Premium White Peony (Bai Mudan)

Interesting WP and I’m glad I got to try this one after trying Upton’s version. I think I like this a bit better. Still doesn’t compare to silver needle for me. First steep is the best with most flavor, balance, and character.

Dry leaf: floral, sour.
Wet leaf: malt, hay, grass.
Flavor: honeydew, cucumber, sweet, floral.

Sugary sweetness in the aroma

Faint floral note on the sip.

It has a nice sweet hay aroma that I get with most white teas. There is a really pleasant sweetness to this tea with flavors of hay and cucumber. It has a strong flavor and a lingering aftertaste that is delightful.

Brewing up a sample this evening. There’s a mix of white and darker leaves, with small fuzz on them. Aroma of the dry leaves is kind of chocolatey. The wet leaf is lightly malty with a fruitiness to it, and the first steep comes out a very pale amber. Lots of presence in the high notes here, with a sweet fruit onset and some kind of sweet lasting aftertaste. There’s a little bit of a low, malty note in the background here.

The second steep follows quite closely in the steps of the first, with a little bit more body coming through.

It’s quite enjoyable! For me personally, it has a lot of the qualities I like from a black tea without the malty heaviness I get from a lot of them.

My nephew and I brewed this up yesterday evening. We both really enjoyed it. The first steep was 3 minutes and the second was 5 minutes. The first was the best. Not at all bitter, very smooth, no astringency. There was a honey-like sweetness to it. The second was brewed for 5 minutes and though it came out much darker than I expected, it was still quite good.

Lovely tea! The appearance of the dry leaf is just beautiful, all different size leaves and colors. The tea itself smells like hay and grass. Reminds me of how I used to pluck grassroots as a kid and chew on the ends. Sort of a sweet, not-quite-floral flavor that I haven’t found anywhere else!

This is such a gorgeous tea. It’s only my third Bai Mudan, but I’m in love with its floral perfume and elegant sweetness. Either I brewed it really precisely this time, or it’s more forgiving than the other White Peony I’ve tried.

Compared to the White Peony from Lupicia, Teavivre’s Premium White Peony has greener (fresher) leaves and imparts a lot more flavour and brightness to the tea. Both have the same delicious floral and plummy taste.

Silver needle is supposed to be the crown jewel of white tea, but I’ve grown rather fond of its less expensive cousin white peony. It’s not as elegant at the silver needle with its broken up leaves and humble appearance. But what Bai Mu Dan lacks in visual appeal it makes up for with taste.

This tea has a pretty typical white tea smell of corn and hay. Steeped, it has a crisp sweet corn flavor and a gentle note of hay at the end. The liquor itself is almost colorless and very sweet. It’s delicate yet is full bodied. The later steep gives cooling cucumber, corn, and dry straw flavors which are tamer than in silver needle. There is no bitterness here whatsoever. I do however recommend keeping the steep temperature low as high temps result in a strong hay flavor.

Overall, a very sweet, clean tasting, and refreshing white tea that’s surprisingly full-flavored.