Yue Guang Bai (月光白)
archetype: Moon moth
A moth that has caught the moon on its wing: a nocturnal sweetness, dark honey, a note of fresh pastry and lunar silk.
History
Yue Guang Bai — 'moonlight' — is a white tea of Yunnan, formally distinct from the Fujian whites: it is made of the large-leaf cultivar Camellia sinensis var. assamica (the same that goes into puer). Its peculiarity is the two-tone leaf: a silvery upper side and an almost black underside; hence the 'lunar' image. By one version, the leaf is dried in shade or under moonlight — hence the name.
Terroir
The canonical Yue Guang Bai is made from the large leaves of the puer bush; sometimes 'old-tree' leaf is used, giving a deeper honey profile.
Leaf
lunar honey, wild pear, dark vanilla, a subtle bloom long, velvety; the aftertaste — a thin moonlight in the throat
Properties
rich in antioxidants; mild stimulation, considered one of the 'lightest' teas for the night soft, velvety; felt as 'moonlight in the shoulders' low (20–35 mg)
Brewing ritual
a 150 ml gaiwan; 92 °C; 5 g / 150 ml. 15s — lunar honey, wild pear; 18s — the peak: dark vanilla, a night bloom; 25s — a long sweet trail; 45s — the finale — a thin moonlight in the throat; 70s — a very late trail of the night garden.
When to drink
evening and night. autumn and winter. for romance, for a slow evening, before sleep (some drink it — it doesn't disturb)