[In Stock Now] 2023 spring batch
White Peony with a silver white heart
White Peony, also called Bai Mu Dan (白牡丹) in Chinese. It is a kind of high grade white tea, which is shaped like a flower because of its green leaves with a silver-white heart. With the plucking standard of 1 bud and 1-2 leaves, the appearance of the tea buds and the leaves are fat and tender, full of white pekoe. Tea buds and leaves are connected with branches, the back of the leaf is covered with white hairs, the leaf edge is slightly rolled towards the back of the leaf, just like the leaves are sandwiched with a silver pekoe heart in a “heart-embracing shape”.
White Peony is harvested in early Spring, a little later than picking silver needles and a little earlier than Shou Mei. At that harvesting period, the content of the substance has been gradually enriched. It has both the fresh fragrance of silver needles and the sweetness and mellowness of longevity eyebrows. The taste is mellow and full of pekoe and floral notes, and the fragrance is fresh and long-lasting. The soup color is bright apricot yellow, and the wet leaves is tender. It is like a modest gentleman, everything is appropriate and natural.
Does White Peony only have floral fragrance?
I believe that many tea lovers like white peony because they are fascinated by its rich floral fragrance. Although white peony is famous for its aroma, it really does not mean that it has only one aroma. For a good quality white peony, there are not only floral fragrances, but also elegant pekoe flavor and sweetness, herbal fragrances and so on.
Moreover, the floral fragrance is rich in layers, like orchids and osmanthus, fresh and tender, and you can taste the feeling of a hundred flowers blooming in the tea soup.
Take the 2021 White Peony as an example. When smelling the dry tea, it is a fresh herbaceous fragrance, with the fresh fragrance of dried plant leaves. In the first steep, you can smell the fragrance of flowers, grasses, bean and bamboo shoots. It is a very fresh smell, like walking into the bamboo forest after the rain, cool and fresh. In the second steep, the rich fragrance of flowers hits the nostrils. It is a combination of sweet floral aromas such as acacia, magnolia, osmanthus and gardenia. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a “flower bomb”. In the third punch, it still has a rich, sweet, soft and sweet floral fragrance. Like holding a lot of petals in your hands, it is fragrant and charming.
The unique craft of white tea is the “sun drying craft”
The making process of white peony
The most important part of the production process of white tea is withering. The picking standard of white peony is mainly spring tea, usually one bud and two leaves, with white hairs. It is being withered naturally on sunny days in spring. The white tea withered by the sun has a clear and aromatic fragrance, the tea soup is sweet and the Chaqi/ tea energy is strengthen, forming a unique floral fragrance. During the refining process, large tea stalks, wax leaves, red tea leaves, and dark tea leaves need to be picked out and finally it is baked to set off and keep the aroma of the tea.
Storage and medicinal value of white tea – “one-year tea, three-year medicine, and seven-year treasure”
Time is the catalyst for the aging of white tea, the inner quality of the white peony is undergoing beautiful changes through years of storage. Tea is rich in amino acids, tea polyphenols, minerals, multivitamins, zinc, selenium and other trace elements needed by the human body. White tea has the saying of “one-year tea, three-year medicine, and seven-year treasure”. Drinking white peony tea often can reduce fever and dispel heat. It is most suitable for drinking in summer and makes people feel refreshing.
After years of storage, the aroma substance of white tea will be transformed. The change in tasting profile usually become apparent after 3 years of storage. Although aged white tea is being described as “Medicine”, and it is usually associated with the “Medicinal/ Chinese Herbal aroma”, its tasting note is way more diverse and delicious. In fact, aged white tea can be very diverse in its aroma , including the notes of jujube, honey, fruity, dried bamboo leaves, herbs, and it is apparent in its mellowness.
Weight per pack: 25g/ 50g/ 100g
Tea Farm Location: Organic Tea Farm at Dian Tou Town, Fuding, Fujian Province, China
Harvest Time: Spring 2023
Tasting Notes: refreshing, clean, smooth, mellow, sweet floral fragrance
Tea Liquor Colour: Bright and clear light yellow/apricot colour