This tea was purchased from The T Shop in Christchurch, New Zealand.
From each bush, only the finest plucks are used. Tea buds and leaves are harvested in early spring before opening, when they are still covered with white hair. It takes about 80,000 tea leaf buds to make roughly 500g of the final tea product. A skillful tea harvest worker may well spend half a day to get just enough tea leaf buds to make 100g final tea product. After that they are left in natural sunlight for whitening and drying.
When it comes to steeping this tea, there are two options – a long steep, which will bring out grilled vegetable notes with floral/fruity (orchid or white peach) flavours. The taste remains long in mouth with a lingering sweet hay note with honey and walnuts.
OR you can opt for a short 30 second steep, which produces a light and delicate tea with grassy and floral notes.
Either way, watch the leaves dance as they steep. Glass is recommended, so you can witness the clarity of this tea.
Chinese people believe that Snow bud tea has even cooling and detoxifying properties. Recent studies have demonstrated that, compared to other types of tea, has more polyphenols, believed to be a possible anti-cancer agent. Unlike most white teas, Snow Bud is reasonably low in caffeine, so great to have before bed.