Bai Mu Dan, Wild, Early Spring 2017

This beautiful tea’s Chinese name means “white peony”, referring to the tea’s signature white tea hair and the way it unfurls when brewed. A traditionally made white tea uses nothing but the sun and the wind – the tea is laid out on bamboo sheets at the perfect angle to catch scorching sunray while simultaneously being cool down by natural wind. With great aging potential, this tea is currently nutty with an herbal touch.

Because white tea never goes on high heat during the making, it has most enzymes remain and theoretically has the most aging potential. A well made white tea should be sun dried, gives a warm, full mouth feel. White tea is quite fermented and has a yeasty profile. When over brewed, a white tea can taste a little peppery spicy, but never bitter. This particular Bai Mu Dan stands out from the rest with its nutty and herbal profile. A tea aging is merely the tea completes its enzyme metabolism, just like the process of tea making, but at snail speed. The finish line is somewhere around red tea. So the flavor profile also develops from floral to fruity to dry fruits, with some high points and low points along the way and plenty of nuances.