Leafhopper Send Message

Derk generously allowed me to take a sample of this tea during our Black Friday extravaganza. Thank you, and I promise to get to all your other samples when I’ve sipped down more of my teas! I steeped around 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 35, 25, 35, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The intoxicating aroma of the dry leaves is of honey, apricots, and citrus. The first steep has notes of honey, clover, apricot, orange, honeysuckle, gardenia, sandalwood, and sap. I find that lower-quality Bai Hao focuses on the high honey/fruit notes, while the better stuff also has lower woody/incense/sappy notes that I have trouble describing. The second steep gives me stronger fruit notes, including citrus zest, and is reminding me of an IPA. The florals become headier in the third steep, with more honeysuckle and gardenia mixing beautifully with the honey/apricot/citrus. The fruit backs off slightly in steep four, letting the honey, clover, honeysuckle, gardenia, and orange blossom come through. There’s also a tiny bit of a metallic taste. Near the end of the session, the fruit disappears and I get honey, autumn leaves, minerals, wood, and vague florals.

This is a fantastic Bai Hao that I wish I’d purchased for myself when I had the chance. As the better versions of this tea tend to be, it’s both lush and structured. This tea has made me want to revisit some of the other Bai Hao in my stash.