White2Tea Tea Club: August 2021
I’ve been meaning to join White2Tea Tea club for some time now. So this year I gave myself a birthday present and signed up! That was back in July, just in time for August's tea club. I knew it was going to be a waiting game, what with the state of shipments from China. So I was pretty excited when the notification of its arrival came towards the end of August. But first I had to pay to clear it through customs due to new EU customs regulation :(
Anyhow, finally I got my mitts on it! And the wait was worth it. At the time of writing (mid October) I’m still waiting for the September tea club to arrive. I guess the shipment situation has gotten worse. Patience. I still have this beautiful white tea cake to sip on. Which brings me to the teas from August’s tea club.
White2Tea tea club is a surprise every month, you never know what tea treasures await you! August was all about white tea. The package contained:
2021 Everyman’s Baimudan, 15g, from Fujian
Moon Bear White, 90g tea cake, from Yunnan
A lovely letter about the teas and brewing instructions
2021 Everyman’s Baimudan
Type: White
Origin: China, Fujian
Brewing: Gaiwan, 80-90C / 175-195F, 3g, 20 seconds, then plus 10 seconds for subsequent steeps
Description: Large green and brown leaves with fuzzy white buds
Having White2Tea’s intro to the tea really helps put it into context when you’re sipping away. Early spring Baimudan from Fujian is highly prized, and hence comes with a hefty price tag. According to White2Tea, tea makers from Fujian produce the best teas than most anyone in the world! 2021 Everyman’s Baimudan is from a lesser known area of Fujian (Fuding being the most famous area for white tea), but nevertheless has a tonne of buds and craftsmanship.
2021 Everyman's Baimudan tea liquor, 1st steep
Leaf
There’s something honest and straightforward about this style of Baimudan. I love how the leaves look like they could’ve just been picked up off a forest floor. But in actual fact, you know that it takes a huge amount of skill to make. The leaves are a gorgeous medley of greens and browns, dotted with furry white buds.
2021 Everyman Baimudan’s dry tea leaves
Liquor
The tea liquor starts out as a lovely pale champagne colour, clear and bright, and gradually transitions to bright yellow with subsequent brewings. It gives off a soft subtle sweet honeysuckle aroma.
2021 Everyman's Baimudan tea liquor, 1st steep
Infusions
Well, this tea is an absolute delight to sip. So delicate and softly sweet with no hint of astringency. It has a smooth mouthfeel and the sweetness lingers. It starts off very subtle, and comes into its own around the third brew. The flavour and colour continue to become stronger up until the fifth steeping, after which it starts to fade. I went up to eight steeps, at which point there was no more flavour to be squeezed out of these beautiful leaves!
2021 Everyman's Baimudan wet tea leaves
2021 Everyman's Baimudan tea liquor, 3rd steep
Moon Bear White
Type: White
Origin: China, Yunnan
Brewing: Gaiwan, 80-90C / 175-195F, 5g, 30 seconds, then plus 10 seconds for subsequent steeps
Description: Compressed tea cake
This is my first time trying a white compressed tea cake! And it's very different from what I’d typically expect from a white tea. The above Everyman’s Baimudan from Fujian is a gorgeous example of a delicately soft and sweet white tea. This tea cake is worlds apart! More akin to a raw Pu’er, which I suppose makes sense as it’s from Yunnan, home of Pu’er tea.
Moon Bear White tea cake, wrapped
Leaf
As soon as I opened the outer packaging, the sweet smoky aroma hit me. I knew this was going to be a different white tea experience. I never thought I’d describe a white tea as smoky! I love the cute bear wrapping, and the look of the beautifully monochrome round tea cake inside.
The wet leaves give a cozy warm earthy smell. The smokiness becomes more subtle, fading into the background. The leaves gradually open up and turn from monochrome to the greens, ambers and browns of a forest floor.
Moon Bear White tea cake
Liquor
The tea liquor is a bright ochre colour that deepens with each steep. I’m not a fan of big smoky flavours, so I was glad that the smokiness wasn’t overpowering and the warm earthy smells were at the fore.
Moon Bear White tea liquor, 1st steep
Infusions
The earthy flavours dominate in the flavour profile too, with a hint of smokiness that comes through more strongly in the second steep, but still not overpowering. There’s a lot going on in the second and third brews! There’s a sweetness that I’m trying to detect, maybe it’s honey or melon. And then in the aftertaste I get liquorice or aniseed. Some astringency starts to come in also, and gives a dry mouthfeel. By the sixth brew, the flavour and colour are fading.
Moon Bear White tea liquor and wet leaves, 3rd steep
Wrapping up
I’m only one tea club session in, but I’m really glad I signed up to White2Tea tea club. Already, I’ve been introduced to a new type of tea, compressed white tea. And the 2021 Everyman’s Baimudan is just delicious. Roll on September (and October) tea club - I am waiting!