Hello all,

I have been heavily into tea for over ten years and consider myself to
be somewhat of an expert... however I have been totally stumped by, of
all places, a "Feng Shui Tea Set" from AVON. The tea set came with two
stoneware yin and yang teacups, a tea ball, and a foil package of loose
tea labeled simply "Black & White Tea." Of all the great teas I have
enjoyed, this tea is far and away the best tea I have ever tasted,
however I cannot figure out what type of black and white tea makes this
exact blend. I have tried time and time again to make a similar blend
and I never quite get the taste right, the black tea is what I cannot
figure out. I tried Keemun but it isn't right.

It's a longshot but if anyone has any idea at all or even some insight
I'll take it! Thanks.

wrote:
> stoneware yin and yang teacups, a tea ball, and a foil package of loose
> tea labeled simply "Black & White Tea." Of all the great teas I have
> enjoyed, this tea is far and away the best tea I have ever tasted,
> however I cannot figure out what type of black and white tea makes this
> exact blend. I have tried time and time again to make a similar blend

Could it be Yunnan? This is a shot in the dark. What does the tea look
like? At what temperature do you brew such a blend? Is the White Tea
actually a white tea or is it some kind of herb or flower? Can you
identify it (the tea or otherwise)?

Steve

Steve Hay wrote:
> Could it be Yunnan? This is a shot in the dark. What does the tea look
> like? At what temperature do you brew such a blend? Is the White Tea
> actually a white tea or is it some kind of herb or flower? Can you
> identify it (the tea or otherwise)?
>
> Steve

Here is the only link on the internet with a photo:
http://avon.youravon.com/shared/mana...esstable1.html

It is surprisingly high quality loose tea. It is a needle type white
tea, I believe to be Peony White Needle... possibly Silver Needle or
something similar. And the black tea is a very mild tea that is not as
dark as keemun but not quite as light as an oolong. It tastes right in
between a black and an oolong too.

The thing is that it is 95% black tea and 5% white, so just about any
white tea added to the black included would result in pretty much the
same taste, and is why figuring out the black has me tearing my hair
out.

--
"I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows,
and Henry knows we know it."
We're a knowledgeable family." ::smiles:: -Geoffrey, Lion in Winter
> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Steve Hay wrote:
>> Could it be Yunnan? This is a shot in the dark. What does the tea look
>> like? At what temperature do you brew such a blend? Is the White Tea
>> actually a white tea or is it some kind of herb or flower? Can you
>> identify it (the tea or otherwise)?
>>
>> Steve
>
> Here is the only link on the internet with a photo:
> http://avon.youravon.com/shared/mana...esstable1.html
>
> It is surprisingly high quality loose tea. It is a needle type white
> tea, I believe to be Peony White Needle... possibly Silver Needle or
> something similar. And the black tea is a very mild tea that is not as
> dark as keemun but not quite as light as an oolong. It tastes right in
> between a black and an oolong too.
>
> The thing is that it is 95% black tea and 5% white, so just about any
> white tea added to the black included would result in pretty much the
> same taste, and is why figuring out the black has me tearing my hair
> out.
>


This is a complete guess but could it just be a China congou black, like a
guangdong black or panyang congou? That's what I think of when you say it's
between a Keemun and an oolong, because the leaves look large and the
congous (to my admittedly limited experience) have that sort of carmelly
sweet overtone that some oolongs have. You could write to Avon and find out.


Melinda

> wrote:
>
>I have been heavily into tea for over ten years and consider myself to
>be somewhat of an expert... however I have been totally stumped by, of
>all places, a "Feng Shui Tea Set" from AVON. The tea set came with two
>stoneware yin and yang teacups, a tea ball, and a foil package of loose
>tea labeled simply "Black & White Tea." Of all the great teas I have
>enjoyed, this tea is far and away the best tea I have ever tasted,
>however I cannot figure out what type of black and white tea makes this
>exact blend. I have tried time and time again to make a similar blend
>and I never quite get the taste right, the black tea is what I cannot
>figure out. I tried Keemun but it isn't right.

Write Avon and ask their buyer what the type of tea is. Perhaps they
can start selling the tea seperately. If they don't intend on doing
that they should be willing to tell you where they get it.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Write Avon and ask their buyer what the type of tea is. Perhaps they
> can start selling the tea seperately. If they don't intend on doing
> that they should be willing to tell you where they get it.
> --scott

Yep tried this a number of times with no luck at all. I even called one
of the product buyers directly with no luck. This has been a quest ever
since my sister bought me this cheap little tea set from AVON. Never
did either of us think it would contain my favorite tea of all time

The product was discontinued in 2003 so all info is gone and I have no
real chance of figuring it out. I did save some of the tea sealed up
though in hopes that someone may be able to figure it out someday.