A tiny batch of sublime pale pickings of Anji Bai Cha. Milk, melon and gooseberries with lemon-sweet finish.
This is a special vintage of a top-of-the-pile Jade Arrow, which rarely leaves the shores of China and is usually pre-purchased by a closed group of rich tea connoisseurs.
While Anji Bai Cha is a tea type that you will find at almost any self-respecting tea shop, there are quite a few varying styles of this tea.
The most commonly found variety, which we tend to avoid is quite green and has a lovely, albeit pretty uninspiring, taste of green acorn and raw nuts.
Things get much more delicious when the Anji Bai Cha is picked finer and from older varieties - rich, nutty warmth enters the mix and an enduring sweet finish blesses the tongue for hours.
This Jade Arrow Supreme is yet another style - very fine-picked from an extra milky albino cultivar.
The picking is so delicate and fine with a bright chartreuse yellow that transforms to the milkiest, white buds when brewed - I defy you to find a more beautiful pale Anji Bai Cha!
But this tea is not just a looker!
Aromatics pop from these leaves with warmth, spice and bready indulgence - think fairground doughnuts, dusted in dark chocolate and eaten in a summer meadow.
The textire is soft, oily and thick with a rounded brothiness.
Taste waltzes from savoury beans and creamy zucchini to enriched breads and warm milk and leaves you with the taste of sugar cookies, melon and gooseberries.
All of these notes are cohesive and in harmony with a clarity reserved for the truly special batches out there.
This is the ultimate expression of Anji!
