Teaopia White Butterfly

Ahhhh, Teaopia. My first experience with loose leaf tea was the Teaopia store in Mayfair Mall. I had noticed two of my coworkers drinking loose tea and thought it looked cool, so I decided to get in on the action as well. My original plan back then was to eventually try all of the teas that Teaopia had to offer, and I decided to start with the white teas which is how I came to buy the White Butterfly.

From the website:

White Butterfly is produced in the Fujian province of China where only the youngest leaves are gathered in the few days of early spring. The spiral twisted leaf and naturally white downy appearance makes this a delicate, clean, sweet and mild cup of tea. Not only is White Butterfly revered as one of the finest Chinese White Teas, but it is also naturally low in caffeine which adds to its widespread appeal in the tea community.

When I open the tin to smell it, I get a very faint scent of licorice, even though this is just straight white tea, nothing added. It looks like wrinkled little worms, which makes me giggle to myself when I think about it. I steeped this at 80 degrees for 2.5 minutes, and it has a nice clean flavour. This one, though, I can only drink when it's warm. Most teas I can still drink if they've cooled down, but this one I just can't make myself drink once it's less than warm. The flavour is great for warm water, but as a cold beverage it doesn't work for me.

All in all, a good white tea for someone starting out in the world of tea, or someone looking for a mild flavour.