Long ingredient lists seem to be increasingly common in these newfangled teas. Berry and white buds seem to be a destined couple rather than a fling, and mixing green and white leaves is still really frustrating to brew, but still tastes great. Steeping took three runs until I was actually satisfied. 175 Fahrenheit for 2, 2.5 and 3 minutes were the settings that I chose to work from. The 2.5 minute steep by far produced the best tasting cup. Two minutes was too weak of a flavour and three was so pungent with flavour that I just couldn't handle the sensory stimulation.

The Jasmine green tea rounded the whole cup out very well indeed. The jasmine flavour tames the potent berries and elevates the white buds to exude their best. The berries aren't terribly distinct from one another. They more or less meld together to create a novel but fable superberry- BluPlumRazStrawChee- although I suppose plum is not a berry. The cup is more like a green tea than a white, but its colour appears in between the two. The aromatics are splendidly tart and fruitful, very nice to sniff before, during and after the steep. Overall, I really enjoyed this muddling of many of nature's different gifts, however I knocked the points down for being so difficult in the steeping category. I even had the Breville Tea Maker doing my work for me, I can't imagine brewing this tea properly without the machine.

— To purchase The Spice and Tea Exchange Berry White Tea, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

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