Bai Mu Dan (白牡丹)
archetype: Maiden in white hanfu
A maiden in white hanfu bends over a peony: tenderness, a floral breath, a warm sweet calm.
History
Bai Mu Dan — 'white peony' — is the next step after Yin Zhen in the subtlety of white teas. It is made of one bud and two leaves; the buds are covered with white down, the leaves grey-green above and silver below. In the cup the leaf truly looks like an opened peony. Minimal intervention — withering and drying; no roasting at all. The technique stabilised in the Qing era in Fuding and Zhenghe.
Terroir
Fuding gives a more 'lunar' and finer profile, Zhenghe a more honeyed and dense one.
Leaf
white peony, meadow hay, ripe pear, a soft sweetness long, soft, leaving a floral trail in the throat
Properties
rich in antioxidants, moderate theanine; gentle stimulation, good for nervous system and skin soft, warm, dispersing across shoulders and chest; felt as a 'maternal embrace' low to moderate (25–40 mg)
Brewing ritual
a 150 ml gaiwan; 88 °C; 5 g / 150 ml. 15s — the first peony: a floral breath; 18s — the peak: meadow hay, ripe pear; 25s — a soft sweetness, a warm calm; 40s — a long floral note; 60s — the finale — a faint trail of peony.
When to drink
day and evening. spring and summer. after a tense day, for a maidenly tenderness, for a child with a cold