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Picked from old trees in Yunnan, much larger buds than other white teas.
Da Bai Hao, or ‘Big White Bud’, is a very famous tea varietal. It gets its name from the very long soft buds, covered in fine white hairs. It is cultivated extensively in Fujian province to produce White Teas such as Silver Needle, but old trees grow semi-wild in Yunnan. The buds are dried and baked to make a tea similar to Silver needle Pekoe, but much larger and with a more pronounced aroma – the result of picking from old trees, not cultivars. 
 (from the Canton site)

5/24/14

2013 from Jinggu, Yunnan, China
Dry leaf – Huge long silver needles!!! Scent is a little more complex though,,,a note like a tomato with sugar on it (if anyone eats that). The leaves are so soft, like velvet, and large enough that I could pick up and feel on my cheek and lip how fuzzy soft they were.

Brewed this Western style at 185F
6 grams tea (filled the whole basket up) and 500 ml water/2 cups

Steeped 3”

Wet leaf- the most huge silver needle buds I have ever seen,,,,but more complex smelling than silver needle. Smell like Ya Bao with notes of subtle persimmon thrown in with the creamy white tea notes. The buds could still open up a bit more too so this one will be good for re-steeping.

Liquor- a light pearl, pale gold color with scents of light persimmon.

Flavor- Sugar, tomato, persimmon, cream.
VERY complex and VERY delicious!!!!!!

Resteeped and still had lots of flavor and the same notes,, none of the notes had faded. Very good.

6/18/14
Tasting some more of this today and it definitely tastes wild. It has that complexity and wild bud flavor to it. It tastes like Sheng that I’ve had.
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7/22/14
Drinking the last of this today. So interesting,,,so like sheng. Love how large and fuzzy the leaves are. Will have to order more of this next time if they offer some more from the next year.

5/24/14

Chiayi County, Taiwan
I love the 195F temp for this Oolong, it is a really good one.
Dry leaves are spring yellow and green colored little pellets with their stems. They have scents of cream and honeysuckle.
Wet leaves unravel to be very green spinach color, I don’t think I have had such a new Oolong and you can definitely tell the difference. This 2014 is fresh and really bright green when the leaves unravel. They smell like honeysuckle as well.
Liquor is very light clear pearl color but these leaves are still tightly rolled,,they are definitely getting resteeped after this.
Scent is a consistent honeysuckle and cream.
Flavor is smooth, creamy, honeysuckle. Very Very good Oolong!!!!! I love that this tastes like honeysuckle which is not overly floral or perfumy to me. I remember tasting honeysuckle flowers as a kid.

2nd steeping – Leaves have really unraveled now and the liquor is a deeper yet still clear spring-green color with stronger scents and flavors of honeysuckle and cream.
These leaves can definitely go for a few more steeps too. Package says total of 5.

From the Steepster Select Box; May, 2014

5/21/14

Origin: Yunnan Province, China
Vintage 2005
Dry Leaf- scents of pears and dried apples, tiny bit of wood
203F 2 tsp – 4 oz h2o
Gong FU
30” – rinse
30” liquor smells woody, sweet, vegetarian prune brownie. Taste is creamy, silky, smooth, sweet and woody notes.
45” as leaves loosen more, liquor is a darker burnt sienna color. Notes of wood but not harsh, smooth. Sweet prune bread, just prune,,no sugar.
. 30” leaves loose now,,the woodiness is turning into notes of espresso.
45” delicious and the feeling is cleansing and rejuvinating!!! Far Out!!
1 minute – I can drink no more tea but this last steeping is a light espresso note with subtle sweetness. There are some essences of dried fruit as well.

Thank u to Yezi Tea for this sample with purchase!!

5/19/14
Dry leaves are tiny, thin, black, twisted eyebrows with scents of brown sugar and raisin. I love this shape,,,,good things are gonna happen here…….
Brewed this Western style at 190F for 4 minutes.
The wet leaves open up to be all needle buds,,smell sweet and are mud-brown clay color now.
Liquor is a deep auburn orange-brown with scent of sweet malty raisin pie.
Flavor- Oh Yeahhh,,,subtle sweet, deep malt, rich, scents of cooked raisin, cocoa. Touch of orange in the finish but very subtle.
As the liquor cools, scents of cream,,,,some whipped cream on the raisin pie,,,,,good stuff.

