People keep asking me about my favourite tea, and every time I receive these questions, it makes me think. As my perception does change according to the season, and mostly my mood. I mentioned earlier in this challenge that, my introduction to the diverse world of Chinese teas was thanks to an oolong tea. It was a Wuyi rock tea and only after drinking it a few times, I came to realise that it is an exceptional tea and I enjoyed it thoroughly. So for a long time, I used to say oolongs are my favourite. Later I discovered others, such as pu-erh, other dark teas, phenomenal white, yellow and green teas. And currently, I started to enjoy aged white teas quite a lot, and I feel like them more than other teas (except for some good old pu-erh on a cold winter day is irreplaceable).
This tea was also very satisfying. By just sniffing this tea (and even by judging on the colour of the leaves), it is easy to guess that it has been aged for a few years. However, its taste does not give you this, which is still crisp and fresh with elegant floral notes. Overall, I thought it was delightful to drink and gave me great energy.
White tea is rich in catechins which not only determine the taste of the tea (slightly sweet, bitter etc.) but also give the tea its health benefits. They have unstable chemical structures, and they disappear as the leaves are oxidised. This is the reason why black teas are not as rich in catechins as green or white teas. According to this source, the health benefits of catechin include: improvement of cardiovascular health (Vuong et al., 2010), reduce lipid derivatives (weight loss) and lowering the risk of cancer (Klaus et al., 2005).
Tea profile:
Type: White tea
Origin: Fuding, Fujian Harvest time: 2015
Leaf colour: Tones of brown and green with some white fuzz Liquor colour: Yellow
Tea Aroma: Woody and spicy
Tea taste: Crips and refreshing with floral notes and slight sweetness
Steeping: 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 about four times.
Shelf life: Can be aged.