Culinary Specialties CooksShopHere- White Tea: Sun-Dried Tea Tree Buds

Black

Oolong

Sun-Dried Tea Tree Buds
Spring 2010

Yunnan Province, China
Sun-dried, slightly oxidized
Compact, layered buds
Resinous, complex flavor
Bright fresh aroma
Pale silver liquor

1/4 lb	1/2 lb	lb
12.00 Buy	24.00 Buy	48.00 Buy

It’s difficult to classify these very tasty tea buds: we have, in fact, never seen anything quite like them before. They are plucked in the Baoshan area of western Yunnan from 700-year old tea trees in early spring.

The fresh leaf from these trees is used to make mao cha for Pu-erh production, but these tender buds are plucked separately and are very simply air-dried. As one would imagine, the buds of a tall and large 700-year old tea tree are thicker, fatter, and more solid than the thin, slender buds of a typical China bush Camellia sinensis tea bush varietal.

Because slow drying allows slight withering to occur ( as it does in the manufacture of white tea) we are classifying this tea as a white tea. One can clearly taste the slight oxidative changes that are a result of withering. ( See our Yue Guang Bai for a leafy green tea that flirts with nearly being a white tea).

To be truthful, the flavor of these buds is reminiscent of Bai Hao Yin Zhen bud white tea. Despite their size difference, these unique buds have other characteristics that are reminiscent of Bai Hao Yin Zhen, too. First, they have pale, soft, flat fuzz that covers the surface as does BHYZ, and their color is light and delicate, reminiscent of the pale grey/green color of BHYZ.

The liquor is a simple, delicious beverage without any astringency. The flavor is delicately vegetal with a little hint of resin or pine, a little celery and maybe a touch of eucalyptus, too. The second infusion was just as flavorful as the first, and a third infusion is also tasty, too.

Steep 2-3 infusions at 2 minutes each.
Water temperature should be 160˚ - 170˚ F