5/22/14
Tried this on Gong FU style this morning with more great results!
190F 2tsp – 4oz pot
15" rinse
30" golden sunflower colored liquor – creamy, malty, very very subtle notes of orange but no bitter or astringency
45" this is a delicious Yunnan black tea,,,the quintessence of this type of tea,,,so great!!!

6/2/14
Brewed Western style this morning and overleafed a bit. Should have used my scale but I just eyeballed it. This tea needs to be precisely measured bc it is easy to overleaf such tiny twisty threads lol. Still delicious though, I just brewed it strong :)

6/8/14
Took this one down to 160F for 3 minutes. Brewed 8 oz in a Pyrex cup. I have been brewing this too hot as these are very very young and delicate leaves. Even though it is a black tea, I learned to treat these first flush of pure bud leaves and other teas like them with a very low temperature.
Very malty but not super sweet until the tea starts to cool off a bit and then there is a sweet aftertaste. Very delicate tea and maltalicious!!

6/13/14
Had this after lunch, Western style. Low temp of 160 again for 3 minutes. Heavenly ,,, sweet and malty. So good.
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7/3/14
My morning tea, gong fu style!! 190F, immediate rinse, then 15" each time. I love this tea and tea type,,it is one of my absolute favorites !!! Malty, creamy, naturally sweet. Pretty dark golden color. Excellent!!
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7/13/14
Gong Fu this morning!! immediate rinse, 6"-4"- 6" -8" YUMMM!!
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7/25/14
Western style today with a 1 cup style glass teapot with huge infuser that spans the same size as the teapot (my new favorite method). This stuff is smoky, sweet, and malty. Love it. Since it is fired with muscovado sugar, the second steeping is always more smoky than the first and less sweet.
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7/30/14
Western Style today,,,,190F for 4 minutes ,,,,1 tsp tea per 8 oz water. The liquor is deeper red and smells so rich, sweet, malty, and good!! Flavor is also rich, sweet, malty, and good!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this tea and I’m running low now :(

Fu Shou Mei (Fortune/Longevity Eyebrow)
feng qing (Feng4 Qing4) = (凤庆 or 鳳慶) factory, established in 1939, in the Lin Cang region, that was the first factory to make Dian Hong, now also making pu’ercha; also a Da Ye cultivar suited to hongcha and lücha; also a county in western Lincang bordering Baoshan

Wowie Yummmmmmmmmm!!! When you open the package, this shincha smells like salty chicken soup.
I took the suggested 175F temp down to 170F and I steeped shorter too for about 15 seconds for personal preference. I do not want my green tea burned so I always baby it so much.
This tastes fantastic!!!!!!! Tastes like chicken soup and the cooked leaves are tiny and some do get into your cup but I ate some and they taste like fresh sweet baby spinach in your soup. Absolutely no bitterness, no astringency.
I have some gyokuro from Teawing as well and they have the most excellent Japanese green teas!!!!!!!!
Yummm Yummm,,,I’m glad I have another package of this. I had to rush and meet the post lady yesterday so my Steepster Select box would not cook in the hot desert sun. When it cools off in the desert,,,I will be ordering some of this. I need to drink my gyokuro first anyway ;)
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7/30/14
Having my other packet from the Select club this morning. I usually don’t drink a tea this savory in the morning but I had some water that was going down in temp to use up (I do not waste water here in the desert) so I grabbed this. It is soooooo delicious!!!!! I am almost detecting a note of cream this morning along with the chicken soup flavor. It has a great mouthfeel and flavor. This is an excellent tea to have with savory food that is for sure but I am enjoying it as a breakfast tea this morning. Plus, in Hawaii, they had miso soup, salmon, rice, etc. for breakfast options so I am sure they eat this way in the morning in Japan. It would be a perfect tea to pair with those foods. IT is excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!!

