Bai Ya Long Jing3CLB Harvest: April 2023
Origin: China / Zhejiang / Shengzhou / Xibaishan
Height: 600 m.a.s.l
Tea plant varietal: Bai Ye 1 Hao
Baiya Longjing or Baicha Longjing has also been produced from a white-leafed tea plant; but it comes from Xinchang, and not Anxi. It is produced with leaves of the tea plant with the whitish leaves. Exceptional delicacy displaying aromas between An Ji Bai Cha and Long Jing Shi Feng. A beautiful example for the influence of the form on the taste.The producer, who is known in his town as a tea freak, as he is crazy for tea, owns vast tea gardens in the hills around Xinchang and produces a diversity of teas from diverse varietals in good quality.The tea is called Bai Cha, white tea, because the leaves are of a pale green, almost white, when they are plucked, as this tea plant has very little chlorophyll. However, it is produced in the manner of green tea. These tea plants with the whitish leaves had already been described during the Song-dynasty (960-1279), and were ever since thought to be a myth. At the end of the 20th century, however, a wild tea tree of this kind was (re-?)discovered. Teas from this tea varietal are very smooth and incredibly sweet in aroma. Because of the high degree of a certain amino acid in the tea plant these teas have a pronounced umami-taste.
Character:
An intensely full pouring, lightly nutty and tenderly sweet. A smooth, welcoming tea that captivates through its unobtrusive intensity.
Category:
Bian Xing Cha (incl. Long Jing) Bian Xing Cha, literally flat form tea, are green teas with pressed, flat leaves. Usually the bud and two leaves are plucked for this tea. The leaves' typical flat form comes from pressing the tea leaves against the hot wok's wall by hand, or by machine. For the most part, Bian Xing Cha are being sold as Long Jing. Genuine Long Jing come from the region around the Xi Hu (West-lake), in the west of Hangzhou (Zhejiang province) and are called Xi Hu Long Jing. Great quality teas come from the three villages Wengjiashan, Longjing and Meijiawu and are called Long Jing Shi Feng, Dragon well from the lion's summit. The Long Jing type of tea is also being produced in other regions of China and unfortunately sold as original Long Jing. Other well known Bian Xing Cha are the simpler Ding Gu Da Fang, and the excellent Tai Ping Hou Kui. Bian Xing Cha are light and sweet with a nutty aroma and the very clear and typical slightly bitter notes of green tea.