February 2023
Yunnan White Tea
Following our aged sheng puerh tea club last month, let's now dive deeper into teas from Yunnan province! We will experience a different style of white tea from our 2022 August Fuding white tea club. Yunnan white tea didn't become popular until in the past two decades, thanks to the invention of Moonlight White in early 2000s and the rising popularity of Fuding white tea. As the market demand and consumer awareness increased, more tea farmers in Yunnan started producing white tea, often borrowing the processing technique from Fuding and adapting to the big leaf varietal (Camellia sinensis var. assamica). The difference between Yunnan and Fuding white teas lies not only in cultivar, but also the terroir. Fuding is at China's Pacific coast, while Yunnan is in the southwest inner land with some parts being in the tropical area. The elevation is much higher in Yunnan, and the tea trees often grow in forests with good biodiversity. Among the 4 teas we selected, there's one made from gushu (ancient trees), one from ancient wild tea trees, one from big arbor trees in Wu Liang Shan, and one from an organic tea garden managed by Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences Tea Institute. Please find detailed brewing instructions on our app because these four teas differ in form and picking standard.
