# Yue Guang Bai (月光白)

*Yuè Guāng Bái · White · Metal*

**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.

> In the mountains of Yunnan lives a forest spirit, and on every full-moon night he goes out to the tea gardens and touches the leaf with his wing. Where he touches, the leaf turns silver on top and dark as the night sky beneath. When such a leaf is brewed, the night returns to the cup — honeyed, warm, velvety. Yue Guang Bai is 'the moon you can drink'.

## Terroir

1200–1800 m. red lateritic clay rich in iron and aluminium. tropics at altitude: warm humid air, long rains. 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

- **dry leaf:** large two-tone leaves — silvery on top, dark chestnut underneath; in the hand they smell of dark honey and lunar silk
- **warmed:** the warmed leaf — lunar honey, wild pear, dark vanilla, a subtle bloom
- **after pour:** after the infusion — honey, pear, vanilla, a dark flower
- **taste:** lunar honey, wild pear, dark vanilla, a subtle bloom
- **finish:** long, velvety; the aftertaste — a thin moonlight in the throat

## Properties

- **TCM:** neutral-cool; nourishes yin, moistens the lungs, calms the shen
- **Modern:** rich in antioxidants; mild stimulation, considered one of the 'lightest' teas for the night
- **Cha qi:** soft, velvety; felt as 'moonlight in the shoulders'
- **Caffeine:** 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). dark honey, dried pear, fig, white chocolate, grapes. two by candlelight; solitude at night with a book

## Tea meditation

1. This tea is for the night, not the morning.
2. Light a single candle. That is enough.
3. Fly to the moon in small sips.

## Questions and answers

### How do you brew Yue Guang Bai?

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.

### What does Yue Guang Bai taste like?

lunar honey, wild pear, dark vanilla, a subtle bloom

### How much caffeine is in Yue Guang Bai?

low (20–35 mg)

### What are the effects of Yue Guang Bai?

rich in antioxidants; mild stimulation, considered one of the 'lightest' teas for the night

## Related teas

- [Bai Mu Dan](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/bai-mu-dan)
- [Lao Shou Mei](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/lao-shou-mei)
- [Bai Hao Yin Zhen](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/bai-hao-yin-zhen)
- [White](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/class/white)