The last white tea of 365 teas challenge. And I think it is the ideal tea for that. It is a fresh tea from 2020 and comes from Fuding. The tea is collected from trees which are more than 50 years old. I was told by the vendor that it was not possible to find any trees around that area that are older than 100 years.
Going back to this tea, I knew that this tea maker charcoal dries their teas. But unlike the other ones I have reviewed (such as this tea), I did not find any pronounced charcoal taste. I wanted to find out more about the process of charcoal drying, but I was told there is no strict recipe and the tea master plays by ear. He stays awake all night, sometimes out in the cold to ensure that the drying process is complete without over-drying the leaves in other words burning them. It was a fresh and elegant tea. The aroma of the wet leaves was vegetal, and the dry leaves have a sweet scent. It was not as floral as some other fresh white teas that I’ve tried, but I did not miss it with this tea. Its freshness and thick but delicate flavours were enough to make this tea exquisite.
No green smell! Remember this because Chinese white and black tea makers do not like to have the green smell in their teas. This vendor also emphasized that charcoal baking got rid of such odours. I could smell the green on the wet leaves only, both the dry leaves and the tea liquor has a heavenly fragrance.
Tea Profile:
Type: White
Origin: Fuding, Fujian
Harvest time: Spring 2020
Leaf colour: Tones of green with white fuzz
Liquor colour: Light yellow
Tea Aroma: Sweet fruitiness (dry leaves), vegetal (wet leaves)
Tea taste: Fresh, thick-liquor elegant mineral notes with a slight sweetness
Steeping/brewing:
1. Place 4 g of this tea in a porcelain gaiwan or teapot and add about 100 ml water at around 100°C.
2. Rinse after 5 sec.
3. Steep for 10 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 10. You can re-steep this tea about five times.
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