Anji White Tea - COLORFULTEA

Translation: White tea from the region of Anji

Alternative name: An Ji White Tea

Region: Zhejiang Province

Harvest season: Late March to early April

Cultivar: Bai Ye

Shape: straight, fat and a little flat with white fuzz and fat bud.

Liquid: clear and bright.

Aroma: lasting and thick fragrance.

Taste: moist and cool, fragrant, sweet, and mild as "bamboo in snow". The higher grade the tea, the more pure and fragrant the aroma.

Brewed tea leaves: bright green, blossoming shoots can be identified.

Shape: the tea whose leaves are fat and tender with lots of fuzz is the top grade. The tea whose bud is thin and sparse is inferior. The tea whose leaves are mixed with tender buds and old leaves is of bad quality.

Taste: the top grade tastes fresh, mellow, thick and sweet. The one which tastes astrictive and dull is of bad quality.

Soup: the top grade looks apricot, almond green, clear and bright. The tea which looks reddish and dark mix is poor.

Quality: free of old stems, old leaves and Herbarium. If the tea contains these impurities, it is of poor quality.

Brewing method: the middle-putting brewing method is adopted. First use a small amount of water to moisten the tea, and then shake the cup, and finally put water to brew the tea.

Water temperature: the water temperature cannot be too high, 80℃〜85℃ is appropriate. Tea sets: glass or glass tureen.

Tasting notes: The threadlike leaves of this delicate gem are pale green and uniform. Unfurled they look so tender and perfect that they seem barely plucked from the branch of the tea plant. They release a lush scent of greenery mixed with fresh grass and asparagus with light notes of white flowers. The pale liquid slides suavely and smoothly through the mouth. The sweet and tart attack swells to aromas of ground cherries and fresh beans. The overall sensation is both gentle and dazzling and has a remarkable balance. Fresh and exquisite, the long vegetal finish is undercut with flowers and transports the taster.

Recommended infusion accessory: A zhong or small teapot.

Harvest time of Anji White tea

Anji White tea is a rare and precious variation of tea. Its color can turn from white to green. The time to produce white tea usually lasts only a month. Buds of Anji White tea germinated before Tombsweeping Day are white. The color gradually turns into jade white before Grain Rain. And then the buds will turn into white and green leaves between Grain Rain and summer solstice. Finally, the leaves become completely green when summer is coming and there is no difference from common green tea.

As a kind of White tea itself, different from the common tea

Anji White tea is processed in the same way as green tea. It still belongs to green tea or green tea of white leave. As Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty says， "White tea stands itself and differs from common tea". Anji White tea seems very precious because of its unique features.