2020 'Polycrystal' White Tea
‘Polycrystal’ is a special commission production of high-end Yunnan white tea, in a yueguangbai (moonlight white) style. The tea was picked with a high proportion of buds, and dried over a couple of days in the dark, leading to the characteristic silver needle buds and black older leaves.
The large amount of buds leads to an intense fragrance as well as an extra caffeine kick; younger leaves have more caffeine than older ones. The tea is intensely floral and fragrant, with a thick mouthfeel owing to all of the trichomes (small hairs) on the buds.
Most teas of this style are from Fujian, often called a baimudan (‘silver needle’); the Yunnan material here lends itself to a much stronger flavour, more potency, and more endurance. The tea can be re-brewed many times; steeped lightly, the tea can be soft and delicate, and very refreshing. Brewed stronger brings out more potent honey and herbaceous flavours.
A solid white tea cake to explore a unique style of processing and material.
Artwork by Sage Jenson. Pictures by Pingle Pictures.
All orders are shipped from our HQ in Melbourne within 1-2 business days, using Australia Post.
Australia: $9.95 AUD flat-rate standard shipping, free above $75 AUD. $14.95 AUD flat-rate express shipping, free above $100 AUD.
New Zealand: $20 AUD flat-rate, free above $90 AUD.
Asia: $25 AUD flat-rate, free above $150 AUD.
North America: $30 AUD flat-rate, free above $150 AUD.
Europe: $35 AUD flat-rate, free above $150 AUD.Use boiling water (100C).
We recommend using approx 1g of tea per 15ml of water for gongfu-style brewing in a teapot or gaiwan. Rinse the leaves once and then brew as usual. You can re-steep the leaves several times until there's no flavour left.
For Western-style brewing in a larger teapot, use approx 5g tea 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 to top 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's no more flavour left.
All of our teas are suitable for long-term storage and ageing.
Keep your tea away from sunlight and strong smells, and somewhere with stable climate conditions.
You can keep it sealed inside the re-usable bag the tea comes in, or another non-porous container.