The buds in this tea are fuzzy and plump. The dry smell in the bag isn’t too interesting – just smells like a typical white tea. In the warmed gaiwan, the leaves smell like soft fresh linen. With the first steep, I get a steamed edamame smell from the lid – just like Verdant’s 2016 Bai Mu Dan and Shou Mei. The liquor is nearly clear and has a light sweetness to it.
The second steep is much thicker and a bit stronger. This stuff lingers on the tongue. The flavor is springy and vegetal. It tastes like snapping the stem of some sort of thick fresh sweet spring grass in half and having a lick.
Four steeps in and I feel like this tea would probably do better with some more heat. Steeped at 195F, the gaiwan lid smells like a fresh sweet pastry. The softness of the liquor is a little bit diminished but it’s fuller bodied. I think I prefer this tea at about 180-185F.
This tea is solid but (this may be sacrilege) I think their Bai Mu Dan is a better tea and it’s less than half the price of this stuff. The first steep of the Bai Mu Dan tastes very similar to this tea, but the Bai Mu Dan evolves significantly over the course of the session. This tea retains that first steep flavor all the way through – nothing wrong with that but I think the Bai Mu Dan is a more interesting and fun to drink tea.
Flavors: Grass, Smooth, Sweet, Vegetal
