Arya Pearl, 2015 Organic Whole Leaf Darjeeling White Tea

This year's Arya Pearl is so much more than a white tea. If you've ever wanted to try a Darjeeling white tea, this is it! The color of the dry leaf is pea green with an abundance of downy fuzz on the undersides of the leaves & silver tips. The aroma is fresh, sweet, vegetal & faintly floral. The infused leaves gracefully unfurl in the water completely intact & flawless. The leaf color is vibrant green & the liquor is bright, lively, aromatic & pale butter yellow.  Pearl is always beautiful, but this year when I opened the bag it took my breath away! This is the first tea that Arya produced this year and despite below average temperatures and rainfall--it  still maintains its standing as the "creme de la creme" of all Darjeeling white teas. As usual, I placed my order well in advance of production. Pearl is a limited production tea and once it's gone, it's gone! Arya Pearl is 100% hand crafted using carefully selected clonal tea bushes--and only in the third week of March. The least processed and most natural of all teas Pearl is carefully dried in the sun after having withered under normal ceiling fans for a short period of time. The care with which this tea is plucked, produced and handled is evident at first glance. The leaf sets of two leaves and a bud are beautifully intact with very little breakage, which is incredible given that the leaves themselves are very light weight and delicate. The overall color of the dry leaf is especially green this year--much more so than in previous years--with an abundance of elongated downy silver tips. The aroma is fresh, sweet, vegetal and faintly floral. The infused leaf serves to reinforce the care with which this tea was handled from the moment it was plucked. The leaves gracefully unfurl in the water completely intact and flawless, presenting a delicate floral bouquet. The leaf color is a vibrant green. Pearl's infusion is bright, lively, aromatic and pale butter yellow. It has a delicate floral aroma and a wonderfully sweet taste with only a bare hint of astringency. Most first flush teas have a tendency to become bitter if left to steep too long.  Not so Arya Pearl. As a matter of fact, I recommend using a higher leaf to water ratio (I use 4-5 grams per 6 oz. water) and steep for up to 4 minutes at 185 degrees. There is absolutely no trace of bitterness whatsoever. It is said that white teas are better in their second and third year as they improve with age. That being the case, we can expect this 2015 Arya Pearl to mature into a spectacular tea! Origin: Darjeeling, India Ingredients: Artisan white tea