Merkaba Teas, Pai Mu Tan, White Tea

Origin: China.

This white tea with an appearance of a full tea leaf is made from the buds and leaves that remain after the spring harvest of the Silver
Needle. Smooth and flowery with a hint of earthiness it has a bolder aroma and produces a darker cup color than the Silver Needle.

White Teas are the most delicate and least processed of all teas and are characterized by a very mild flavor and gentle fragrance. Until
recently, this rare form of tea that gets its name from the soft downy hairs of the unopened leaf-buds was a treat reserved for the elite.

This is the highest grade of white tea available before one enters the stratosphere in pricing for white teas such as Peony White Needle
Tea. Pai Mu Tan leaves are plucked from a special varietal tea bush called Narcissus or chaicha bushes. Secondly the leaves are not
steamed or pan-fired (the process used in green teas). The leaves are naturally withered and dried in the sun. If mechanical drying is
required it is a baking process at temperatures less that 40 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, only special "two leaves and a bud" are selected.
These leaves must show a very light green almost gray white color and be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. White teas that are
withered in conditions that are too hot with become reddish and in conditions that are too cold they will become blackish. You will see on
this Pai Mu Tan that the tea maker struck the perfect balance between solar and indoor withering resulting in a perfect white tea.

The processing rules require this tea only be picked between March 15 and April 10. It is not picked on days that may be raining or if the
dew has not dried or if there is frost on the ground. No purple buds are allowed and the stems must not be too long or too short. Leaves
damaged by wind, handling, insects or partially open are rejected and put into a lower grade. The best Pai Mu Tan is produced using the
two leaves and a bud proportion and is naturally or mechanically withered to produce leaves that are not black or red but green in color.

A delicate lingering fragrance and a fresh mellow sweet taste devoid of astringency or grassy flavor with a shimmering clear infusion. You
will notice a very mild peony aroma when brewing the tea and a floral aroma, the tea is best brewed with good mineral water and at 70°c
(158°F) to 80°c (176°F). The brew is a very pale green or golden color. Fruity and darker than Silver Needle, yet not as strong as Shou Mei.
The finest quality should have a shimmering clear infusion with a delicate lingering fragrance and a fresh, mellow, sweet taste devoid of
astringency and grassy flavors.

Like Yin Zhen, Bai Mu Dan is known to have anti-toxin and cooling properties to help to decrease body heat. Superb as an evening tea and
those philosophers amongst us, or simply when a thought needs to be.