Superior white peony is how the vendor calls this tea. However, it does not mean the highest quality. According to the vendor's classification, this white peony comes after 'head picking white peony king', 'white peony king' and 'special white peony'. The difference stems from picking quality and picking standard. Perhaps there are also other factors such as the picking time that affects the classification.
This tea was picked in the early spring of 2020 from tea gardens in Fujian around at 1000 above sea level. The tea cultivar is Fuan Dabai (big leaf) species. Compared to this white peony from Zhenghe, I thought this tea a little less complex. It was fresh and mineral and, in my view, it lacked a delicate floral character of a delicate white peony. However, as I kept steeping this tea, it got more interesting. Sweeter and spicy. The desired floral aroma was still not there.
Actually, Fuan Dabai Cha has large leaves as its name suggest (da means big in Chinese), and they contain a high level of tea polyphenols. This article suggests that fuan dabai is suitable for black tea processing throughout which polyphenols are reduced as the leaves are oxidised. For white tea; however, the oxidation is minimal, and maybe the taste is not as aromatic as other white teas I have tried, which might be because of the cultivar. Who knows? Still, a good tea though which I enjoyed.
Tea Profile:
Type: White
Origin: Fuding, Fujian
Harvest time: April 2020
Leaf colour: Light green and brown with white fuzz
Liquor colour: Pale yellow
Tea Aroma: Slightly vegetal and woody
Tea taste: Fresh and mineral
Steeping/brewing: Place about 4 g of this tea in a gaiwan or teapot and add hot water around 95°C. After rinsing the leaves, you can steep for 10 seconds and add 10 second to each consecutive steeping. You can re-steep this tea multiple times.
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