Description

From the Fujian province comes the elegant Bai Mu Dan or Pai Mu Tan tea, which translates from Chinese as “white peony.” The white peony flower was once the blossom of the affluent. This white tea is made from the Narcissus (Chaicha) variety native to Fujian and is hand-picked and sorted. For this white tea, the “two leaves and a bud” method is employed, utilizing the new bud and the first two leaves of the Camellia Sinensis tea plant. The voluminous leaves and buds are first sun-dried for two hours. The tea leaves are then allowed to wither on bamboo mats at room temperature in enclosed spaces for 48 hours before drying, sorting, and packaging. Air-drying results in an oxidation level of 8-15 percent for this tea. This drying process is carried out without further technical aids. The outcome is a beautifully qualitative white tea. The leaf shows various shades of green and has voluminous, elongated, silver-white buds.

Our Pai Mu Tan tea comes from a small farm in Fujian at an altitude of about 600 meters. The tea is hand-harvested from the beginning of March until the end of April.

The color of the brewed tea is a shiny amber. The aroma is spicy, often with a slight toasty note. Like many white teas, the taste is mild and delicate, resulting in a lovely, light, refreshing infusion.

White Tea Types and Cultivars

White tea is traditionally divided into four types: Needle-style, Pai Mu Dan, Gong Mei, and Shou Mei. This division is based on the harvesting method, the number of buds in the tea, and the period during which the tea leaves are harvested. Bai Mu Dan consistently uses one bud and two to three leaves. This tea is harvested in the spring, a few weeks after the Silver Needle harvest. White peony types have delicate flavors of flowers and honey.

Pai Mu Tan or Bai Mu Dan is one of the most famous white teas. Most Pai Mu Tan tea is made from the Da Bai variety and is harvested a bit later in April. During the natural withering, the open leaves oxidize very slowly. The tea leaves are a mix of silver-colored buds and green or brownish-green open leaves. The Da Bai variety was reportedly discovered in 1857, and farmers began using its thick silver-like buds to produce silver needle and Bai Mu Dan. Nowadays, the varieties primarily used for producing white tea are Fuding Da Bai, Zhenghe Da Bai, Xiao Bai, Shui Xian (Narcissus), and Fu Ding Da Hao.

Ingredients

White tea from China.