I purchased a cake of White2tea’s 2020 Zero Sum white tea blind. A couple of tea friends said this white tea is excellent, and I have this terrible habit of blind caking all the white teas, regardless if it is over $100 a cake/ $0.50+ a gram. Since posting my haul photos to Instagram, I’ve gotten a number of requests for a review of this tea. I see White2tea doesn’t have much stock left and I dislike posting reviews of teas that are out of stock (as they are just a selfish post to myself to refer to when I check on the tea aging process), so I am sneaking this post in.
What is 2020 Zero Sum? This white tea is an experimental blend of young and aged material, promised to be aged and creamy.
Leaf and Steeping Method
2020 Zero Sum white tea has a strong creamy berry fruity scent.
For this gongfu session, I used 1 gram of leaf per 18ml of vessel size, steeped with boiling water. I usually go 1g/20ml but I am too lazy to shave off a few leaves. After a steep, 2020 Zero Sum has a creamy date scent.
Tasting of White2tea’s 2020 Zero Sum White Tea
First and Second Infusion: I’ve had an aged/young white tea blend before, and this tea certainly leans on the aged profile with a potent flavor. 2020 Zero Sum white tea is very thick and creamy gooey in texture. The flavor is sweet, dried dates and honey, but also tulips and peppers.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: White2tea’s 2020 Zero Sum holds onto the aged flavors of dates, raisins, tobacco, cinnamon, and honey. At the end of the sip, the tea slips into the younger flavors that are bright floral with a little bitter bite. There is a sweet, watered-down cinnamon aftertaste.
After four infusions, the colour gets quite ruby.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: 2020 Zero Sum white tea is going more savory than sweet, tasting more tobacco, medicinal tart and bitter. The aftertaste brings back the creamy sweetness from earlier infusions.
Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Infusion: In the end, 2020 Zero Sum has slipped back into a light, but creamy medicinal date flavor. I am guessing the last set of infusions was the young material creating stewed bitterness but has steeped out. There is, however, a bit of astringency, but it is fleeting with the oily texture.
Comments
White2tea’s 2020 Zero Sum white tea is excellent to drink now! I enjoyed the wonderful aged white tea flavors, helluva lotta complexity, and engaging gongfu session as the flavors change each infusion. If you enjoy aged and young white tea, Zero Sum is a nice cake to own.
The big question is how will Zero Sum age? I find aged white tea does hit a limit and it all just tastes like a dark, medicinal, date, and storage fest. That said, I am not sure when the young material will do when it catches up in 10 years, but I doubt I’ll have any Zero Sum left in 10 years.
I do think White2tea’s Zero Sum is expensive, $112 for a 200g cake, but there is certainly some aged material in this to ramp the price. I am glad I blind purchased this, but the $112 price keeps me from buying extra, leaving you readers to fight for the last few tongs.
