Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: small, jade green with silvery buds
Steep time: 20 seconds
Water Temperature: 185 degrees
Preparation Method: glass gaiwan
Liquor: very pale
I initially connected with Mona from Teawala by living vicariously through her travels on Instagram. Her passion for tea and the people who make it was very evident. Although she is a tea seller, she also genuinely takes the time to connect with and contribute to the online tea community. Mona generously shared several samples with me when she first started her company, and this white tea is one of them.
Leaf
The jade-green leaves were incredibly teeny tiny. This is one of the most bud-heavy Bai Mu Dan that I have tried in quite some time. I can’t help but want to touch a tea that is so fuzzy. They had a pleasant grassy aroma that reminded me of fresh-cut hay in a way that was very different than green tea.
Teawala helpfully provided both western and gongfu brewing parameters. It is always appreciated when a vendor does that because those who are newer to tea might need more guidance. I opted to use my glass gaiwan to show off those beautiful leaves. My water temperature was the recommended 185 degrees and the first infusion was for 20 seconds. Adding 10 seconds for each additional brew helped me to get several very flavorful brews.
Liquor
Teawala White Peony brewed up an incredibly pale liquor. It almost looked like water in my glass cha hai, but there was a subtle gold cast when viewed in a white porcelain teacup. When I held it up to a light I was able to see a ton of trichomes floating around.
The taste during my initial infusions was soft, sweet and slightly vegetal but in a really fresh way. The finish was cooling with an almost milky aftertaste. Later infusions were full of honied florals and notes of peach with a crisp muscatel-like grapiness. All of those trichomes that I saw floating gave the mouthfeel an almost effervescent quality.
This review is of the 2019 harvest. My backlog for publishing reviews is still very long but the tea was evaluated in April of 2020. Teawala is now selling the 2020 harvest from the same producer if you are interested in trying this tea.
Have you ever tried Teawala White Peony? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
White Peony sample provided by Teawala.
