The third and final part of my interview with Nigel Melican is now posted on Cha Dao. Excerpted:

Cinnabar: The attempts at growing one place’s regionally-specific tea in a different location seem strange to me, because if you’re taking a type of tea varietal and growing it somewhere else, with a totally different climate and different soil conditions, it’s not going to taste the same. It seems like the more reasonable approach, rather than trying to reproduce a traditional kind of tea in a new place, would be to figure out what works best under the new conditions, and represent the tea as a new type, but perhaps that’s not as marketable.

Nigel Melican: If you look at consumers, they often go for what they know. Someone who knows a Sencha will always, given an unknown tea or the old-fashioned one that they know and love, they’ll choose the one they know and love. But you’re right, that’s what they ought to do, and it’s what I push people in Africa to do, to take the plants that they were growing for CTC tea, and do wonderful things with it.

The fellow in the photo above is certainly a handsome little frog, but you wouldn’t want him darting among the young leaves of your tea plants. He is a Phantasmal Poison Frog (Epipedobates tricolor), one of the poisonest of the poison arrow frogs.

The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons. The reason that this post is accompanied by a photo of a frog will be evident if you read the last part of the interview.

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It’s probably not time yet to start running about in a panic wondering what to buy all of the people that you have to buy stuff for this holiday season, but you should plan ahead if you want to take advantage of the Christmas Range on special now at Canton Tea Co., particularly if you are in the United States. And really, you might as well make it easy on yourself and just buy everyone you know good tea. It will benefit you to supply family members or friends with good tea for their cabinets for when you visit, or you might just be able to show someone what a wondrously great thing excellent tea is in the first place. Plus I presume there must be those among you who have people to give gifts to who are already well-informed, devoted tea lovers. They will most certainly appreciate gifts from this selection.

Here are a details on a few of the special packages. You can receive 10% off of your order by using the promotional code GFG, and any orders placed before the 30th of November will include a free hand made bamboo strainer.

A few selections from the Canton Christmas 2010 Range:

Two Tea Pack $15.89
Contents:
Box Green Tea (Pouchong 50g)
Box Oolong Tea (Tie Guan Yin 50g)
Save £2 by choosing a pack containing two of our most popular teas, presented in two Canton gift cartons packed in a white card box – and ready to pop under the tree.

Gold Award Tea Pack $23.84
Contents:
Eight Great Taste Award-winning teas (in 10g taster packs)
Eight outstanding teas in one pack giving you the opportunity to taste the very best teas right across the spectrum – from jasmine and white to black and puerh. Packed in two Canton gift cartons.

New to Tea $31.78
Contents:
Straight Glass Teapot
Five 10g taster packs
The easy way to kick off a love of fine, whole leaf tea. Five of our most popular teas including a jasmine, white, green, oolong and black tea with an easy-to-use 400ml glass teapot and a Canton Tea leaflet on how to brew the best tea.

Monthly Tea Box from $95.35 for 6 months
Contents:
A 260g box of 16 handmade tea infused chocolates
Five 10g tea taster packs in a Canton gift carton
Like a veg box, sign up for you or a friend to have seasonal teas delivered every month straight to the door. Free P&P. If you don’t love it after your first delivery we will refund your money. We will send out a gift certificate if you’re buying it as a present.

Visit Canton Tea Company to place your order and view the rest of the specials.

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In order to more fully appreciate the hundreds of teas available, here are 10 that will serve as guiding lights and points of comparison. As there can be distinction even between retailers’ teas, it is recommended that you try the same kind of tea from at least 2 different retailers or sources.

The list includes teas from the main 4 categories of tea: white, green, wulong (or oolong) and black.

