C. sinensis var. blended varieties; Menglian, Pu’er City, Yunnan, 1400-1800m; Autumn 2020, bud and 1 leaf, EU Organic certified, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
The dry leaves are sage green and black with longish, pale silver buds and they have a sharp, pungent scent, like dried raspberries, red berries, and tropical fruits. The wet leaves appear to be pale green and brown, with a sharp, aromatic, vegetal scent, with a hint of wintergreen, and subtle undertones of honey.
3g of leaves were steeped in 150ml of water for 20-30sec@75-85deg. C. The brewed tea has a thin, pale yellow colour, and a vague peach blossom aroma. In the mouth it is syrupy, viscous, sweet, mildly tingling on the tongue, and has a late, mild buttery finish, whilst it tastes mellow, comforting, luscious, sweet, mildly peppery… quite fresh, with retronasal floral hints.
Compared to yesterday’s tea, this is a fundamentally different tasting tea. It is pleasant, and entertaining with no negative body impact. I thoroughly enjoy this tea.
C. sinensis var. dabai; Tea Master Wu Zhijian, Puding Pan Xi, Dayang Shan, Fuding, Fujian, 700m; Spring, 2017, hand plucked, 2 leaves & occasional buds, White Peony Grade 2, white tea process. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
The dry tea consists of light and dark green leaves, many broken, and some stems, with occasional silver grey furry buds, and is resplendent in carob, candy cane, & black cherry scents. The wet leaves are olive green and brown in color, with a vegetal, hard candy & honey aroma.
Flash steeping for 10 sec@90-95deg. C results in pronounced minerality in the lingering, mouthwatering finish. The brewed tea is golden yellow, sparkling, with a chestnut, and broken peach pit aroma. In the mouth there is a creamy texture, mildly stimulating, and is fresh on the tongue, and leaves a lingering sweetness with lasting retronasal carob hints.
For some reason, this tea doesn’t appeal all that well to me. I find, after the second steeping, that my stomach tends to churn and turn in a not entirely pleasant manner, continues for quite some time after accompanied by a sense of bloating and occasional burpage.
C. sinensis var. Dabai; Ningshi Shigulan Agricultural Co., Pingqiao Village, Chengbei Community, Shuangcheng Town, Zherong County, Ningde City, Fujian Province; Autumn, 2018; buds only, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
Dry leaf appearance of Zherong Baihao Yinzhen is longer, thinner, and slightly darker than Fuding Baihao. It is also more slender and includes the occasional dark leaf tip. Its aroma aroma is fundamentally different, pleasant, fragrant, with hints of peach, pear, lychee, and melon. Wet leaves become more noticably green and maintain colour variation from light to dark. The wet leaves have a noticeably acrid scent, with a slight undertone of sweet stone fruit.
Liquor is pale pear in colour and has a slight, pleasant, buttery scent. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a peppery bite, followed by a drying astringent finish in the throat. The taste is mild with a very faint hint of lychee, nashi pear, and sweet stone fruit.
4g of tea was steeped in in 50ml of water for 10sec.@80deg. C then a further 100ml of water was added for 60sec.@80deg. C.
This is as lovely, aromatic and fruity tea which is a pleasure to drink. Is it true Baihao Yinzhen tea? Many adamantly insist, from appearance, it is not – “buds are too thin, poor quality!” That’s a controversy still to solve.
Zherong Country is the direct neighbour on the eastern border to Fuding City: considered the “Home” of “North Road” Silver Needle Tea; and two counties further west is Zhenghe County in Nanping Prefecture: the centre for “South Road” Silver Needle Tea. Curiously, all three counties seem to occupy a similar latitude, so the designation of North or South appears to be somewhat hair-splitting.
What is clear, is that geography and terroir is critically important to the designation, taste, and appearance, of this tea style. It does not smell, or taste like Fuding Baihoa Yinzhen, the character is completely different. But? Is that a bad thing? Is it something else that deserves it’s own space, rather than accusations of being an imposter? I do like the drinking experience that this tea brings.
Spring, 2018; C. sinensis var. Dàbái; elev. unknown, Fuding, Guanyang, Fujian; young buds: one flag-one spear, pre-Qingming, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
The dry leaves appear to be thick, fat, sage green, closed buds with silver hairs all over, and have an earthy, biscuit like scent, with a hint of charcoal; when wet the leaves become more ore less uniformly green with occasional yellow hints whilst they have a notably sharp, and mild acrid like wet ash aroma.
The brewed tea, which was steeped with 4g of tea in 50ml of water for 10sec.@80deg. C then a further 100ml of water was added for 60sec.@80deg. C.; has a white pear to pale yellow colour, accompanied by a mild buttery aroma. In the mouth it has a creamy, milky texture, is slightly thin and watery on the sides of the tongue, with hints of pepper, and a subtly metallic sensation, followed by a lingering sweet finish.The taste precedes from being full, creamy, mildly buttery with floral notes on swallowing, followed by an earthy, metallic, mouthwatering drift into a long, sweet aftertaste and a gradual drying presence in the throat.
This tea is now three years old and according to the saying, “One Year is tea, two years is medicine, three years is treasure;” this tea should be at its optimal best, IF it was stored well.
