A fascinating White tea made from Old tea trees in Jinggu Yunnan. The tea trees are around 100 years old and are probably Camellia Taliensis which makes it a very unique tea since 99.9% of tea is made from Camellia Sinensis varieties.
There are many stories about this tea. Some say that it is picked at night and that the leaves never see the sunlight, other say that the tea is picked during the day but dried indoors and in low light conditions.
I have to say that from my visits to Yunnan I am seeing a lot more Yue Guang Bai being produced in recent years (clearly, it is growing in popularity) and a lot of it is being produced pretty much like all Whites - picked and dried in the sun,
This tea has been picked during the day and then dried indoors with hot air. Withering fresh leaves and drying in this way does take longer time than drying in the sun but that gives the tea that extra level of oxidation and sweetness.
Moonlight White is suitable for ageing and the flavour will shift over the coming months and years and become darker and closer in taste to a sweet black tea.