2018 Organic Snow Buds

The majority of China green tea undergoes a pan-firing process to de-enzyme the tea so that the leaves and flavor can remain green. An older, more traditional, method is to use convective heat to gently bake the leaves. Baking preserves delicate floral flavors, and doesn’t impart as much flavor from the process as pan-firing. Our latest offering, Snow Buds, is a baked green tea from Yunnan, China.

Currently, we offer a rather large selection of tea made from slightly different varieties the da yeh cultivar. Its versatility is quite amazing, whether it’s a white, green, yellow or black tea, da yeh teas are complexly flavored. Depending on the process, particular cultivar, and growing conditions, it can be floral, sugary sweet, or spicy. It may be malty, chocolaty, or fresh and grassy. The Snow Bud style of tea was developed in eastern China utilizing white tea cultivars to produce green tea. The da yeh cultivar makes a great substitute for the white tea cultivars of eastern China, and the resulting tea displays flavors of wildflower balanced with a rich umami flavor. The peppery finish is intertwined with a lingering sweetness. It’s entirely unlike any tea that we currently offer and should appeal to tea drinkers that are turned off by grassy, vegetal green teas.

Steeping Tips

Due to its delicate nature, I think that this tea is best suited for a kyusu and slightly hotter than normal water. Steep 6 grams in 185°F water for 3 minutes.  Steep a second infusion for another 3 minutes. Like most China green teas, Snow Buds isn’t suited for making iced tea.