Another cold sullen day. Spring flowers? Months away.
Truly, a cup of tea—a simple pleasure—can be just enough.
A whiff of summer.
And so, Pear Mango white tea is my choice today.
This light tea brings summery fruitiness to my morning. A touch of sunshine.
Why This Tea Works
While many white teas consist of only the buds, the white tea base (China Pai Mu Tan) of this blend is “new style,” which includes young and immature leaves along with the buds. Of all the teas, white teas are the least oxidized, so the buds and leaves are carefully plucked and handled to ensure they aren’t bruised. (Any damage causes oxidation.)
You can see that white tea leaves take up a lot of space in a container, and you want to be careful to not break the large leaves.
Because these leaves are so fluffy, many people measure them by weight rather than by teaspoon.
Colors run the spectrum from light brown to light green to olive and jade greens. Young leaves are interspersed with buds and very immature leaves that retain minute hairs, which make them appear silver in color.
This white tea from TeaHaus also includes apple pieces, freeze-dried mango cubes, marigold blossoms, and natural flavor.
As the leaves brew, they are mostly bright green, and you can see the fruit plump up.
Like other whole leaf teas, this tea is best brewed with plenty of room for the leaves. Here I use a Finum brew basket to strain out the leaves.
White teas also call for lower brewing temperatures, so I used filtered water at 158°F for 3 minutes.
And the result?
The full, fruity, aroma matches the fresh flavors of pear and mango that meld with the classic white tea base. The fruit lends sweetness that is balanced by the tea leaves, which offer woody tones.
There is no hint of bitterness in this cup, while the sweetness is never cloying but derives from the fruit and tea leaves.
And the pleasantly lingering fruitiness sweetly inspires daydreams of summer’s warmth and sunshine.
It's More Than Tea 