So, I’ve been trying to figure out what this white tea smell is all about. I mean, you hear about it, see it in fancy stores, but what’s the actual deal?

First off, I grabbed a bunch of different white teas. Like, a whole mess of them. Silver Needle, White Peony, some long-named ones from the store clerk’s recommendation – you name it. My kitchen counter looked like a tea explosion, I’m not kidding. Then I started brewing, sniffing, and making notes like some kind of tea-obsessed scientist.

Here’s the thing: they don’t all smell the same! Some are super delicate, almost like fresh air. And then others have this kind of dried-hay thing going on, which I guess I kind of like. Here’s what I’ve been jotting down after each sniffing and brewing experiment:

My White Tea Sniffing and Brewing Notes

• Silver Needle: This one is like… barely there. It has a very slight sweetness, maybe a tiny bit floral? Honestly, I almost missed it.
• White Peony: Okay, this one is more noticeable. It has a stronger floral scent, a little bit like those flowers you’d find in a garden, but not like the ones that are overpowering. It smelled kind of sweet too, like honey, but just a hint.
• Gong Mei: I tried hard, but I couldn’t figure out what this one smelled like! But I noted down that it’s not floral or sweet.
• Shou Mei: This one was interesting, it smelled like dried fruits, something like raisins, maybe?

After all that, I think I started to get it. The smell of white tea is more about what it’s not than what it is. It’s not strong or in-your-face. It’s delicate, and you have to pay attention to catch those subtle notes. My nose got a real workout!

I’m still no expert, but I feel like I learned a lot from this whole experiment. I even started appreciating those subtle differences between each type of white tea. I’ll keep exploring because I found that white tea is just so interesting. This white tea deep dive was a total blast!