From the Steepster Select Box, May 2014

Had a good lunch and some time today on this Saturday so I could try this sample I received with my purchase from Yezi,,thanks!
This is my first Shu,,,I have only tried Shengs so far so I am excited!
When I opened the sample package, it smelled just like pears!!! Very intriguing but it dissipated very quickly after that and it was a light fruit scent. These leaves were pretty tight in my sample chunk though so I don’t think the smell was truly evident until I loosened the leaves with water.
I used 205F water and my little 4 ounce gong fu pot.
1. 15" rinse
2 . 30" bit of a second rinse because leaves very tight. Liquor is orange sunshine color.
3. 30" leaves have opened up more and there are definite woody notes with pipe tobacco. Liquor is darker in color, a deep auburn. Thicker too. Flavor is wood and tobacco and it gets better as it cools.
4. 45" even though I don’t want to drink wood and tobacco,,,I keep drinking it. It gives you a nice laid-back feeling. It does get heavy on the stomach,,,I see why it is suggested that you enjoy a nice meal beforehand.

I really love puerh and am fascinated by all tea. I think I like sheng better than shu,,,but I have not tried enough to know for sure. Great first experience with this shu and need to try more :)

The dark, chopped, dry leaf smells good, like shortbread,,,maybe a touch of cocoa scent.
Liquor is a deep deep red-orange color with a delicious aroma of shortbread, raisin pie.
You can see in the wet leaves that they are all uniformly chopped and a fall brown color.
Flavor is rich, good, not as sweet as it smells. Has a touch of bitter,,,like a 1 on a scale of 1-10. So if you are a milk and sugar person, this is perfect.
I added some of my homemade almond milk and date sugar to this (sorry Brits lol) and it was yummy. Helped to wake me up this morning because my doggie likes to get up early :)

From the Steepster Select Box, May 2014

5/14/14
I had fun and tried a little bit of this today. The leaves are very tightly compressed into the cake so I was very gentle in chiseling some off with my pick.
Used about a teaspoon and a half in my little 4 ounce gong fu pot. Using 205F water.
1. 15" rinse
2. 15" smells very good, a light malt, bit of orange cream,,,liquor is a golden sun-orange color.
3. 30" tastes like nice black tea. no bitterness or astringency,,,very tasty.
4. 30" light orange cream flavor, bit of malt,,not so much layered flavor yet but very mild and delish. Leaves have completely opened up now and are a muddy brown color.
Very good and I like mini cakes,,,they are cute ;) lol
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7/11/14
Chiseled off some tea from this cake this morning. I rinsed the chunks and leaves that I was going to brew with room temp purified water. Then brewed Western style with about 2 heaping tsp tea in a 2 cup pot. 195F water for 3 minutes.
Liquor is a nice deep auburn red color and smells malty. I like this tea, has no bitter or astringency and just good old cream, malt, and a touch of orange flavor. Well-balanced easy drinking tea in a fun little cake.
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8/2/14
Chiseled off a bit of this today for a couple of cups. Brewed Western style in 8oz cup size pots. Did an immediate rinse with room temp water then brewed in 190F water for 3 minutes. The tea is so tightly compressed that the leaves come off in some chunks and some dust so the tea changes flavors because of this. I brewed one cup with more chunk pieces and one cup with smaller pieces and flakes. Right now I am drinking the cup that was more chunky and it is good with flavors of orange zest and subtle malt and cream. The cup with smaller pieces actually has more depth and gives off more cream notes on the nose. Both examples are good black tea with no astringency or bitterness, only a note of orange zest with a nice balance.

5/13/14
Tried a bit of this today gong fu style,,,it is brand new,,I will let the rest age a bit to develop more goodness :)
You open the package on this and it is OH Yeah,,,malty, creamy, sweet- smelling yumminess. The snails are perfectly rolled golden and brown cuties.
1. Rinse 30" creamy, malt scents and liquor is a reddish gold color.
2. 30" Leaves starting to really puff up,,,layered flavors, a citrus note is playing with the cream and malt.
3. 30" Leaves really open and big. They are a brown terra cotta mud color and they are all perfectly the same size and you can’t believe they were the little snail shapes :)
4. 30" Still full bodied, rich, citrus, malt, and cream.
5. 30" Starting to lose creamy notes now,,still malt and citrus.
6. 30" Leaves are saying farewell to me now.

