Yong De Bai Ya ("bai ya" means "white bud" in English) is comprised entirely of Spring harvest, 2010 sun dried white buds from plantation-grown Yong De county Yunnan large leaf varietal tea plants. Really, this tea is tough to classify because it is technically a green tea and a loose leaf Pu-Erh tea that just looks like a Silver Needles white tea, so we have listed it as a white tea, green tea, Sheng Pu-Erh and Pu-Erh Mao Cha. This particular tea comes from the same producer who supplied the raw materials for our 2007 Norbu White Bud Sheng Pu-Erh Tea Cake, which is one of our most popular compressed Pu-Erh teas.
The processing for this tea is the same as for any raw Pu-Erh tea, which makes this tea distinctly different from a traditional white tea. All the young buds are picked by hand before going in for processing. The tea buds are first allowed to wither slightly and become more pliable so that the buds don't crack and break up too much during the subsequent processing steps. After withering, the buds are then dry fried in a relatively low temperature wok to kill most of the oxidizing enzymes in the buds. Last, the processed buds are dried in the sun, which, aside from the varietals used and the growing environment, is the aspect that really sets Pu-Erh teas apart from other types.
The finished tea is really lovely. The dry buds are large and covered with pretty white hairs, and the aroma is sweet and grassy with a hint of a green chlorophyll type aroma. When infused, the liquor is crystal clear and light honey colored, and it has a mild grassy aroma. The flavor of this tea will change over the next several months as the remaining enzymes in the leaves oxidize and the tea begins to undergo natural fermentation, but, at the time of writing (5/30/2010), the taste is similar to a wonderfully assertive green tea. At this point, I can taste a very faint hint of maltiness underneath the vegetal and green/chlorophyll type flavors that dominate the cup. That malty sweet aspect is what made our 07 production of compressed cakes so popular, and I can see where that flavor should come from in the future.
Honestly, there is no wrong way to prepare this tea. My personal preference is to treat it as a Pu-Erh tea and steep it Gong-Fu style in a gaiwan using water just off the boil, but this tea is great steeped at lower temperatures like a green tea or even "grandpa style" in a tall glass using 175-180 degree water and waiting for the leaves to fall to the bottom & for the water to cool off before drinking.
See our Steeping Guide for detailed white tea steeping guidelines.
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Weight: 0.1102 lb
49.99 grams
1.76 ounces
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| Positive Customer Review |
debunix  |
22 Aug 2010, 12:22 PM |
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Sweet, floral and fruity
First try with this new tea today. They look thin and delicate compared to the Ya Bao buds I have used before. They smell of peaches and peach blossom.
2 grams of buds to 2 oz water in a small gaiwan, about 30 seconds first infusion. The tea is as promised by the scent, sweet, floral, fruity—again, notes of peach and sweet stone fruit blossom, but lighter and milder on the camphor than the Ya Bao buds. It’s closer to a silver needle, which happens to be what I was craving this morning, but didn’t have around.
A 2nd infusion, also about 30 seconds, is still very sweet, but with less of the floral and fruity notes.
Trying for a 3rd infusion, but upping the water temperature to 180 degrees, and time to 1 minutes, to see if higher temp can unlock more flavor. It does, and there is a pleasing fruitiness returning, a little tart, but overall I suspect this tea would be better brewed as a single longer infusion, to best get the fruity and floral maximized together.
Trying again, another 2 grams, but this time in a 6 oz teapot with water 170 degrees and for 5 minute infusion: this is what the tea wants, I think. Brighter floral flavors, deeper sweetness and fruitiness, the fruitiness has receded a bit, but the overall impression is better. I do think the leaves are done after this first infusion.
This is a very nice tea. And yes, I can certainly see where the wonders of my 2007 Sheng come from, in this one.
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