White2Tea club of September 2019 had an assortment of different teas – two black teas, a white tea, and an oolong processed into a black tea. Red Milan is available for purchase at White2Tea, whereas the rest are tea club exclusive.
Red Milan
Milan varietal dancongs seem a favorite of White2tea. This Red Milan, in particular, is a modern version from Guangdong processed as a black tea.
Red Milan’s leaves are aromatic and smell like a grape juice box.
I treated Red Milan as an oolong as I didn’t read up on the tea until I was editing my review. I used chaozhao style, filling the gaiwan to 1 gram of leaf per 12ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water. The steeped up leaf smells like wood and more grape juice box.
First and Second Infusion: Red Milan sips in inviting and complex. The Dancong has notes of fruit, cream, and abrasive char. It is not smokey but Red Milan has that savory smooth darkness like it was burned and mellowed with time. The aftertaste goes quite sweet with green grapes and honey.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: Red Milan is getting sweeter and more aromatic with each infusion, this section is the best. The flavor is of grapes and honey, with a bit of floral, with a dark boiled charcoal background flavor that jumps to my nasal sinus.
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Infusion: For these infusions, Red Milan got very much like black tea colour and taste. Red Milan went tannic and grapey, with woodsy darkness. An astringency started here, drying my gums. The last infusion was dry and woodsy honey.
Red Milan is a high aromatic tea that blurs between oolong and black tea. The notes are complex, being sweet and savory in the same sip. I like this Red Milan compared to other unpressed Milans White2Tea has carried.
Citramalt Black
Citramalt Black is a Fujian black tea that is said to be a more classic taste. This tea is a tea club exclusive. As I was opening the package, Citramalt emitted a sweet potato bomb scent.
I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The steeped leaf smells like a fruity sweet potato.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: Immediately, Citramalt gives me the impression that it is a workhorse tasting kind of tea. Citramalt is smooth and caramel buttery, with a yammy profile. It is a bit slick to drink, with a soft yam aftertaste that is fleeting.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: Quickly, Citramalt is losing steam, dropping flavor quickly. Citramalt has the flavor of boiled cinnamon, caramel, and yams, but is getting a slight throaty astringency.
Bowl style: I threw in a couple of grams of leaf in a 50ml-ish cup and grandpa sipped away. A small cup gives me a sample taste of how extended steeps go. Citramalt starts off strongly like buttered caramel. As it steeps on, it adds a raisin note. It is very good with the extended infusion over gongfu style.
Citramalt Black is a tea to show to someone who likes milk and sugar in their tea – this doesn’t need it, it is sweet and milky on its own, like a milk oolong as a black tea. I found this tea started off amazing but then falls short in gongfu style. Citramalt is a good thermos/grandpa style tea for cold days. I threw Citramalt Black into my grandpa/travel tea rotation and I have been quite enjoying the smooth, milky, and fruity flavor.
Quicky Black
Quicky Black is another Fujian black tea. The leaf has a floral fruity scent, but the hot wet leaf smells like grapes and biscuits.
The handout noted to either skip the rinse or do a very short one. I decided to skip the rinse, but I did steep it 1 gram of leaf per 15ml vessel size.
First and Second Infusion: Quicky Black has a strong aroma of cream and red grapes. The aroma was stronger than the actual tea, which tasted like rock sugar. Surprisingly, the tea has a soft balmy feel. The combination made for a smooth tea.
Third and Fourth Infusion: There is a woodsy and book note in this tea, behind the creamy grapey notes that perk up with a tannic finish. The aftertaste had a soft honey note.
Fifth and Sixth Infusion: Quicky Black is now astringent with a creamy profile, of what flavor is left of it. The final infusion had some fruity notes but was incredibly light for the longer infusion I did.
Quicky Black has an excellent aroma with excellent smoothness. It is a short session, but excellent for the infusions I got. This black tea I could not find on White2tea’s site.
Chuan Bai
Another tea club exclusive, Chuan Bai is a Sichuan green tea processed as a white tea. It wouldn’t be the first time White2Tea used the tea club to test if a tea is a hit for a future tea.
The leaves have a spicy, grassy, and medicinal scent.
I used my usual white tea ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size. I went back and forth, as this white tea smells like I shouldn’t boil it, but I ended up doing it anyway. The hot wet leaf continues to have a spicy grassy scent.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: Boiling might have been a bad choice, but the tea tastes fine. Chuan Bai tastes sweet, juicy, grassy zesty, linen, and tulips. The white has a thick texture and a strong bright flavor, making for an excellent fresh white tea.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: The final infusions are weedy and even more zesty, but also astringent. 200F/93c would have been a better choice
The steeped leaf is pretty and quite bud heavy.
I liked the early infusions of Chuan Bai white for the complexity and strong flavor for a fresh white tea. Chuan Bai is excellent if you love young white teas, but find bud heavy ones lack flavor.
