I have previously reviewed a decent black tea and not so good oolong tea from Malawi. I do not think it is fair to judge the oolong standard as it requires a lot of skill make and like other new tea growing nations, Malawi also need some time to develop their most suitable cultivars for making oolong. Good news is that their white tea was spot on!
Shou Mei from Malawi. I like how it rhymes! It was medium bodied, smooth and slightly sweet. I think its tasting profile or even “tea qi” is different from Chinese Shou Mei. My first view was that, despite being a young tea (from 2019) its taste was somewhat multi-layered with fruity (apricots) notes and some woodiness which I normally associate with aged Shou Mei. I thought that this tea has potential internationally. Actually, this tea was sent to me by my friend. However, when I checked online I saw that there are several dealers selling Shou Mei or White Peony from Malawi. There is also a Malawian specialty white the called Zomba Pearls. I would like to try that one to see if the shape adds anything to the flavour.
Tea profile:
Type: White
Origin: Malawi
Harvest time: 2019
Leaf colour: Tones of green, red and brown
Liquor colour: Golden honey
Tea aroma: Fruity and woody
Tea taste: Sweet with peach flavour and complex woody undernotes
Steeping/brewing: Place 6 g of this tea in a porcelain gaiwan and add about 100 ml water at around 95°C. Rinse after 5 sec. Steep for 10 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 10 seconds. You can steep this tea multiple times.