2022 Torchlight Gong Mei Mini Brick (火把光貢眉小茶磚, Huǒbǎ Guāng Gòng Méi Xiǎo Chá Zhuān, "Torch Light Gong Mei Mini Brick") - This 100g brick is made from a grade of Fuding white tea known as Gòng Méi (贡眉, "Tribute Eyebrow"), a leafy, late-spring grade of tea harvested from a feral patch of seed-propagated tea plants termed Xiǎo Cài Chá (小菜茶, "Small Native Tea Cultivar") that were planted in 1958 and have been managed in the Buddhist monastic tradition - an agricultural style that parallels the "ecological agriculture" practiced in Yunnan. Left to fend for themselves, with no human intervention such as watering, pruning, or fertilizing, these plants have lived an essentially wild life. After picking they are dried with charcoal, an old and increasingly-rare treatment for white tea.
Having large, mature leaves and very few buds, this tea has distinct raisin, pear, and jujube aromas wrapped around a crisp, clean, mineral palette. The after fragrance is pervasively sweet, carrying notes of baked apple. An outstanding tea to drink now or to put away for further maturation.
