Pai Mu Tan (White Peony) Loose-Leaf White Tea from Wegmans

In Albums: tea

Feb 27th, 2013, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows loose-leaf Pai Mu Tan (White Peony) white tea, purchased at a Wegmans Supermarket. Wegmans has an outstanding selection of loose-leaf teas, and this is a fine example of high-quality, single-origin tea that they sell. This particular tea cost about $30 a pound, which is an extremely low price for a tea of this quality.

White peony tea (bai mu dan) is a style of white tea produced primarily in China's Fujian province. It is intermediate in many respects between silver needle (bai hao yinzhen) and shou mei (longevity eyebrows). Silver needle is made exclusively from tips, whereas shou mei is made from larger, more mature leaves. The larger leaves have less caffeine, and oxidize more during processing, giving the tea a darker color and richer flavor. White peony is thus intermediate among these white teas in caffeine, color, and flavor.