Snowbud

This is yet another of my purchases from Adagio. Its official name (given by Adagio) is 'Snowbud Finale.' The tea itself comes from the Fujian Province of China. The site gives no information of when this was picked, but I may have purchased an older batch considering I've heard people recently mention the 2007 teas are finally being released.

The leaves are quite whole. Long slender leaves and stems are a (typically) tangled mass inside the storage tin. They seem to lack the soft fibres of most white teas, and they're also a darker green. But the dry leaves seem young, from all appearances.

I've heard a lot recently about using extended infusions and somewhat cooler water for white teas, and I decided to try it out with Snowbud. It seems a lot of people are brewing this tea for seven minutes. I'll do that next time. Perhaps I should give this tea a second run tomorrow after work.

I used 2.5 grams of tea in my small ceramic pot (the puffer fish) for all infusions. Every infusion was timed at five minutes, and water temperature was increased as follows: 110ºF for the first, 120ºF second, 150º third, and for the last 165ºF. The final infusion was unusual. But I'll get to that at the end.

The coolest infusion had hardly rehydrated the leaves, but it gave some interesting results. the flavor was mostly light, as I've been led to expect. But it has a strong grassiness, more like a green. It's almost difficult for me to call this a white tea, in fact. but any way, the tea has a soft flavor beneath the grass, and a light sweetness that we all like to expect. But there is something underlying that I cannot describe.

The second infusion yielded a slightly darker liquor, but of course we're talking about a white tea. The grassiness was a bit less present, and the sweetness was still there. The flavor and aroma were better developed, but there was still that something beneath the surface I couldn't quite place.

Infusion three was my favorite by far. I know it was partially from so many infusions, but I can't help what I like. The grass flavor had diminished significantly, and a light lingering bitterness had developed. The uncertain essence in the cup was lightly diminished like the rest, but it was still as complimentary as ever.

The fourth infusion was quite unusual. I didn't have a full pot's worth of water. I heated the water more than before, poured it in, and waited the five minutes. If anything brought out that elusive taste, this would. The brewed tea took on a slight brownish tint, and an overall roundness that was not as fulfilling as an early infusion. Still, that one hint was difficult to pin down.

After all was said and done, of course I looked at the leaves. They were mostly the light green, curled at the sides, leaves I have come to expect, mostly. Some were a bit more open. Some were a little darker. and there were more broken leaves than I like to see in a delicate white tea.



Honestly, this tea would be more of a niche taste for me. It is a little too crossed between a green and a white tea for my tastes. I won't detract a recommendation for this tea. It definitely has its merits. It perhaps needs a longer steep time, and more of a green approach.

But for a white tea, I'll still prefer Adagio's White Peony or Silver Needle.