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The most refined and reserved of the leaf-bitten teas of Taiwan. This Bai Hao has an incredibly floral sweetness. A rare gem.
Notes of open flowers, citrus, bright soil, and honey.
Bai Hao, Oriental Beauty, is the most revered of the leaf-bitten teas of Taiwan. With it’s delicate white strands among bronze leaves, the un-brewed tea looks mysterious. This Bai Hao has an earthy sweetness with a smooth and cooling sensations that is felt in the mouth upon breathing after a sip.
Being from the leaf-bitten category of tea like Gui Fei, Oriental Beauty has a distinct place in the echelon of tea. The quintessential white strands of leaf bitten tea are a product of the healing process the plant undergoes after being bitten by cicadas. This natural biting process is encouraged, and it embodies a natural symbiotic relationship between the cicada, tea plant, farmer, and tea drinker — they all are rewarded by cooperation. This is not a tea that can be produced on a mass scale with heavily machined and non-organic practices.
Compared to other leaf bitten teas like Gui Fei and some Taiwanese Honey Black teas, Oriental Beauty has marked notes of tangerine peel, earth, mineral water. It is made using the Qing Xin Da Pan varietal, which is the highest quality used for Oriental Beauty. The preparation of this tea requires a very long oxidation. Part of the oxidation occurs on the leaf after being bitten, part occurs by rolling and bruising, bringing the leaf to a relatively high 60% oxidation.
Brew Oriental Beauty using 195 degree water with 40 second infusions. The brew is a lovely copper, and you will have some flexibility with experimentation of brew times.
