In Nature, White Moon Puerh Tea

In Nature Description:
The White Moon, also known as Yue Bai Guan, is an exceptional blend, as it has very soothing and aromatic properties, while offering an endless amount of health properties. This Fresh Puerh has its roots in the old tradition of the Yun Nan Region where the locals are dedicated to cultivating and finding new blends of its most popular teas, the Puerh.

A delicious treat, White Moon tea is fresh and can be enjoyed hot or cold.

My Review:

I’m glad to be at work today. Well, I am kind of just glad to be. Ok, it’s not that serious. It stormed all night. Usually that knocks me out, but last night I couldn’t sleep. It was very dark and pouring this morning, when I left home. The lightning was awesome. I live on a one lane road about a half mile off the highway. This morning it was like driving through the jungle. Leaves, limbs, puddles. Puddles? Puddles! I haven’t seen one of those in ages. Now they are everywhere. I get to the highway, thinking I got it made, except the road is so black and wet. There is steam hovering just above the pavement. Am I in my lane? Am I going to drive into the ditch? I don’t know. I can’t see… Here comes a car. Now I really can’t see. I hope they can. Then the lightning strobes and it lights the world up like daylight for a moment. Followed by the dark. My eyes aren’t adjusting fast enough. What a ride. Made it safely. I need tea.

This type tea as I understand it, has only been around for about 10 years. It is very unusual in that it does not readily fit into a normal tea classification. It is picked like a white tea, and frankly it looks and smells like white tea. It is allowed to whither, but not in the sunlight. That means it does oxidize somewhere between a green and a black. Then it is post fermented like a puerh. This is not from the province of Puerh, so technically it is a dark tea, which simply means post fermented, and not puerh.

The leaf on this is very cool. Some of it is very silver like fine white tea. Some of it is very dark like black. The scent of the dry leaf is fresh hay. I used my wooden spatula to extract a scoop and a half for this tasting as the leaf is large and fluffy. The water was heated to just boiling. This was hard for me to do because I am thinking white tea which takes much cooler water for a good tasting cup. This is puerh which takes boiling water. The instructions say to do a rinse. I did not. I steeped for two minutes instead of the recommended three – four. I am such a rebel.

The brew is a deep golden color in my press. It looks darker in the cup. The fragrance is like a field of wild flowers. Yeah, I know, it sounds awesome. It is. The taste is very similar to white peony but heavier. White peony is very subdued and delicate. This is like its rock and roll cousin, though it is still delicate compared to a black or typical puerh. As the cup cools, I notice a light smoke flavor. At first I thought it was my imagination, but the cooler the cup got the more it could be tasted. I like it.

The second cup remains white tea flavored. The smoke is not present in this cup as it cools. This is developing a sweetness. There is no hint of astringency.

The third cup has a even deeper more complex flavor. This is the first cup that I really notice any earthy raw puerh traits. Still no hint of astringency.

Cup number four has wonderful creamy feel. The taste has a mild nuttiness. It is no longer white tea but has morphed into warm earthy tones. There is no hint of bitterness or astringency. This is just mellow goodness.

Cup five (all 12oz) continues with a some of the white tea traits returning. Pretty sure this would go another round but I am stopping here.

If you like white tea and are terrified of puerh, then this is your tea. I know you hear that all the time. I am serious. There is nothing scary or unfamiliar about White Moon, and it just happens to be really good.
This wonderful sample was provided by In Nature.

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