T Ching's Morning Dew

It was a pleasure and an experience to once again participate in one of T Ching's online tea tastings. The Morning Dew, a white tea, was one of three teas we tasted this time, including Margaret's Hope Muscatel and a Keemun Hao Ya. I've decided not to publish a detailed review of the two black teas here; though they were both solid examples of their respective types, I didn't find either of them particularly memorable.

This tea comes from Mirik, located in Darjeeling, India. This is the best Indian white tea I have enjoyed so far. The dry leaves are large, light, like a bai mu dan, but a vibrant green. The aroma is fresh and crisp, makes me think of fall apples.

I used a lot of leaves, 3.5 grams, looks like the equivalent of 3-4 tbsp.

The brew is amazing, tart but sweet with a honeysuckle finish. The flavor is bolder than I am used to in a white tea, bolder than some green teas I've tasted.

My only complaint is that it doesn't stand up as well to multiple infusions, which is all that keeps this tea from becoming my new favorite white tea. I've experimented with using more leaf and shorter brewing times, but the tea started to become unpleasantly astringent. I ran out of tea before I could experiment further.