This tea is refined and elegant in its simplicity. It’s a pretty straightforward white tea, humbly priced, with a soothing flavor profile that isn’t remarkably complex, but nevertheless can bring a kind of satisfaction to any tea-drinker’s soul. I think the flavor notes listed in the description are pretty accurate – it’s got creamy undertones with some hints of pear-like fruitiness and a subdued floral quality, with some soft notes reminiscent of nuts and herbs, all of which are balanced in harmony and enjoyable – not despite their simplicity, but perhaps because of it. For me, I think it’s the relatively simple (but still nuanced and detail-oriented) processing techniques which make it feel raw in a way that brings me closer to the spirit and essence of this wonderful plant, and across its many manifestations, from different species and cultivars, to processing techniques that effectively create the various categories of tea. I enjoy brewing this tea up and letting it cool in the cup for several hours before drinking it. It retains a softness but develops a kind of boldness that seems to amplify the flavor profile and draw out many desirable notes and characteristics that are perhaps more fleeting when the soup is warm. The body becomes very thick and the aftertaste lingers for a long time, but on the way down the soup is still very smooth and delicate. It glides easily across the palate before sinking heavily into the body… this pungency is a very enjoyable sensation, and perhaps a reflection of the high-quality leaf material coupled with the excellent processing techniques used to create Tea Hong’s Mini Peony.
