Yunnan Sourcing included a generous sample of about 16.3 grams of this tea with my recent order. Dry leaves don’t seem nearly as green as what is pictured, and what I have here is more a mixture of green and brown. It is now roughly 10 months after harvest, so maybe the leaves have oxidized more in the packaging? I don’t know. There are quite a few white tips evident in the dry leaf. At first I thought a lot of twigs were included in the mix, but I think this is mostly due to the “large leaf” nature of the Yunnan tea – the stems are larger and more prominent as well, maybe? There are some rather large twigs.
Brews to a nice clear amber color, with the wet leaves giving me a smell reminiscent of Darjeeling black tea. The flavor is kind of similar to a second flush Darjeeling, too, with muscatel notes, but also with a pleasant oakiness. Much lighter in body than a typical black tea, of course. It is pretty nice, and a good value for the price.
I prefer the much greener bai mu dan I purchased a while back from English Tea Store – It had more delicate but delicious flavors including hints of mint, pine, apricot, green grape, etc – But was also a bit more expensive.
On the other hand, I would prefer this to the “pai mu tan” I purchased from Harney and Sons not too long ago – That one was kind of blah.
Seems to me to be down the road a ways and somewhere between a bai mu dan and a shou mei. That is pretty much alright with me, as I like a good shou mei. Never purchased a proper one, but maybe this is more akin to a gong mei?