From my research, there seems to be two types of Silver Needle Tea from Fujian: “North Road” from Fuding City in Ningde prefecture, and “South Road” from Zhenghe in Nanping prefecture.
Comparing my tasting notes from last year, this tea seems to be mellower, and slightly darker in colour, but that could be attributed to brewing differences related to time and temperature. It does seem to have a notable minerality to it however, this does not detract in any way from its dominant, sweet, lingering finish, which is very pleasant.
Post-Spring Festival, 2017; var. 300+ y.o. wild trees; Dayao Shan, Lingcan, Yunnan; very young juvenile buds, Sun Dried, minimally processed White Tea; 1800+ m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiānDeChá.
Infusion: 3g in 150ml for 50-60sec.@90-100deg. C
Dry leaf aroma: lemon, apricot, tangerine peel, hint of fresh ginger; Wet leaf aroma: spicy, black cardamom, smoked ham; Liquor: pale lemon yellow, with a dusty, cinnamon, vanilla, and slight candy cane aroma; Mouthfeel/Taste:thick, viscous, creamy, mildly tingling, sweet, with a mild fish bone, prickle the throat aftertaste; Flavour: milky, floral, sweet spice aromatics, with a mild florist shop vegetal finish.
Infusion: 5g in 250ml, steeped for 5min. @90deg. C
Opinion: From Five Element Tea Theory, Old White Tea can be drink anytime. This tea, today has a beautiful glowing, golden amber colour, a creamy mouthfeel, sweet, honeyed taste with hints of tangerine and grapefruit, and a mouthwatering, freshmint finish.
2017, Autumn; var. Dabai; Fuding, Fujian; bud & 2-3 leaves, white tea processed, aged, loose leaf;, Gaoshan Gongmei Laobai Cha, High Mountain Tribute Eyebrow Old White Tea; 2017, Autumn; var. Dabai; Fuding, Fujian; bud & 2-3 leaves, white tea processed, aged, loose leaf; elev. unknown; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
Opinion: Today’s tea is loose leaf aged white tea WITH dried tangerine peel, stepped for 4-5 min. I’ve been told that whilst on the vaccine I should not drink strong tea. Now, from published, Chinese research, tangerine peel may be good at combating the Corona Virus, and from Five Element Theory, Old white Tea can be drink anytime. So, needing something more than just warm or cool water, I’m drinking this tea.
Spring, Mingqian, 2020 ; var. bai ye yi hao – white leaf No. 1; Tianmu Lake, Liyang County, Jiangsu; Bud and 1-2 leaves, green tea process; 250-350m. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
Dry leaf: alfalfa, straw, hints of dry biscuits, pea shoots or sprouts; Wet leaf: strong vegetal aroma, fading to a mild fishiness; Liquor: light yellow straw colour with a faint, honey blossom aroma Mouthfeel: creamy, thick; lightly astringent, soft lingering hints of white pepper; Taste: Chestnut, green, snowpeas, sweet, floral, honey;
Opinion: This is a confusingly described tea. It’s a, “golden bud” tea, which sometimes translates as, “yellow tea,” it’s called a, ”white tea,” and it is processed as a, ”green tea.” This really does my head in just thinking about it. Would love to have a more detailed understanding of this particular tea.
Autumn, 2020; var. Camelia sinensis (hybridized sub-varietals); (Lucy Wang YNteas Agri Tech Co., Ltd.) Menglian, Yunnan; bud and 1-2 leaves, EU Organic, white tea process; 1400-1800m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
Infusion: 3g in 150ml for 20-30sec@85-95 deg. C
Dry Leaf Aroma: spicy, sweet melon, fragrant; Wet Leaf Aroma: sweet, palm sugar, vanilla, pleasent; Liquor: pale amber with a soft, loquat scent; Mouthfeel: creamy, thick, peppery, stimulating, moderately thick finish and mildly fresh, bitter aftertaste; Taste: dried tangerine peel, pomello, ginger, with a hint of star-anise/licorice, and very soft honey sweet finish;
Opinion: This is a pleasant, spicy tea with vague, faint sweet and floral retronasal hints. It is fresh and stimulating on the palate, and drinks easily. I would go so far as to say this is a good candidate breakfast tea.
Autumn, 2020; var. Camelia sinensis (blended sub-varietals); (Lucy Wang YNteas Agri Tech Co., Ltd.) Menglian, Yunnan, (YNteas Agri Tech Co., Ltd.); bud and 1-2 leaves, EU Organic, White tea process; 1400-1800m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
Infusion: 2x 3 finger pinches in 200ml for 30-40sec@90-100deg. C
Dry Leaf Aroma: sharp, touch of apricot, and molasses; Wet Leaf Aroma: sweet, honey, musk stick, candy cane, sharp, minerally; Liquor: dull amber, with a slight candy floss scent; Mouthfeel: thick, viscous, syrupy, stimulating, tingling, mouthwatering, astringent, spicy, savoury, with a late onset of sweetness; Taste: hints of tangerine, licorice, lychee, with a mild, melon-like sweet finish;
Opinion: This is a dark, murky, “savoury” tea, that invokes fantasies of walking through a burning coil-draped temple hall into the sunlight. Although it has a balance of sweetness, it’s hallmark is its pronounced, spicy, savoury presence.