1. Silver Needle: this white tea originated in China, although other countries are developing silver needles. Silver needle consists of the downy tips that are light green to silvery color.
2. Bai Mu Dan (sometimes Pai Mu Tan, White Peony): White Peony is the bridge between white and green teas. It includes more mature green leaves, silvery tips, and the stems that connect the two.
3. Dragonwell (or Long Jing, Long Ching): This Chinese green is pan-fired and shaped to give it a “grasshopper wing” shape. Fresh long jing has flavors reminiscent of steamed wild rice.
4. Sencha: A Japanese green. Sencha often resembles emerald green sewing needles. A good sencha, when prepared properly, delivers a creamy or brothy coating in the mouth and brings savory hints of seaweed and sweet spinach notes.
5. Li Shan: A Taiwanese oolong with fragrant floral scents. Li Shan usually consists of 2 leaves and a tender bud on a stem that is lovingly rolled into a compact ball resembling a small paper wad.
6. Tie Guan Yin (also Tie Quan Yin or Ti Kuan Yin): While the ali shan offers fragrant flower reminders, tie guan yin has a stronger roasted element with a rich woody or smoky touch. TGY resembles li shan in its paper-wad shape, but is distinguishable by its roasted smell and its browner colors compared to ali shan’s brighter green leaf.
7. Darjeeling 1st flush: While this Indian tea is usually classified as a black tea, it bears similarities to oolongs. 1st flushes deliver fruit notes of grape and some of the briskness of a black tea.
8. Golden Monkey comes from Southwest China, the suspected origin the tea plant. The name of this tea comes from the dried leaves that range from gold to a lighter brown. Golden monkey steeps to deliver a black tea liquid with malty, sometimes chocolate tastes.
9. Keemun: Keemun teas stand as shining examples of Chinese black teas. Several variations exist, most notably keemun mao feng and keemun hao ya, and they offer a range of aromas that extend from chocolate to peach/plum notes.
10. Puer (also pu’ erh): Puer is unique in its processing. While many teas depend on an oxidization process to develop flavor, puers rely on a bacterial process for fermentation (think wine or cheese). The result includes both sheng (i.e. raw) puer and shu (aged), the latter one known for earthy tastes and a dark, inky brew.

As you begin to taste these teas, don’t forget to make notes on the smells, textures and colors. A journal can help you immensely when you search for your perfect cup.

Guest post provided by Jason Walker of Walker Tea Review.  Jason’s site hosts online tea tastings and video tea reviews.

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The Silverback White is, in essence, very similar to the white teas grown in China, but as I had anticipated, the differences in environmental conditions between China and Kenya result in a significantly different character of tea. DAVIDsTEA’s description:

“Kenya has done a magnificent job of growing Asian tea plants and producing traditional teas with flavours all their own. This organic white is a prime example. It has a luxurious, oolong-style flavour, and a rare, haunting finish that evokes the vast African landscape. The nutrient-rich soil, heavy mists and bright sun have all contributed to create an exciting tea worthy of our reserve collection.”

The liquor of the Silverback White is aromatic and sweet, with a faint and pleasant hint of clove. But its most distinctive aspect is the incredible silken feel of the tea in the mouth. In general I would say that compared to other white teas that I have tasted this tea is more fully flavored and slicker. The taste is also a little less grassy. The mouthfeel and scent are quite reminiscent of honey, brought out most prominently in the second infusion.

Like any white tea it should be brewed gently, at around 185 degrees and with the best quality water available. I would recommend brewing it in glass or porcelain. A gaiwan works nicely, but a glass teapot is also appropriate. It exhibited the best of its qualities when I brewed it in a small glass gongfu teapot using lots of leaf and short infusions. This tea can yield four infusions without losing its flavor, although the second is notably the best of the four.

Silverback White is a very lovely and exceptional tea. It is interesting to compare it to Chinese white teas, but it stands admirably on its own merits and is well worth a try. I have tasted it several times and have found it startlingly good each time.

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White tea is the closest you’re ever going to get to browsing directly off of a tea bush. It undergoes less processing than any other type of tea, meaning that its chemical and physical characteristics are less altered than those of other teas. This minimal processing is said to consist of just air drying the leaf, or just steaming and drying the leaf, depending on which description you read. Having never visited a white tea processing operation in Fujian province I can’t sift through the contradictions and draw a conclusion.

All of that background leads to the main topic, which is a review of Rishi Tea’s Silver Needle premium organic white tea. I have had the opportunity to sample this tea using a lot of different methods, from gongfu style with a porcelain gaiwan, to a plain glass teapot at the office, to a Chinese glass tea thermos. All of the methods I used yielded a wonderful sweet liquor in at least four infusions. I do not think that the tea is particularly challenging to brew well, but I can not over stress the importance of not burning the leaf with boiling water. I use spring water at about 180 degrees, which works nicely. This is Rishi’s description, notably absent any questionable health claims:

Organic Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) is the premium grade of classic white tea and consists only of the first flush spring buds of the tea plant. Our Silver Needles are hand harvested from Fujian’s unique Fuding Da Hao varietal that is prized for its large silvery buds and delicious sweet flavor.

