Tea: 2024 Old Arbor White Needle
Type: Silver Needle White Tea
Harvest: Spring 2024
Press Date: Spring 2024
Region: Matai, Bangdong, Lincang, Yunnan, China
Producer: Sister Lan
Tasting Notes: Cantaloupe, Mint, Sweetgrass, Cedar Wood, Rose
This is a tea we were first introduced to in 2023. On our way to the Bangdong Village to check out their grove of Gushu trees (See the NYC Tapwater cake), we passed though the smaller village of Matai, or Horse Terrace. Lanjie mentioned that this has some of the best white tea in Eastern Lincang and described the thick silver needle, the fuzzy buds, and the melon taste to the tea. While we skipped pressing it last year in favor of the Kuashan Shoumei material (See the Forbidden Fruit cake), we were excited to get our hands on some of this excellent white tea this year.
As the leaves are so fuzzy, this tea takes some time to get going, delivering a few lightly colored sweet-water infusions before finding its true stride around the third infusion. That said, the leaves on the first few infusions smell like walking through a fruit market in spring, there are melon fragrances mixed with mint and thyme, a little sweetgrass and cedar wood mixed in there. Every time we open the lid of the gaiwan, we can't help but smell the leaves. As the session progresses, the leaves begin to exude more cracked black pepper and thick rose fragrances.
The brew begins to thicken up, while remaining a clear pale gold. After a few infusions, this tea begins to coat the mouth and leaves a pleasant oily sensation on the tongue. The tea retains a lot of high notes in the mouth despite the heavier fragrances issuing from the cup. After a few more infusions, we forget to count, we realize how long-lasting this tea is, providing brew after brew of clean golden infusions, it's very difficult to oversteep, and so far we have not managed to steep this one out to completion. Drink it fresh, or see how it matures with age.
We recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan or porcelain teapot. Our brewing ratio is typically 6 grams of tea to 100-120ml of water in flash-fast infusions. We enjoy using boiling water when brewing our whites, but experimenting with cooler temperatures can create a more textured cup of tea.
