It seems, plans were already afoot at Twinings to do just that, as a couple of days after the birth of Prince George last July, I received a wonderful phone call from Twinings customer service staff to let me know that they had just launched a celebration tea.
What flavour would I choose? Well peppermint was out of the question as my stomach can't seem to tolerate mint tea. Yunnan was not chosen as I had a abundance of the blend through the Diamond Jubilee tea. So I opted for China white tea.
And this started a love hate relationship with the blend. I love to drink it, and hate to brew it. I struggle to get it "just right", and brewing in a pot is out of the question as it all goes horribly wrong.
Why do I struggle so much? Simply because white tea only needs a minute of brewing before it goes bitter. Unlike it's robust cousin that is black tea, white tea is like a nervous child on it's first day of school. You need to almost hold it's hand and nuture it. Walk it through the brewing process.
So, I thought I'd try white tea in teabag form. I brought the Pure White blend. Would I fare any better?
Each teabag comes wrapped individually in it's own envelope.
The first thing you need to remember about white tea is you have to be extremely precise at how long you brew it for. It's advised on the packaging, to brew for 1-2 minutes, but I brew it for no longer then 1 minute, as I find it goes bitter. You can purchase tea timers, but I just use my phone.
The second thing is that you do not need milk at all, in fact you shouldn't put anything at all into the tea, milk, sugar or artificial sweeteners. It has a light, fragrant and sweet taste. In my opinion this is the only tea you should drink in it's pure form.
Now, I've boiled the kettle, and set the timer. What happen's next? Well white tea has a earthy, leafy smell to it when brewing. In fact it's almost herbal in smell. Contrary to what I expected, it doesn't brew to a white colour, but rather a yellowy, greeny hue.
But the taste. Oh the glorious taste. It's a rather sweet tea (almost like rooibos tea). It's light and fragrant and very refreshing (particularly on hot days). It's a good tea to take if you don't fancy black tea, but still want a "real" tea rather then a fruit tea. As with the aroma, it does have a herbal taste to it, which I quite enjoy.
It's so delicate in taste and appearance it really is something rather special.
Twining's also do a white tea with pomegranate which I am eager to try.
Just out of interest, here is a picture of the Limited Edition Royal Baby Caddy. It holds loose white tea, which I'm still trying to perfect in a teapot!
Summary of White Tea
- Pure White Tea is available in boxes of 20 costing around £2.05.
- Brewing time is suggested as 1-2 minutes, but I feel 1 minute is enough.
- Milk and sugar/sweetners not needed, drink it pure!
- The China White New Baby Celebration Caddy is still available through Twinings Online priced £10.00 (includes 75g of loose tea)
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