What-Cha’s Malawi Satemwa Antlers White Tea | Tea Review

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When I saw this distinct looking white tea on Instagram, I knew I had to find it and try it for myself!

Description: “A truly unique tea which is composed almost exclusively of stems, it produces an incredibly smooth and sweet taste composed of lychees and honey.”

Instructions: 90°C | 194°F | 2 tsps | 3-4 minutes

Review: While the general school of thought is that white teas made of the buds and top leaves are higher quality and tea with steams is considered to be lower quality, Satemwa Tea Estates decided to make this tea fully from the steams! “Antlers” is a spot on description of what the steams look like, which were slightly curved, thin, dark grey and pale with a honey, floral, and musky smell. Since the tea was made of steams, the recommendations suggested 2 tablespoons, as there is less flavour in the steams.

After infusing, the liquor was a dark amber brown honey colour with a nutty, fruity, and floral smell. The taste was surprisingly fruity, like apricots, and roasted/toasted with a woody element. It reminded me of bread crust with the sweetness picking up mid sip and the liquor tasting like wildflower honey. The end of the sip was vegetal like steamed asparagus with a hint of bitterness.

The wet steams were greenish olive brown colour and had a woody, slightly sour and musky damp earthy smell.

Having had more classic white teas like Silver Needle on my own, I really liked this spin on white teas! This reminded me of Kukicha which is a Japanese steam tea. In comparison, the kukichas I have tried are much shorter in length but some also had a roasted quality. Since this tea was bulky, I found using measuring spoons for spices (that are rectangle in shape) was a lot easier. Overall, this is a lovely tea for someone who likes more fruity or floral teas or wants to try something new (3/5 rating).

The question of the post: Have you had a steam tea before?

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