Aged White Tea Disc - 2021

This magnificent disk of white tea from the Fuding region in China is composed of Bai Mudan from two different cultivars, Dabai and Dahao. Infused, it gives a magnificent amber color. Its delicious fruity taste is accompanied by more discreet vegetal and mineral nuances. It has an excellent roundness in the mouth and a delicious note of dried apricot.

White tea is one of the few kinds of tea that lends itself to being aged. As white tea is simply picked, withered and then dried without passing it to high temperatures like other types of tea, this allows the leaves to retain active enzymes. This very slow activity allows white tea to change over the years. A freshly harvested white tea will have springtime, delicate and flowery taste notes. An aged white tea evolves towards more woody and fruity notes.

It is only recently, since the mid-2000s, that we have started to find white teas preserved in compressed form such as Pu-erh teas. About 10 years ago, aged white teas were increasingly discovered and promoted in China, exploding in popularity. A popular saying goes "one year old white tea is tea; three years old is cure; and seven years old is treasure".