Organic China White - Grace Rare Teas

This is the second of the three teas I received recently from Grace Rare Teas/Mark T. Wendell. (This was a free sample sent by the company.) Last time I reviewed the Ti Kuan Yin and I also have a Japanese Sencha. Other teas awaiting review are a few from Adagio, a big box of things from Boston Tea Company (which, ironically, came to me at my house outside Boston but was from New Jersey), and some new stuff from Aura Teas. (Picture me rubbing my hands together deviously eyeing the Aura Teas samples. I am in love with this company.)

I also realized that I never did write up my trips to Chicago and London, both of which were FULL of tea finds. So much to look forward to.

Now, today's tea:
Organic China White from Grace Rare Teas

This Organic China White is a Fujian Silver Needle. The dry leaf is absolutely gorgeous. It is a luscious green and gold. It feels unbelievably fresh. Silky smooth to the touch with beautiful down. I couldn't keep my hands out of this container.

The dry scent was a bit lemony with an aroma that reminded me of fresh hay warming in the sun.

I brewed 1 1/2 tsp in 6 ounces of water at 190 degrees for 3 minutes.

The wet leaf was a springy green, much like cooked green beans, with the scent of asparagus. My husband swore it smelled like avocado. The liquor was very pale.

The flavor was mouth-filling. This was more vegetal to me than other whites I've tasted. I actually really liked it. At first I was thinking of green beans again. Then I was thinking more of fresh spinach (not the boldness of cooked spinach, though). The website suggested the taste of ripe melons. I didn't catch that this time around but will look for it on my next tasting.

A few updates from tea world

Hi all,

How are you all on this lovely summery day? We've been in the midst of a pretty brutal heat wave. New England isn't usually known for temperatures of 102 degrees. Last night it was about 1 a.m. and it was still 75 degrees outside. I actually love hot weather, so I wouldn't mind, but it's been combined with those air quality warnings that basically tell you to stay inside. But, on the whole, we've really been enjoying these nice sunny days.

Just a brief post right now, to be followed by a new tea review later today - Grace Rare Teas Organic China White.

A few bits of housekeeping:
1) I finally gave in and joined Twitter. You can find us at http://twitter.com/TeaPages

2) Facebook: I'm not happy with how our Facebook page was set up. Early on I was just accepting invites and then was realizing that without some moderation that it could get dicey with what people were posting. I tried establishing a fan page but everyone still wanted to join the original page and it was too confusing. SO, I have officially deleted the Facebook page. It will likely take a couple of weeks for them to actually do it. Once it is all cleared up, I am going to establish a new fan page. I'll let you know details when it actually happens.

Surprise!
I just finished Laura Childs' new tea shop mystery: The Teaberry Strangler. Fun, quick read. I have such affection for these books. I read a really wide range of things, but definitely always have a place on my shelf for lighter, fun reads. It also helps that Laura is an absolutely lovely woman that I've enjoyed getting to know a bit over the past few years.

Now, the reason I mention this is that in the back of Laura's new book there's a list of tea resources - a range of things that tea lovers might want to check out. I was astonished to see this blog listed! Hooray for us and thank you to Laura.

That's it for the moment. I'll have the review up shortly. I've actually been working on a number of writing projects which have definitely gotten in the way of the blog lately. The "Tea Memories" project has gained momentum and I'll have a bunch more on that soon. I'm also working on some pieces for "Living Without" and "TeaTime Magazine." Then I'm rounding that off with a couple of copywriting gigs...oh yeah, and raising two preschoolers. Life, as they say, is good.