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The whitest green tea – Anji Bai Cha Green Tea
Is Anji Bai Cha “White Tea” or “Green Tea”?
Anji Bai Cha 安吉白茶, is a famous kinds of green tea from Anji, Zhejiang province. Its name “Bai Cha” means “White Tea” in Chinese, but it does not means it is a kind of white tea, It is actually categorized as green tea according to its making process. The Anji Bai Cha we chosen this year is the first flush batch of tea harvested on high mountain area in late of March. Although the weather is relatively cold this year, the tea farmer insist not to use any agricultural chemical to speed up the sprout of the tea, so this first flush batch of Anji Bai Cha is harvested a bit later than last year. The tea is made by a skillful tea maker with more than 30 years of tea making experience, and the quality of this batch of first flush tea do amazed us on how sweet and refreshing it is.
Making process of Anji Bai Cha: After the fresh leaves is harvested, the leaves is spread on bamboo trays for “tan fang”- which means the fresh leaves is wilted for a very short time in order to slightly lose the content of water; it is then fall into the step of green-killing by pan-firing. The green-killed leaves then undergone the step of shaping to form the needle-shaped leaves. The last step is drying and re-drying by baking for two times.
Why does Anji Bai Cha taste so sweet?
Anji Bai Cha is special of its high content of amino acid and relatively lower polyphenols than other green tea, which will greatly reduce its bitterness. It is one of the most refreshing and sweetest green tea, the mouthfeel is smooth, layered and buttery. Because of its high content of amino acid, it is having an elegant umami taste, it is also very sweet with no astringency at all, which is a perfect choice for green tea lover if you like sweet green tea with low astringency and high sweetness.
Why is it called “Bai Cha”?
The special cultivar of Anji Bai Cha is called Bai Ye Yi Hao (translated as White Leaf No. 1), its buds and leaves is unique in its whitish-green colour. Researches found that this special varietal is especially sensitive to temperature change , the albino effect started when the environmental temperature of Anji is below 20°-22°C in early Spring, it significantly lower the concentrations of chlorophyll and polyphenols, but at the same time significantly raise the total amino acid concentrations. When the temperature become higher than 23°C, the chlorophyll level started to be higher and the leaves will turn back into green colour. Based on this special albino characteristics, the harvest time is very short – usually within 30 days, because the whitish-green tea leaves can only be harvested in early cold spring. Once the tea leaves are processed, it is not that white in colour, its dry leaves appeared to be waxy and in yellowish-green colour, but you can still found an undertone of white colour its wet leaves.
Harvest Date: 29 March 2024
Weight per pack: 25g/ 50g
Tea Farm Location: Anji, Zhejiang Province, China
Varietal: Bai Ye Yi Hao/ White Leaf No. 1
Tasting Notes: smooth, layered and buttery, flowery, umami, sweet with no astringency.
Dry Leaves Appearance: pine needle, yellowish green
Tea Liquor Colour: bright and clear light yellow-green
Brewing Method (adjust with your own taste):
Gaiwan Style: 3-5g Tea| 150-200ml water (80-85°c) | 1-3 infusion : 10-15’s, After : Add 5’s each
Glass Style: prepare a tall glass, pre-warm the glass by rinsing it, fill your glass with 80-85°c water, add tea leaves (3g), let it rest for 1 minute, enjoy (Don’t drink the whole glass, left 1/3 of Tea liquor in the glass for re-steeping, add 30’s each time)