The character of Silver Needle is light and delicate, without the vegetal tone of green teas. Silver Needle is well known as the finest of China’s white teas, a reputation it deserves. Rishi’s particular offering is excellent, with the added benefits of obtainability and affordability. It is a tea that I highly recommend to people already familiar with white teas and to people who have been wanting to try a good white tea but did not know where to start. It will not disappoint, but give it enough of your time and attention to appreciate its subtlety. You will be rewarded with a lovely tea drinking experience.

The TeaGeekWiki entry on Yin Zhen Bai Hao has a few more details on this famous tea.

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Morning Dew White

The pre-infused leaves of the Morning Dew White are long, green and moist with a scent like most white teas, but a little brighter. The pale yellow liquor is very nice and not as grassy or hay-like as many white teas. The flavor of the liquor is subtle but fills the palette, with a lingering bite on the tongue. This tea did not hold up well under multiple gong fu short infusions, but would probably benefit from a longer single infusion.

Margaret’s Hope Muscatel

The pre-infused leaves of the Margaret’s Hope Muscatel have a lovely and distinct scent, almost port-like. For the tasting, the tea leaves were rinsed before the first drinkable infusion. The taste of the liquor is rather acrid with a long-lasting aftertaste, but quite enjoyable. A longer infusion would bring out more of the desirable maltiness.

Keemun Hao Ya

The leaves of the Keemun Hao Ya are tiny and very black with a nice woody scent. The liquor is fuller and has a more mature flavor than the Indian black. It has nice, complex flavors with a strong mouthfeel that lingers on the sides of the tongue. This tea is smoother, maltier and less acidic than the Margaret’s Hope. The second infusion was brighter and less full, but with the same long, pleasant aftertaste. I preferred the Hao Ya considerably over the Margaret’s Hope.

The tea set pictured above has become the “official tasting set” because of its flexibility and lack of flavor absorption. It is one I had not had reason to use yet, and found it worked quite nicely for a number of different styles of tea and brewing methods.

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Flower Jewel’s tender hand picked white tea is crowned by a delicate and bright pink amaranth flower. The dancing petals blissfully open as sweet jasmine scents this captivating elixir. Flower Jewel tantalizes the palate with its vibrant freshness and clarity.

I chose “Flower Jewel” from my assorted box, and once my pot had been rinsed, I added the capsule and more hot water. As soon as it was submerged, I was greeted by a strong jasmine aroma. I left it in for only 3 minutes, as jasmine is much more apt to turn bitter if neglected.

The color of the brew is barely there, and the flavor is a very light, as well. The jasmine is not overpowering, and there’s a savory counterpoint to the flower. About mid-cup, as it cooled down a bit, I started to notice a fuller flavor, and it’s very enjoyable.

It’s fun to witness the “agony of the leaves,” or the unfurling of leaves when they’re steeped, in such a creative and entertaining way. A glass pot will give you a better view.

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Today’s Flowering Tea is Starlight Rose: The delicate silver needle white tea leaves are handsewn around a tender rosebud. The soft, lucent liquor and subtle aroma of roses yields a smooth, mellow flavor illuminated by the calming benefits of white tea.

It’s a very light-colored liquor, almost peachy. The aroma is very grassy, but warm. The flavor is also light, and the rose only comes out in the finish. While not my favorite, it’s still very interesting to sip.

White tea has so little caffeine that I’m putting it into both categories, but those utter non-caf drinkers may want to abstain.

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Rooibos has no caffeine, and white tea usually has less caffeine than any other natural tea, so this was a perfect choice for a late afternoon treat.

I added a very light dash of agave nectar to one cup, and it really smoothed out the flavor without making it sweet. It brought out the vanilla notes a bit. I can imagine coupling a darker brew of this with a dash of very rich cream, but it doesn’t seem necessary.

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