Yummm great quality tea from Yunnan Sourcing :)
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6/29/14
Tried this Western style today,,,190F , 1 tsp per 8 oz H20, brewed in a classic oval teapot 2 cups at a time. Steeped 3 minutes.
Also, coming off of a little travel cold so I can smell the deliciousness of this tea but my taste buds probably need one more day so keeping that in mind,,,,,the dry leaf is smelling so malty and good.
Brewed, the liquor is deep amber with scents of a sweet molasses. Oh yumm smelling!
Wet leaves are sooooo cute. They were cute tightly rolled little snails as dry leaves and when they unfurl, they turn into lazy chocolate colored snails. Still curly, but hang in’ out curly.
Flavor is creamy, hint of orange, and malt. I wish my taste buds were back to full capacity because this tea is good stuff. I am getting all the notes that I got last time so Western style brewing is cool as long as you don’t overleaf. I’m getting to where I just use 1 tsp per 8oz water and that’s usually what you need for a good cup. This is definitely good tea!!!
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7/14/14
Had some more Gaiwan style today. Do not overleaf this one,,,it will become way to strong and develop a smokey paste flavor. Had put too many leaves into my gaiwan and had to start over bc of overleafing lol.
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7/24/14
Finally found a way to bring out the best in this tea. I got a few cup size Western glass teapots with super large “same size as the pot” infusers. I brewed this 1 tsp per cup of water at 190F for 3 minutes. I watched the snails unfurl properly and the flavor does not have any bitterness or zest quality that stands out. I am really liking this brew the very best out of all the ones I have tried. (I am loving these “cup-size” teapots) There is still a pasty mouthfeel or flavor to this tea that is different for sure. There is almost a nutmeg flavor as well. The flavors are pasty, nutmeg, a bit of orange but very subtle.
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7/29/14
Had a cup Western style this morning and put it up against a cup of Jin Die from Camellia Sinensis. The Jin Die snails are smaller than these snails so I wanted to see which I liked best.
This tea is brisk and full of flavor. I brewed it at 190F for 3 minutes. I think these Bi Luo teas are better suited to Gong Fu but Western is good too, it is definitely a stronger brew Western style. The flavors are smoky malt, orange zest, a touch of cream in the back of the tongue and throat. I am looking for my nutmeg note today and not catching it as much but it is a spicy hint so nutmeg is very subtle today this way.
In comparison to CS Jin Die, this one is deeper and more smoky malt, where the Jin Die is brighter and more citrus.
I found that the two size snails have completely different flavors which of course they would. It is cool to see how the different size in leaves and rolling can bring out such different flavors!
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8/6/14
Still waiting on my Gong Fu tray but did this one Gong Fu style today. 190F immediate rinse then 30-30-30-30-30. It really is a beautiful amber orange color and has cream, malt, spice-nutmeg, and a touch of orange. The snails all open up to be double buds that are fairly large. Always a great red tea.

5/12/14
Spring 2014 Sun-Dried Purple Buds from the “ye sheng” varietal of camellia tea trees which grow wild in tropical Dehong.
The dry buds are brownish purple-green and smell like tobacco, prunes, the outdoors in the mountains.
Brewed the buds at 160F for 3 minutes Western style.
Liquor is white, clean, clear with a light tint of champagne color with scents of subtle cinnamon, prune.
Wet leaves now have turned a bit more green and revived to their natural state. I love these bud type teas,,,It’s like you picked the wild buds and brewed them over a fire in the mountains. Very natural and wild.
The flavor is fruity and layered. There is honey, subtle cinnamon notes, pruny tobacco.

Second steeping – I upped the temp to 190F for 3 minutes still Western style.
Brought out a bit more of the more dominant tobacco notes and the subtle ones stepped back. I like the lower temp for buds though this steeping is also delicious. Both temps produced delicious results.

I am aging the rest of these buds for a while so I’ll be checking back and drinking and noting the date here every once in a while :) Delicious!! Not rating any of my pu-erhs because they are ever changing and am learning and new to when their peak will be. Very yummy right now so I can only imagine this one will get sweeter and more complex :)
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7/25/14
Couldn’t resist getting a teaspoon of this out of my aging jar to try today. I brewed Western style at 175F for 3 minutes. The liquor is pearl clear color and the scent is definitely Sheng with notes of tobacco, wild herbs, and honey.
The flavor has mellowed since I’ve had it in the unglazed jar!!! Far out!!!!!! It is creamy, tobacco, peach pit, honey. Very beautiful dry purple buds too. I love this tea to look at as well as drink!!