F, 4 min. Roses, honeydew, chrysanthemum — I can’t pick just one. All I know is this — it blisses me out! g

I’m never going to shut up about this, I am always amazed with how clear white teas turn out after steeping. IT’S SO CLEAR LIKE WHAT.
I think after tasting snowbud, I kinda gave up on white teas. They’re just super grassy all the time and… it’s an acquired taste, I know, and I haven’t acquired that taste yet.
I’ll just… keep drinking it until I start to enjoy more grassier teas.

I also realized that white teas don’t re-steep very well. They lose flavour after the second time; it’s quite disappointing.

A nice white. It isn’t too mild like some whites. Just enough flavor. With a little honey, it is a nice iced tea to drink with a meal.

I had to try this twice before making a note.

This is by far the most interesting of all the teas in Adagio’s Silver Sampler, in my opinion. It’s Sliver Needle’s polar opposite, with a strong (for a white tea, that is) extremely multifaceted flavor. It still holds the floral and vegetal taste that characterizes white tea, but I’m actually sensing a more emphasized, earthy, floral taste and aroma with a sweet vegetal flavor as an aftertaste rather than the reverse.

This really is a gorgeous white tea and if I had to choose out of the Silver Sampler, I’d like to have this and Jasmine Silver needle stocked in my cupboard regularly, with Silver Needle as a rare treat every now and again. I may give Snowbud another chance, but for now it is the least memorable of the teas.

Final Verdict: This is good. Really good.

We enjoyed this tea, I would describe the notes as woody and a bit sweet. It was surprisingly energizing considering it has a low caffiene content. This is why I love tea, its always a pleasent surprise.

3rd steep: 9min. Just as nice!