Description

Fujian White Tea – Pai Mu Tan and Silver Needle

White Peony (Chinese: Pai Mu Tan, also: Bai Mudan or Bai Mu Dan), is one of the best-known types of white tea. Like its sibling, White Silver Needle, it originates from the northeastern part of China’s Fujian province. There, the cultivation and processing of Pai Mu Tan are at home mainly in the counties of Fuding and Zhenghe. In both regions, the special method of white tea processing looks back on about 150 years only. This makes white tea the youngest of the 6 classic Chinese tea processing categories.

Originally, white teas come from the Fujian-native “Da Bai” group of subvarieties of camellia sinensis. characterized by the silvery-white hair densely covering the tea plant’s young buds. While White Silver Needle only consists of unopened young shoots, White Peony has a 1+1 or 1+2 picking standard. That is, one shoot with the one or two adjacent youngest leaves each qualify for picking. Compared to Silver Needle tea, this picking standard gives the tea a bolder, more full-bodied and “stronger” taste.

Our Pai Mu Tan / Bai Mu Dan / White Peony

Our Pai Mu Tan comes from Fuding, the place of origin of the world’s finest and most popular white teas.  There we get it from a close-to-nature tea garden, where traditional handpicking and processing are still a matter of course. The tea boosts exactly the right ratio between white shoots and leaves for a perfect and balanced taste result. That means the perfect harmony between the floral and fruity notes of the shoots and the full-bodied flavor of the leaves.

Processing

The processing of our Pai Mu Tan basically follows the general method of white tea processing. For this purpose, the freshly picked tea leaves first wither outdoors in the sun for a period of 1-3 days. After this follows a second indoor withering phase of a few hours only. As a main characteristic of white tea processing, the final drying of the tea leaves follows immediately on the withering phase. At this, the heat at drying also stops the enzymatic oxidation processes in the tea leaf.

When processing white tea, the tea leaves are handled with extreme care throughout the process. This is particularly important because any “damage” to the leaf surfaces would cause an undesirable change in the resulting tea’s taste. For the same reason, there is also no rolling of the tea leaves as would be mandatory for other processing categories. At first glance, the method of processing white tea appears to be the simplest of the 6 Chinese tea processing categories. In fact, however, it is also quite tricky, because the result essentially dependent on a number of factors that are difficult or impossible to influence, such as the weather.

During withering, the otherwise green, white hairy shoots take on a bright white color. The rich color spectrum of the dry leaves, ranging from green to red to brown, complements the visual impression.

Naming and Legend

On the one hand, it is said that the Pai Mu Tan (in German: Peony) derives its name from the typical floral note in its taste. On the other hand, there’s an old legend about the origin of the tea hinting at the naming… According to that legend, the Chinese goddess Pai Mu Tan once gave this tea to a seriously ill mortal. Allegedly, after drinking the tea, that person miraculously recovered. In addition to a possible origin of the name, the story also hints at the supposed health-promoting properties of white tea.

Health Aspects of White Tea

White tea is particularly rich in polyphenols and catechins. Therefore, it is widely believed to have powerful antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral properties. White tea also allegedly has positive effects on cardiovascular functions, cholesterol levels, dental health and, in general, life-prolonging effects.

Taste

Full-bodied, nutty taste body with fruity, slightly earthy and woody components, preceded by an aromatic bouquet of floral notes that awaken the connotation with spring flowers.

Preparation

Pai Mu Tan / White Peony is “forgiving” in the truest sense of the word… In fact, the tea releases the individual components of its taste in phases. These, in turn, can be isolated and highlighted using a series of short infusions (“Gong-Fu” method).

An alternative to this is the more western-style preparation, uniting all taste components in a long-steeped first infusion. However, also this method of preparation  with a potential for at least two tasty follow-up infusions… First, pour boiling hot water after calming (80°C) over 2.5-3 grams of tea leaves in a clay teapot. Then let steep for 3-4 minutes for a full-bodied, delicious first infusion. After this, increase temperature and steeping time for 2 more tasty subsequent infusions (90°C, 5 minutes)

For more white teas at Siam Tea Shop check the following links:

Chinese White Teas at Siam Tea Shop

White Tea from Thailand at Siam Tea Shop

Vietnam Arbor Teas at Siam Tea Shop

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