Over the past holiday season, I noticed that Teabox had a large range of sample packs. Teabox is an Indian tea brand that was founded in 2012. Based on their website, they have a nice selection of teas and a few of their sets caught my eye, so I had to buy them!
I have three white teas from Teabox: Billimalai Winter Frost White Tea, Darjeeling Spring Silver Needle White Tea, and Sweet Melody. Most the white teas I’ve tried were silver needles such as the teas from Tao Tea Leaf, Genuine Teas, and Bitterleaf Teas, so I am familiar with one of the teas.
Billimalai Winter Frost White Tea
Description: “A mellow, smooth-textured white tea that even tea novices will appreciate.”
Review: I admit I am still novice to teas, especially when it comes to white teas. The dry blend was grassy, but when wet the leaves became more fruity. The pale yellow liquor had a grassy aroma as well.
I steeped this based on the instructions (2.25 tsp, 6oz water, 85C at 5 min). However, this tea had minor grassy notes that verged on bitterness. It also left the mouth feeling very dry. When I read other reviews, I tasted very different notes than from what was reported online. I may reconsider re-steeping this one and try steeping for less and play around with the water temperature (2/5 rating).
- Type: White tea
- Origin: Nilgiri
- Caffeine: Low
- Ingredients: Tea
- Company: Teabox
Darjeeling Spring Silver Needle White Tea
Description: “A Darjeeling ‘yin zhen’, nothing less than the finest white tea of the year.”
Review: I always love looking at silver needles because of the furry buds, and this is no exception! I was actually surprised when I smelled the dry blend because of how malty it smelled. It shifted and became more grassy with some light chocolate notes after being steeped.
Despite it being a white tea, this silver needle reminded me more of a Golden Monkey with its cocoa notes. It also had some astringency at the tail end. The liquor was a light tan colour (3/5 rating).
- Type: White tea
- Origin: India
- Caffeine: Medium
- Ingredients: Tea
- Company: Teabox
Sweet Melody
Description: “Harmonious chorus of sweet and warm flavors; delicate on palate.”
Review: This white tea blend had more floral notes when dry, but became much more vegetable after steeping. The label also mentioned that add-ons could be lemon and sugar/honey. However, I drank mine plain.
True to its description, this tea does have some warm flavours, such as ginger. However, I feel conflicted about it as a blend. I think it makes sense that the ginger was mild, but for me, I always enjoy when the ginger has a bit of a kick. I didn’t really taste any of the other ingredients. The liquor was a pale yellow (3/5 rating).
- Type: White tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: High
- Ingredients: White tea, ginger, pomegranate, peppermint, saffron
- Company: Teabox
Final Thoughts
While the first tea I tried wasn’t my cup of tea, I did enjoy the other two. I am pretty happy that the white teas were fairly different in taste and appearance. I am interested in trying more of their teas, which is a good thing because I have a fair bit of it… I may have gone a bit overboard when buying!