Perchs Iconics White Temple Tea

Perchs Iconics White Temple Tea, white tea from A.C. Perch's Thehandel

Perchs Iconics White Temple Tea from A.C. Perch's Thehandel is a loose blend of white tea and candied fruit, packaged in the Copenhagen tea house's iconic tin. Pineapple, mango, and papaya are visible as chunks among the light leaves.

Perchs Iconics White Temple Tea is the fruity house blend from A.C. Perch's Thehandel in Copenhagen, presented here in the house's iconic tea tin with 80 grams of loose leaf. The delicate base of white Mao Feng and Silver Needle is topped with candied pineapple, mango, and papaya, along with orange peel, strawberry, redcurrant, apricot, and sour cherry. The small tin is the handy companion to the larger storage canisters.

Fruity and bright with pineapple and apricot

When brewed, this white tea remains light in the glass—more of a pale gold than a bold infusion—and smells of pineapple and orange peel.

It feels soft and round on the palate, as the sweetness comes from the candied fruits rather than a sugar spoon. Pineapple and orange carry the flavor the furthest, while redcurrant and sour cherry provide a hint of acidity underneath; the aftertaste remains mild. The delicate white leaf stays in the background, as it does not wish to overpower the fruit.

This blend does not require milk or sugar when served with afternoon tea, as both would only mask the candied fruit.

White tea does not like boiling water

White tea cannot handle one hundred degrees, which is why White Temple Tea should be steeped in eighty-degree water for six minutes.

Six grams per liter is sufficient, and those who wait longer than instructed will introduce a bitterness to the cup that this blend does not possess on its own. As a loose leaf, it clearly shows what it is made of, as the large leaves and whole pieces of fruit visibly expand in the pot.

On warm days, the same infusion can be served chilled in a glass with a slice of orange. White tea is not caffeine-free, as it comes from the same plant as black and green tea. The young buds are simply withered and dried after harvesting.

Copenhagen's oldest tea house and its tin

White Temple Tea is blended at A.C. Perch's Thehandel on Kronprinsensgade, where Niels Brock Perch opened his tea shop in April 1835. He named it after his third-oldest son, Axel Christian.

The same family has run the establishment ever since, now in its seventh generation under Stine and Christian Hincheldey, and the shop looks just as it did back then. The old counter still stands, the gilded leather wallpaper still hangs on the walls, and the apothecary scale is maintained rather than replaced. In 2002, Queen Margrethe II appointed the house as a Purveyor to the Royal Danish Court.

The Iconics tins bring this Copenhagen image to your shelf in a smaller format, and 80 grams is a good size if you want to get to know a variety. The same blend is also available in the large round storage canister, while the White Temple in pyramid bags is blended according to its own recipe. Further varieties can be found in the A.C. Perch's Thehandel collection and on the loose tea shelf.

The blend was created in-house and has since inspired numerous imitators in Denmark. The original can be found in Copenhagen.