"Nigel" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On Sep 17, 10:58 pm, Charles Dawson > wrote:
>> I visited the Sakuma Brother's Farms tea fields this weekend and it was
>> slightly disappointing.
>
>> Still, it was a treat to see actual
>> tea bushes grown commercially in person.
>>
>> They were sold out of their green but they did have some packages of
>> white left from their first harvest. As promised the leaves were only
>> FOP and OP, but they were neither rolled nor twisted, and there was
>> little white-tea fuzz present anywhere. They were packaged horribly --
>> in clear plastic bags, folded over and "sealed" only with a
>> computer-printed label. I can only imagine that they'll see lots of
>> light, heat, and moisture damage and it will go stale quickly.
>
> To achieve success in agro tourism you must match or exceed
> expectations - this often causes a packaging dilemma for the specialty
> producer: does my target audience want an understated eco friendly
> approach or a svelt up market pack for its $135 per lb product?
> Unless Richard Sakuma's clientele has changed in the five years since
> I visited the farm I would think they are looking for "farm shop
> simple". Which is not to say that the simplicity should not meet the
> functional requirements of excluding ingress of moisture, light and
> taint and egress of tea aroma.
>
>
>> The resulting brew was different than expected -- almost no tea flavor
>> but a very present fruity tone that was somewhere between dried apple
>> and strawberry. We're not sure if they were just not careful about aroma
>> contamination during processing or if the tea bushes themselves picked
>> up some aroma from the immediately-adjacent berry fields.
>
> The fruit flavor of this new origin tea really is interesting as i)
> it's not a taste I have ever found in China Whites, nor Ceylon, yet b)
> it's a taste we get in some African whites - though not our Malawi
> White Teas (these have a delicate floral aroma and taste - a little
> like wild rose) but we certainly do get the fragarant apple aroma in
> our Pearl rolled Malawi teas (there isn't a category for these teas
> yet - they are hand rolled white teas but whites cannot by definition
> be rolled, not green teaa as the enzymes are not zapped, not black
> teas as there is no oxidation - closest I can get so far to a
> definition (by taste and form) is a White Oolong but that's sure to
> upset the purists. I have also found this distinct fruit aroma in the
> Kenya whites (unrolled) that I have tasted - but not in them the
> floral notes of the Malawi's. We also find cedar wood and wintergreen
> in a few of the Malawi Whites - there are more than 30 cultivars to
> try all with different nuances. These are teas looking for a home.
>
>>
>> At $8.95 for 1.1 oz (about $135 per pound) it's not unreasonable for a
>> high-quality tea (and certainly not for fresh tea), but I'm not sure the
>> flavor quite qualifies as truly high-quality.
>>
> Washington State grown tea is rare - and rarity sets its own price -
> our special Antlers d'Amour which are the tender velvety stems of the
> finest flush - yes, White Tea tea just made from only the the juicy
> stems with the leaves and buds removed(!) are selling retail in the
> USA at $12 per half oz ($384 per lb) - but to my certain knowledge
> this product (which concentrates the aroma in the stem and the
> superfluous bud and leaves would just dilute the effect) is unique in
> the tea world.
>
> Nigel at Teacraft
>

Hey Nigel, who is carrying all these African white teas, any idea? I was
going to check Nothing But Tea but wondered if you knew of any others.
Thanks.

Melinda

On Sep 19, 9:40 am, "Melinda" > wrote:
> "Nigel" > wrote in message
> > Washington State grown tea is rare - and rarity sets its own price -
> > our special Antlers d'Amour which are the tender velvety stems of the
> > finest flush - yes, White Tea tea just made from only the the juicy
> > stems with the leaves and buds removed(!) are selling retail in the
> > USA at $12 per half oz ($384 per lb) - but to my certain knowledge
> > this product (which concentrates the aroma in the stem and the
> > superfluous bud and leaves would just dilute the effect) is unique in
> > the tea world.
>
> Hey Nigel, who is carrying all these African white teas, any idea? I was
> going to check Nothing But Tea but wondered if you knew of any others.
> Thanks.
>
In the USA Tea Embassy, through their website Tea Treasures, is
selling the Antlers - Google "Antlers d'Amour" for the link.
Metropolitan has an inferior Kenya White from Nandi Hills and will
soon have two of the Malawi Whites in stock. Full range of seven
different Malawi Whites is available from Nothing But Tea Ltd
<www.nbtea.co.uk> - order any and mention r.f.d.t and we will throw
in a few samples of some of the not yet listed cultivars and types.

Nigel at Teacraft