A fruity savory mouthfeel with a rounding umami sensation refreshes the mouth, throat, and sinus networks leaving a raspberry, sweetgrass and cornsilky afterbreath + fragrance on the empty cup and gaiwan lid.

White Cockscomb AKA White Rooster Crest, the translation of 白鸡冠 Bái Jī Guān, is one of the 四大名丛 Sì Dà Míng Cóng, the 4 great bushes of Wuyi, and may be the most oddball of oolongs.   An albino cultivar like the green tea Anji Bai Cha, the young spring growth flushes a white-ish yellow color (though eventually turning green like the rest of the bush later in the season) lacking typical chlorophyll.

Vernally emerging as white and pigment-less, turning a yellow gold after a few days, and eventually to the standard darker-hued evergreen associated with the tea plant, Bai Ji Guan is harvested during this brief 金 jin golden phase, also correlating to the time most favorable to harvest the three-four leaf plucking grade found in rock oolong.

Due to its irregular phyto-makeup, a lighter touch during yao qing agitation/bruising phase is required to induce the right amount of oxidation for Bai Ji Guan. The Yue family has chosen to expose the leaves of their Bai Ji Guan to just four hours of charcoal roasting 炭焙 tàn bèi, leaving it nearly unroasted, the most naked and exposed varietal in a genre of teas defined by their roast.

L-Theanine, Umami, and Bai Ji Guan's lack of photosynthesizing pigments

The stewarding of what begins as a natural mutation and eventually becomes reliable cultivation, albinism in Tea displays as a lack of pigment in the tender young growth, and are unusually high in amino acids like L-Theanine, lower in polyphenols like EGCG, in addition to having slightly lower caffeine levels.

L-Theanine, the famous relaxation and focus promoting compound found only in the Tea plant, is typically converted to catechin as the tea plant photosynthesizes in direct sunlight.  This is why Japanese teas like Gyokuro and Kabusecha that are crafted to retain L-Theanine and the rich brothy flavor quality of umami must be at least partially shade-grown.

Given the absence of photosynthesizing pigments like chlorophyll and carotenoids, much like famous shade grown teas, amino acids such as L-Theanine in albino cultivars like Bai Ji Guan don’t have the chance to readily convert to catechin.

Without the ability to absorb light energy via photosynthesizing pigments, albino teas not only have a similarly irregular amino acid and polyphenol profile like shade-grown teas, but some of the associated taste differences as well. Humans are known to experience amino acids like L-Theanine as umami and sometimes sweet, catechins and other polyphenols as often bitter. With a potentially more umami, sweet, and less bitter profile due its albinism, this makes Bai Ji Guan a unique varietal just in this fact alone.

Brew temps at origin would typically see this tea getting hit with a standard 98°C temperatures, yet note that L-Theanine and its correlating taste of umami is said to degrade with higher brewing temperatures.  If you want to preserve its umami and L-Theanine, try brewing this tea below boiling with water at an unconventional 70-85° C.

The Yue Family

The Yue family produces well-crafted outside-the-park rock oolong west of Wuyi city, near Shankou, on the way to Wusandi. From what I've gathered, it seems like a lot of their buyers are retailers that try to pass the teas off with a more prestigious name.  I met Yue Jun and her daughter on a train back in 2019, and she became my very first Wuyi contact.

When asked about the specifics of their location and its terroir, they respond:

We are located at an altitude of 457 meters in 山口自然村 Shānkǒu Natural Village, with Wu San Di to the west, located on the windward slope of the Wuyi Mountains, with sufficient precipitation, coupled with dense vegetation, sufficient evaporation, and high humidity. Heavy, readily forming clouds with mist create a warm and humid semi-shady environment with more scattered light suitable for the growth of tea trees. In addition, the soil in the mountain pass is weathered gravel suitable for the growth of tea trees. The soil has good permeability and high mineral content, which makes the growth of tea trees reach an ideal level.

In an industry fraught with newcomers claiming mastery of marketable + popular styles after just a handful of years, the Yue family has been honing their yancha craft for 3 generations. Jun’s grandmother was the first to begin growing and processing tea in the township of  Yangzhuang. It was her who planted their original Qidan Da Hong Pao bushes, their Old Bush Shui Xian, as well as others.

Yue Jun is a third generation tea farmer. Her inheritance of these acres in Shankou comes from her mother's mother. Her daughter is currently learning about tea farming.