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“This is a very lovely green tea, which is full of surprises. The long, needle like leaves are very green and smell delightfully fresh when you open the package. I’m not enamored of too many Chinese...” Read full tasting note
“I wanted to try one of my favorite teas from a new source, wondering how much better it could be, and just the scent as I open the bag is intoxicating: vegetal, fruity, rich. Oh my. The leaves...” Read full tasting note
Harvest: Spring, 2012 (Ming Qian/Pre-Qing Ming)
Cultivar: Bai Ye Yi Hao
Grade: AAA
Growing Region: Anji County, Huzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province
Altitude : 2,790+/- Ft (850+/- M)
Overview:
An Ji Bai Cha (English: An Ji White Tea) is a historically significant tea from Anji County in Northwest Zhejiang Province (Anji County Google Map). The new growth leaves and buds of the Bai Ye Yi Hao/White Leaf Number One cultivar used to produce this tea are a very light green (said to be very similar to the color of white jade) in the early spring before the weather starts to warm up, so it is referred to as “Bai Cha” even though it is processed into a green tea.
An Ji Bai Cha has a history dating back to at least 1107, when it was mentioned by the Song Dynasty Emperor Huizong as his favorite tea in his “Da Guan Cha Lun” or “Treatise on the Magnificent Spectacle of Tea,” but this white tea varietal was somehow lost in all the many societal upheavals that China went through over the centuries and became a legend. Fast forward to the early 1980’s: a “white” tea plant was discovered in An Ji County, and it was decided that it had to be a descendant of the Song Dynasty “White” tea varietal. Over the next several years, clones of this newly rediscovered “mother” bush were made from cuttings, and An Ji Bai Cha was reborn.
Appearance, Flavor & Aroma:
This An Ji Bai Cha is a beautiful specimen, plucked to a one bud to two or three leaf standard and rolled into a needle-like shape. When the leaves are wet, the “white jade” color is apparent on the smaller leaf sets, and the leaves show beautiful, darker green veins.
The aroma of the dry leaf is sweet like fresh-cut grass with hints of something like a freshly baked cake and a touch of something floral. When steeped, this tea produces a beautiful, crystal clear, pale “white jade” colored liquor with a smooth, sweet aroma of young green vegetables. The flavor is super fresh, delicately floral and a bit honey-sweet with a very clean & refreshing finish. The aftertaste builds over a few cups and is impressively sweet & long-lasting.
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This is a very lovely green tea, which is full of surprises. The long, needle like leaves are very green and smell delightfully fresh when you open the package.
I’m not enamored of too many Chinese green teas, but I did like this one. I steeped it for 3 minutes Western style and got a very light colored infusion. I’d say I used 4 grams of tea in an 8 oz glass cup.
The aroma of the tea is vegetal and almost floral like in nature. It has a very mild flavor like sugar snap peas, with a touch of orchid-sweetness and almost seems to posses a kind of rare purity. It’s very refreshing and smooth and has a slight sweet aftertaste that has a bit of macadamia nut yumminess mingling on my tongue. Makes me feel relaxed and delighted at the same time.
According to RateTea, this green has a high percentage of theanine which is likely responsible for the relaxing feeling.
http://ratetea.com/style/anji-bai-cha/110/
I would definitely get this one again and I’m not the biggest fan of Chinese greens – on the list it goes since all I got was a 10g sample, yummy yum yum!
I wanted to try one of my favorite teas from a new source, wondering how much better it could be, and just the scent as I open the bag is intoxicating: vegetal, fruity, rich. Oh my.
The leaves are light green and lovely paired buds. I used 3 grams for my 3 ounce/100mL unglazed Petr Novak Shiboridashi.
1st infusion is a 180 degree flash rinse to ‘wake up’ the leaves: very dilute, hints of floral sweetness.
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2nd infusion at 150 degrees, 30 seconds, light floral vegetal, still not strong enough, should have made it 60 or 90 seconds. Will do the next one longer.
3rd infusion at 160 degrees, 120 seconds, a little bit overdone, should have been 90 seconds. Still working this one out.
4th infusion at 70 seconds, delicious, but I stopped taking notes. I went out to about 8 infusions and water just off the boil pus several minutes’ infusions, but that last one was just sweetwater.
I think I need to give this one more time up front, and it will be brilliant—although I must doubt that it can truly match the astonishingly fine smell of the dry leaves.
Some photos of the tea on my flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/8060493477/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/8060494826/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/8060493948/
Is that a Shiboridashi you are brewing with? I love the photos both in composition and in color interplay.
Yes, that’s one of the shiboridashi I commissioned from Petr Novak. His web site is
http://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/en/
And thanks for the complements on the photos. I’m trying to make them more interesting.
The An Ji Bai Cha that I got from Canton Tea is probably my most favouritest tea ever for all the reasons you cite above.
I was surprised at how flavorful it was for such a light tea.
This tea looks so delicious. :P
Yum indeed! Adding it to the shopping list!