Modern Nüwa | 2022 Autumn Shoumei

This Bailu Shoumei comes from the verdant slopes of Taimu Mountain, the legendary birthplace of Fuding White Tea.  The picking grade of this tea is very high, an early September pick replete with many silver buds.  There is a large stem to leaf ratio, which is characteristic of Zhang's production, as he desires their woodsy sweetness to mature over time.  As this tea is comprised of many small buds and delicate leaves, when aged loose, they tend to break down very easily, thus we have done what the pros do and pressed this tea young to help preserve the leaf integrity as it ages for the long term.

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The dry leaves offer a clean aroma of fresh baked cake and something distinctly woodsy.  Already, compared to when we first sourced this tea, the vegetal notes are transforming into a growing floral bouquet.  Once hit with hot water, the leaves instantly give off a thick umami fragrance redolent of roasted peanuts and toasted corn.  As the brews progress, this thickness gives way to a red-date or Jujube sweetness.

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The brew is an immaculate gold enriched by a swirling cloud of trichomes, or tea down.  The taste on the tongue is rich and smooth, and losing some of the sharp vegetal notes we saw when it was fresh, maturing into something more buttery with more and more floral notes something through in the brew.  This tea has already matured very quickly over the past few years, and will continue to age into itself, as they say in Fuding, 一年茶，三年药，七年宝, first year it's tea, third year it's medicine, seventh year it's a treasure.  At this quality and value, this is a wonderful shoumei to stock up on and practice aging; the strong vegetal notes will slowly lose their strength and transform into a sweet bouquet of vanilla flowers.

Never bought a tea cake before?  Check out our video on how to break it apart!

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