Sunday, May 15, 2011

White Peony

Late last night, I began brewing it some of the White Peony tea that I now have, this time being careful to remember to heat the gaiwan and the cup first (I forget a lot). After the rinse, the leaves had a very strong scent. Vegetal, but also with some notes of flowers (orchids or roses?) The water used had recently been boiled, but had been given a few minutes to cool.

With the first steep, it began to smell of oats. I didn't reheat the kettle, so the water has been continuously cooling. With the second steep, it began to smell nuttier and was steeped with even cooler water, for 5-7 seconds. The 3rd steep I let the water become even cooler, but steeped it for less time, so it came out a little weak.

After that, I filled the gaiwan and let it sit overnight. This morning, the tea still has a surprisingly strong scent and while the flavor is oat-y, it does still retain floral undertones.

2 comments:

  1. White Peony is a wonderful choice! White tea is one of my favourite types of tea.
    But be careful if you drink it at night, as it also contains caffeine.
    Do you recommend a brand in particular?

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  2. Well I am luckily not really affected by caffeine, so thankfully I haven't had any problems sleeping!

    I got the White Peony from The Tea Gallery:

    http://www.theteagallery.com/White_Peony_p/w-wp.htm

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