Dec 05
Jamie’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "I would love to smell a garden heavily planted with these plants. It's a transporting smell. I enjoyed the scenting of Osthmanthus over the white tea. "
|
9/10
Well, this was another totally unexpected treat, and it all started when I took a nice deep breath of the dried tea, straight from the bag. I couldn't place the scent. It was wonderful! I'd never smelled anything like it, but I was trying to place it somewhere in my reference zone. Sort of a honey scent...I breathed in again and again, trying to figure it out. Honeysuckle?? Something heavenly, something musky and melony...like a warm melon straight out of the garden on a summer's day. Immediately, I wanted to know what this Osthmanthus was.I felt sure it must be some sort of elegant, warm weather loving floral angel that could never survive the seasons in my cold part of the world...The Osthmanthus family of plants, I discovered, is native to Southern China, so it is no surprise that they are used in a similar fashion to jasmine flowers for the scenting of teas, white, green and oolongs. The Osthmanthus family includes trees, shrubs and groundcovers, all sharing highly scented flowers. I would love to smell a garden heavily planted with these plants. It's a transporting smell. I enjoyed the scenting of Osthmanthus over the white tea.
Silver Needle is the most impressive white tea I've ever tasted, and I wasn't sure what to expect from a scented type. I was concerned that it might be too strong a scent for such a tea as Silver Needle, which stands on its own, but the Osthmanthus is a wonderful addition, very gentle, not cloying. The scent of the Osthmanthus flower alone is reason enough to try this Silver Needle variety. That it's also a 2008 award winner and is fair traded and organically grown are just some extra bonuses. The real treat is in the delicate flavor, which compliments rather than masks the tea leaves, and the ability of this tea's delicate scent to temporarily transport you from a rarin' to go winter reality in the Northeast United States to some fantastic, scented garden of delights in Southern China...
— To purchase Rishi Tea Osthmanthus Silver Needle, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
 |
Jamie Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Jamie's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Jamie. |
December 6th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Ooooo, I just got this one in the mail, methinks.
Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait…
Wow, this was redundant and pointless.