Pai Mu Tan

Light and delicate, offering all the gentle pleasures of white tea. Pai Mu Tan (White Peony) is the classic Chinese white: young leaves and silvery buds, simply withered and dried — the least processed style of tea there is, and among the most graceful.

The cup is pale gold with a soft, fresh sweetness — think melon, hay and spring air — and almost no astringency. Gentle and undemanding, it is a soothing choice from morning to night.

Brew one heaping teaspoon per cup with water around 80 to 85°C for 3 to 4 minutes; the leaves reward a second infusion. Always plain — subtlety is the whole point.