On this last journey to Taiwan to visit the Bai family in Pinglin they surprised us by pulling out a special project they had been studying up on to finally make: white tea.  The Bai clan is a well-known and revered tea family that produces competition winning Baozhong Oolong, and with this production of Bai Mu Dan White Peony they have stepped well out of their typical wheelhouse to craft something unusual in Taiwan.

How intrigued and privileged we felt to try this surprise small batch experiment so fresh after harvest.

On April 11th, they harvested 1 bud - 2 leaves from their 白毛猴 Bái máo hóu bushes, plants they typically use for their early summer production of Bai Hao Oriental Beauty tea.  Contrasted with the seemingly endless steps of controlling and coaxing raw tea materials into their meticulous Baozhong tea, white tea is created in just three simple steps: harvesting, withering, and drying.  Simple yet not easy — read more about what goes into the high art of white tea production here.

Despite the newness of this style to the family, the tea turns out to be everything we look for in a fine fresh white: fantastic sun-kissed flavor profile with lots of clarity and brightness, durability and responsiveness to different brewing methods, a simple approachable elegance that beckons you back.  It's a charming white tea that carries a resolutely clean and professional execution that is signature to the Bai family.

Look forward to the release of their Baozhong tea with the forthcoming drop of other Oolongs acquired during our time in Taiwan, until then enjoy this beautiful white.  Only a few test kilos were made, we were lucky to grab a fraction of that.