I saw a box of Clipper White Tea on a recent trip to the supermarket and it instantly brought back memories of when I first tried it in my teen years. This was the first white tea I ever tried, and although my tastes have developed to appreciate fine loose leaf white teas, this bagged version will always hold a place in my heart.
If you are new to exploring different types of tea, then this is a gentle and subtle tea to start with. I’d actually recommend it over a green tea for beginners, as it’s just a little smoother and less bitter. That being said, even unbleached ethical teabags like these from Clipper have their drawbacks.
Let’s delve into the flavour and brewing instructions for Clipper White Tea.
Clipper White Teabags at a Glance
- Origins: Organic and Fairtrade tea gardens in China
- Flavour: Light, mellow sweetness that’s reminiscent of stone fruits, with grassy notes
From the first sip, I’m reminded of why I loved this tea so much when I first tried it. It’s smooth and sweet with none of the hallmarks of a teabag-brewed tea. Superb!
Full Review – Clipper Teas Organic White Tea
- Type: Unbleached filter paper bags
- Tea: White tea
- Origin: China (province unspecified)
- Flavour Notes: Mellow, stone fruits, sweet, grass
- Aroma: Hay, fresh daisies, grass, honeydew melon, meadow flowers
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: Amazon or Clipper Website
Clipper’s teabags are pretty amazing in a simple way. They’re made from unbleached paper and wrapped in an outer foil package. I do recommend moving them to an airtight contain after opening, however. There’s not much aroma coming from the dried leaves, just a hint of hay, fresh daisies and grass.
It brews very quickly, so make sure you time it! You’re aiming for a light yellow/orange colour, as shown in my photos. White tea is rarely a strong flavoured brew. Once you’ve let it steep, the aroma really develops. It’s sweeter with honeydew melon notes and grassy summer meadow scents.
And that first sip takes me right back to the first cup of Clipper White Tea I ever drank. Wow.
Normally with bagged versions of high-quality teas, like fine oolongs and puerh, you lose so much of complexity. Tea bags of white tea are often very bitter once brewed too, as the tiny leaf pieces infuse far too quickly.
But somehow, Clipper avoids those pitfalls altogether. It’s a very smooth and silky-textured tea with notes of light mellow stone fruits. It’s naturally sweet and an excellent example of a typical white tea.
That’s why I highly recommend it for beginners!
How to Brew White Tea
For white tea, Clipper recommends boiling the kettle with fresh water, letting it sit for 1 minute, then pouring it over the teabag into your mug. Allow it to infuse for 1 to 3 minutes.
Well, I don’t entirely agree with this. They are right about using fresh water and the 1 to 3 minute brew time is what I’d also recommend for white teas… however, leaving the water for 1 minute isn’t going to be long enough.
Ideally, you want to use water that’s around 80°C for white tea. The best way to do this is use a kettle that can bring the water up to 80°C instead of boiling. The second-best way is to pour the boiling water into a mug and use a thermometer to judge when it’s cooled to 80°C – trust me, it takes longer than 1 minute.
This is important because brewing white tea at hot temperatures just kills the subtle nuances and delicate flavours while enhancing bitterness. It scalds the tea leaves! So, with white tea, be gentle.
Why Clipper Teas UK?
Clipper are one of my favourite teabag brands in the UK because they put so much effort and thought into quality. For example, this box of Clipper White Tea is certified organic by the Soil Association (which is a huge deal) and it has the Fairtrade logo on it too.
The teabags themselves hold 2g of white tea, which is pretty generous considering the low price of the box. The paper is unbleached, which is why it has that off-brown-white colour, to reduce water waste and water pollution.
Clipper claim that their tea is made from the buds and first leaves of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis) however it’s so finely chopped within the teabag that it’s impossible to tell by eye. The flavour, however, confirms this 100%.
Summary
Overall, this is an utterly delicious tea that I highly recommend. I think experienced loose leaf white tea drinkers will be impressed by just how good it is, and beginners will find it incredibly palatable and a great introduction to finer white tea grades. Good job, Clipper!
Tea Recommendation
It’s been a decade since I first tried this tea, and I still remember the experience. So that got me thinking – which of the teas that I’m drinking right now will I still remember fondly in 2032? I think it will be Tea Musketeers Avalanche Andrea, for that smooth smoky chocolate note.