Lu Xue Ya Snow Bud Green Tea 50g

Snow Bud is a green tea made from apical buds and leaves harvested and processed in the Yunnan region of China. The choice to treat only the leaves of the plant at the apex of each branch is intended to enhance the high concentration of flavor found in the youngest and most tender components of the shoots.

Snow Bud, despite being a green tea, might also remind you at times of a white tea: on the palate, in fact, in addition to vegetal notes more typical of a green tea, there will be a fresh floral scent accompanied by a peculiar nectarine and honeyed sweetness, which will accompany you until the end of the tasting.

It is a refined and delicate tea, perfect for lovers of fresher, more floral green teas.

Tasting – Sight and smell

Snow Bud green tea leaves are whole, medium-sized, and rolled and slightly curled in shape. The color shades range from forest green to silver-gray, with numerous creamy-white buds covered with an abundant and soft layer of bai hao. On the nose, wet leaves give off sweet aromas of roasted corn, carrots, fresh peas, as well as floral hints (yellow flowers, hops) and a hint of honey. The liquor in the cup is pale yellow, clear with bright highlights.

Tasting Notes

GONG FU CHA

The first infusion of Snow Bud green tea reveals a very sweet and roasted character reminiscent of caramelized almonds. Vegetable notes of buttery carrots, sweet potatoes, and an aftertaste of hay, always rather sweetish, can then be felt. The second infusion has more intense vegetable notes of fava beans and peas, as well as an underlying sweetness reminiscent of acacia honey and a wildflower finish. With the third infusion, a stronger umami appears with hints of steamed zucchini, while a hint of hay and a hint of dried flowers again appears in the closing.

WESTERN

The first notes of Snow Bud green tea are sweet and starchy, like corn. There are also roasted notes of dried fruit and a sugary feeling in the back of the throat and sides of the tongue. Notes of baked carrots and squash and fresh hints of peas and asparagus tips then emerge. The finish is marked by an elegant note of wild flowers, which lingers along with the sugary hints. The body of this tea is light and silky; in the taste there is no trace of astringency or bitterness

Place of origin

Yunnan, China

Production

Snow Bud green tea has a very classic processing process that involves, after an initial withering in the open, cooking the leaves in large woks heated to temperatures around 180°C (350°F) to block enzymatic activity and prevent oxidation. After these steps, the leaves are processed to give them their rolled shape and finally dried, so that they still lose some of the residual moisture inside and fix the flavors that have developed during the various processing steps.

How to prepare

We strongly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (Gong Fu Cha) with a gaiwan with a capacity of about 150 ml. By following this preparation, multiple infusions can be made with 5 grams of leaves that are useful to best capture all the flavor nuances of the tea.

Heat the water to a temperature of 80°C (176°F) and conduct an initial 30-second infusion. Keeping the water at the same temperature, you can then continue to exploit the same leaves by adding more water and increasing the infusion time by 10 seconds each time (30 – 40 – 45…).

This tea has a longevity of about 6 brewings.

For a more classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend 3 grams of leaves in a 200-mL cup with water at 80°C for an infusion time of 3 minutes.

For a better tasting experience, we suggest that you strain the tea as soon as the brewing time is over. The infusion timings we suggest can be slightly modified to your liking to achieve a more or less intense taste.

Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.