Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: large, jade green
Ingredients: white tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 200 degrees
Preparation Method: glass gaiwan
Liquor: very pale
I’m a huge fan of Wild Tea Qi’s “moonlight” white teas so it surprised me when I found that I hadn’t drunk this sample yet. Their Ancient Moonlight White and Ancient White Bud Bar are among some of my all-time favorites. The large buds of this tea were so beautiful that I just had to brew them in a glass gaiwan. The taste started out extremely light but left an incredibly aromatic after-effect. If you aren’t used to drinking subtle teas, you might not pick up much at all at first. Hint: If you are having trouble, try taking a few sips of water first. Fruity floral notes combined with an interesting cooling feeling reminded me of sweet summer melons and honeysuckle. All of that wonderful complexity lingered long after each sip. There wasn’t quite enough leaves to fill half of the gaiwan so I was worried about missing the full experience. My concerns were unnecessary because this one little batch of leaves lasted through more infusions than I could keep track of. I shared a sip with my boyfriend and got an “it’s ok” in response, which is impressive considering he usually doesn’t like any of my tea. Eventually, he’ll get tired of me making him try everything but until then I shall persevere.
Moonlight Buds sample provided by Wild Tea Qi.