Tea: 2024 King White Peony (Mudan Wang 牡丹王)
Type: White Tea
Harvest: Spring 2024
Press Date: Spring 2024
Region: Panxi, Fuding, China
Producer: Master Qiu
Tasting Notes: Sugar Doughnuts, Cream, Cinnamon, Bee Balm, Stewed Nettles
This is a re-pressing of one of our most popular tea cakes, the Grandmother Mountain, an early spring pressing of some of Fuding's finest Mudan Wang, or King Peony. The wrapper design was created by Anj from Gushu Studios, and we are just so in love with it, that we asked if we could use the same art for this beloved tea's re-pressing.
While this is a re-pressing of a sold-out cake, it is not the exact same tea. For starters, this tea is from the more prized Fuding region of Panxi and has been produced by Qiu's masterful hand in his pristine new tea factory. Additionally, this tea has been pressed with fresh material instead of tea from the previous year.
These changes mean that this new Grandmother Mountain 2.4 is made of tea from a better point of origin, it has been pressed with intentionality in a smaller, more personal facility, and its flavors will change more dynamic over the next few years. While this tea will start out very fresh and vegetal, in as little as 6 months of aging, the vanilla notes should begin to shoulder aside some of the more green vegetal nature of this young tea.
The peak of this tea will be seen in 3 years after its processing, so stock up for 2027, as we will sell out well before then!
The pick of this tea is very bud-heavy with a fair bit of longer stems seen in the cake. We love seeing these stems as they are what will give this tea its sweetness in the years to come. If you're not a fan of stems, check out the silver needle, though expect a much more dryness in your cup.
When the leaves are placed in a warm brewing vessel, the sugar-sweet fragrances of fresh baked cake or doughnuts rises to greet us when we open the lid after shaking the vessel slightly. There is the classic note of cream or cinnamon lingering in the background, which will intensify as this tea ages. When hot water is added, this sweet fragrance gives way to something more vegetal like bee balm or bergamot with a deep umami body that reminds us of stewed greens.
The brew itself is a clean pale gold and while the liquor is thirst-quenching and savory in the mouth, it is also pleasantly thick. This thickness is one of the key things we look for when sourcing white teas, as it is in our opinion what will allow a tea to age well, if it has a strong body, the fragrances will be absorbed into the tea soup itself instead of lingering purely on the leaves or in the nose.
This tea brews well at boiling temperatures, but also changes in texture and flavors as the kettle water cools.
It really is a luxury daily drinker!
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.
