'I can't believe it's not Honey' - 2014 Aged Chinese White Tea by Kuura Corp.


$85.00
2 in stock

Delivery

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FAQs

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This aged shoumei white tea was picked and pressed in Fujian in 2014, then stored in Guangzhou for several years. Chinese white teas such as this are known for their fragrance and sweetness, and the solid storage and age on this tea lends itself well to those aspects. Whilst shoumei has less buds than a gongmei or baimudan grade white tea, the higher proportion of larger leaves means this tea is very robust, making it suitable to many styles of brewing, including gongfu in a small teapot or gaiwan, brewed directly in a mug, in a large Western-style teapot, or for being boiled/simmered in a kettle or on the stove. Depending on how strong you brew the tea, the flavours can range from light and softly sweet and fragrant, to thick and rich, with a smooth and satisfying honey-like character, hence the name. 

Aged white teas from Fujian have exploded in popularity in recent years in the Chinese market, and it's increasingly difficult to find teas that were actually aged rather than being processed to mimic age. Mostly because aging white tea is a fairly new concept, only being done since around 2011 in any commercial sense.

We think this tea is great value, and a perfect introduction to Chinese tea if you're just beginning to explore, or after a solid tea of this style to keep on rotation. 

The cakes are 360g, which is the traditional size for tea cakes in China based on Imperial measurements, but a fair bit larger than most of Kuura's in-house productions which are normally 200g. At $0.25AUD per gram, this tea is the equivalent of a $50AUD 200g cake. 

Gorgeous artwork on this tea - as Kuura is known for -  produced in collaboration with Eroductions.

Brewing instructions: 

Use boiling water (100C). 

We recommend approx 1g of tea per 15ml of water for Gongfu-style brewing in a teapot or gaiwan. Rinse the leaves once and then brew several times until there is no flavour left.

For Western-style brewing in a larger teapot, use approx. 5g per 100ml of water. You can re-brew the leaves a few times.

To brew direct in a mug, use 1-2g of tea in the bottom of the cup, fill with boiling water, and drink once cool. Re-fill the cup with more water when you've drunk 1/3rd of the tea. Repeat until there is no more flavour left.

To brew Kombucha or Jun - depending on how strong you like it - use 15g for 2 litres. Let steep with your choice of sugar type until a deep rich colour and flavour. Add to your Kombucha starter liquid and mother and brew until slightly effervescent and bottle for a second ferment.