2022 harvest of Taiwanese white tea made from Qing Xin cultivar grown with permaculture methods, along with the other two teas from this Snow Mist Farm series, an oolong and a black tea.
I prefer brewing this in a large gaiwan with less leaf than usual. For one, it is huge and unruly! It refuses to be crammed into my small porcelain teapot and will fit only in the the largest of steeper baskets for western brewing. I haven’t tried bowl.
Why I really prefer it brewed in my large glass gaiwan, though, is because there is an initial spicy, fresh-leafy, astringent edge to the leaf that is best mitigated in this manner. Once that fades, it takes long, hot absent-minded steeps beautifully and lasts forever. Smooth and deep herbal hay and dried leaf spice, peonies and floral sweetness, creamy-juicy swallow.
Maybe I’ll pay more attention to its character with the remaining leaf but I probably won’t because I’m enjoying it without diving into analysis. Fun find: a long strand of moss, lime green, stood out amongst the leaf.
Side note: my tea plants have developed an aphid infestation. The assamica variety has been hit the hardest; the Black Sea sininsis variety less so (these 2 represent the bulk of the plantings, I think around 100 plants). The lone surving sinensis from Fairhope Tea Plantation is untouched, as well as the Large Leaf sinsensis. A few have been spotted on the 2 unknown variety plants I found at a local nursery. I washed the plants with soap, let them dry, split a container of ladybugs between the two large raised beds, then zipped up some enclosures to keep the lady bugs mostly in to work their magic. Fingers crossed. Damage has been done but hopefully the plants bounce back.
Flavors: Astringent, Bread Dough, Chrysanthemum, Creamy, Dry Leaves, Floral, Herbal, Honeysuckle, Hot Hay, Juicy, Meadow, Moss, Smooth, Spicy, Sweet, Tree Fruit
I would try two other things to get rid of them (experience from our family greenhouse). 1) Get rid of ants. They are having “farms” on plants. 2) Consider planting lavender near the plants. I have heard they hate the smell. However not sure if it can survive in Cali, though.
Sorry to hear about the bugs! But the thought of turning out the Ladybug Battalion makes me smile :)