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Strong, sweet notes of acacia and red clover, with a grassy bouquet. This ya bao is better than any yinzhen I’ve had and cheaper than most of them, too!

Brewed in a small gaiwan.

Flavor notes: Classic BMD. Clover and a little cedarwood when hot; sweeter and milder iced.
Mouthfeel: A substantial lingering astringency which I find pleasant; a thin body; negligible lees
Appearance: Spindly but unbroken beautiful furry leaves; a clear liquor that ranges from pale yellow to a deeper mahogany color depending on the steep time and strength.

A staple tea. The best value BMD I’ve had; inexpensive but delicious. It’s great to make iced after dinner, or take to work/school in the morning. I brew it with a gaiwan sometimes just for kicks but it’s perhaps best brewed western-style by the parameters below or something similar. It can take a pretty long brew without getting bitter, like most white teas, so feel free to play around. (But remember to use a high volume of leaf because these leaves are both broad and spindly!)

Interesting. This has a very nice color, very large leaves. Upon drinking, it has a very strange, tight mouthfeel: not smooth; astringent, but also there is something else, a brightness under the soft palate which wanes with later steepings. It has a warm flavor, very unique, which occurs nearly entirely in the back of the mouth: nutty, not sweet, not black, not green; I would almost say sour. That’s not bad though; it’s only the typical complexity of oolongs; it’s a flavor not to be simply taken, but explored. (The flavor cools and dims with later steepings, picking up more sweetness and a floral note.) It certainly has me thinking of a rainy day in the mountains.

Preparation: I’ve done it a few ways but I think I like this most recent way the best: A tablespoon and a pinch of tea per four to six ounces of water, just under boiling, for 1, 1, 2, 4, and 8 minutes.

This charmingly smooth tea has a colorful and complex—indeed, baroque—flavor which combines warm woody and deep cocoa notes with a calm frutiness somehow reminiscent of bananas. I recommend it, especially for the price.

I’ve no passion for greens, but this one I quite like. It has a light, but not weak flavor, and it’s very easy to steep. Its flavor is similar to that of Japanese greens, but milder; it makes me think of a field of clover and hay. The best thing is that it’s very very smooth: great ‘drinkability’.