Yunnan Yue Guang Bai Air-Dried White tea * Spring 2016

Very tasty white tea with a thick and satisfying mouth feel. It tastes a lot like like a generic orange pekoe grade black tea: malty, flavourful, no bitterness or astringency. It’s very drinkable by those who don’t like greener teas because it isn’t vegetal or astringent at all. Lightly sweet, a bit reminiscent of paper (in a good way-it isn’t woody or piney at all). Maybe a little bit nutty like walnut husks.

A tasty white tea that has some cross-over with black tea characteristics. Because it is not purely bud material like silver needle, there are some oxidized leaves that impart some malty, nutty, and sweet potato notes. It actually tastes like a blend of silver needle and some mellow black tea.

Very drinkable and tasty, although it does have a substantially “heavier” profile than a silver needle – fewer light aromatics and more malty notes. A good choice for a winter white tea.
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Leaf – milky black tea blend, sweet fragrant floral, creamy honey, honeysuckle. In preheated vessel – sweet woody and floral notes, pungent honey, very fragrant

Smell – honeysuckle, papaya, milky tea, strawberry cream; hint of sour cherry

Taste – wild honey, honeysuckle, milky black tea, papaya, soft green herb, dried date; hint of sesame seed in finish. As steeps progress, gains more black tea flavors – malt, peanut nuttiness, some hints at sweet potato