Purple Varietal "Yue Guang Bai" White Tea of Dehong

Spring 2023: Very similar in taste to the Wild Tree Purple Moonlight White Tea from Jinggu, but I find less of the cannabis notes here. Both are incredible teas. Here you have apricot/grape and sometimes Darjeeling-like fruitiness and lychee florals, set against a cannabis-like bitterness which is intriguing. Pleasant lingering aftertaste.

A definite contender for the title of my favorite tea.
Brewed gong-fu style in a 100ml gaiwan; 15 seconds on the first steep, then increased the time by about 5 seconds from steep to steep. This tea can easily last upwards of 10 infusions and is also pretty forgiving in terms of temperature and time.
The dry leaves were fairly large and varied quite a bit in color, ranging from very light greens to purplish dark greens. The leaves are very aromatic even when dry, with a strongly sweet scent dominated by red grapes and perhaps plums.
After a quick rinse, the sweetness remained clearly present, but was complemented by a strong, almost eggy base along with some new, fresher high notes, the prominent amongst them being spearmint. At this point, the leaves appeared more uniform in color, thought there remained some almost-white streaks as well as some darker purple ones. As steeps progressed, the color of the wet leaves converged to a uniform olive green.
The liquor started with a buttery golden color reminiscent of a Bourgogne Chardonnay wine. The color of the liquor gradually grew slightly darker from steep to steep, taking on an almost orange-yellow tint by the final infusion.
In terms of taste, as far as I’m concerned, this tea is the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness. This balance is accompanied by a level of complexity that leaves me at a loss for words even though this must be the seventh or eighth time I’ve had this tea. I’m not sure I’d have any more luck deciphering it even after having it eight more times. The aforementioned fruit that was very dominant in the aroma of the leaves certainly showed up in the taste, blending wonderfully with slightly-burnt caramel.
The tea was full-bodied and smooth, with a pleasant astringency revealing itself in later infusions.
The finish is fantastic. I think it’s what sets this tea apart from many others. It’s lovely, lingering, and distinctively “purple”, present from the first steep through to the very last. The tea leaves a fruity and lightly herbal bittersweetness on the sides of the tongue along with a deep, sweet umami at the back of the mouth.
This tea has a nice, mellow, calming effect on the body.
Certainly recommended!

This is a great tea that is pungent, balanced and lasts long. It reminds me of the Wild tree purple white tea from Jinggu that YS sells, but this one is even more savoury and full of umami flavours. As such it also reminds me of sencha and ya bao teas.

It has a very coating and mouth-filling texture and flavours of seaweed, dill, chicken stock, but also some sweet florals. The aftertaste is sweet and vegetal with notes of strawberries and thyme, among others.