Notes of verbena leaf, rose, and burdock.

White tea from Fujian, China・April 2019・紫玫瑰・Organic

This white tea is unique to Song, custom crafted using a new oolong cultivar from Wuyi Shan called zi meigui (Purple Rose). It is one of several varieties grown on a newly developed organic garden located in northeastern Fujian Province. Since 2013, we’ve been collaborating with this garden to develop teas that apply traditional crafting methods to new tea varieties.

The cultivar itself is fewer than ten years old. A hybrid of two lesser-known Wuyi cultivars: zi hongpao and jin meigui - it is rarely seen even as an oolong. The leaves are forest green, with long thin stalks tinged with purple.

After harvesting, the leaves are transferred indoors and placed on trays under constant air flow for 30 hours. This slow dehydration allows the tea leaves time to oxidize gently as they dry. The process produces a round sweetness, and accentuates the leaves' innate floral qualities.

The finished tea is wonderfully aromatic, crisp, and sweet, with notes of verbena leaf, rose, and burdock.

Brew: 5 grams・150 ml・205° F・1 min

High temperatures work best to intensify the aromatic quality of tea. Purple Rose takes well to this approach, as it delivers both sweetness and fragrance without bitterness even at the high temperatures we prescribe.