After checking out the packaging on my Winter White Earl Grey, I discovered that my tea of choice is a Mutan White Tea. What is Mutan White Tea? I don't know, so I started conducted a little research.
So far, I have not found a lot of information on Mutan White Tea. However, I was able to find out a significant am out of information on White Tea. My findings are as follows:
Chinese white teas:
- Bai Hao Yinzhen (Silver needle): The highest grade of the Bai Hao Yinzhen should be fleshy, bright colored and covered with tiny white hairs. Fujian Province, China.
- Bai Mu Dan (White Peony): A grade down from Bai Hao Yinzhen tea, incorporating the bud and two leaves which should be covered with a fine, silvery-white down. From Fujian Province, China. (Sometimes spelled Pai Mu Tan.)
- Gong Mei (Tribute Eyebrow): The third grade of white tea, the production uses leaves from the Xiao Bai or "small white" tea trees.
- Shou Mei (Noble, Long Life Eyebrow): A fruity, furry white tea that is a chaotic mix of tips and upper leaf, it has a stronger flavor than other white teas, similar to Oolong. It is the fourth grade of white tea and is plucked later than Bai Mu Dan hence the tea may be darker in color. From Fujian Province and Guangxi Province in China
Other white teas:
- Ceylon White: A highly prized tea grown in Sri Lanka. The tea has a very light liquoring with notes of pine and honey and a golden coppery infusion.
- Darjeeling White: It has a delicate aroma and brews to a pale golden cup with a mellow taste and a hint of sweetness. A tea from Darjeeling, India.
- Assam White: White tea production in the Assam region is rare. A white Assam yields a refined infusion that is naturally sweet with a distinct malty character.
- White Puerh Tea: Harvested from plantations found high on remote mountain peaks of Yunnan Province, China. Incredibly labor intensive with each step processed by hand, these luxury whites are wonderfully rich in fragrance, and possess an alluring, sweet nectar-like quality.
Thus far, I am unable to determine what category Mutan White falls into. If you know, please share - I would love to be enlightened further.
Reference:White tea. (2008, February 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:46, April 2, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_tea&oldid=194705669
1 comment:
I believe it falls under Bai Mu Dan, which is also known as Mu Tan. Mu Tan is actually considered a distinct tea rather than a lower grade tea than Bai Hao Yinzhen (Silver Needle). Of course Silver Needle is still known as the best quality white tea, but Mu Tan has its own charms. Also, there are grades of Mu Tan. I am not sure what Harney and Sons would be, but having had the Winter White Earl Grey myself, it seems to be a very good quality White Peony tea. In my opinion, Bai Mu Dan or Mu Tan has a fuller body and I prefer it to the Bai Hao Yinzhen.
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