Why has Fuding white tea become so popular in recent years? Some say that the ultimate appeal of white tea is its “vitality”; it awakens your entire being when you drink it. It doesn't just pass through your mouth but permeates your whole body, awakening your soul.
So, when drinking white tea, it's not just about tasting its flavor but also savoring its aroma. And how do you properly appreciate the aroma of white tea? The correct method is crucial!
I. Understanding the Aroma
In general, white tea has a rich and fragrant aroma. However, if processed properly or stored well, it can also exhibit a pure and intense scent.
High-grade white teas like Silver Needle and premium White Peony have a characteristic downy aroma, which is a critical factor in aroma evaluation, and should be prominent. Due to their early picking and tenderness, they also have a noticeable fresh fragrance.
1. The “Aroma” of Silver Needle
A well-aged, cleanly stored, and high-quality Silver Needle has a refined style with a lingering aftertaste. Its aroma is delicate yet varied and enduring, with a clean and sweet taste that lingers in the mouth, creating a lasting salivation effect with a pleasant throat sensation.
2. The “Aroma” of White Peony
The aroma is prominent, blending intense floral and downy scents. The tea liquor is fresh and sweet, providing a cooling sensation overall. It is well-balanced and stands up to multiple infusions. This rare style of white tea exhibits both a strong aroma and taste.
3. The “Aroma” of Tribute Eyebrow and Longevity Eyebrow
For Tribute Eyebrow and Longevity Eyebrow types of white tea, the aroma is characterized by its intensity. High-quality Tribute Eyebrow features a prominent downy heart, a bright green color, orange-yellow or deep yellow liquor, even and supple leaves with a bright hue, and a red main vein visible when held up to light. The taste is mellow and refreshing, with a fresh and pure aroma.
Even aged old white tea has such an aroma, though it lacks the freshness of new tea. Instead, its scent is richer and more mature, with a mellow and aged fragrance.
The aroma of white tea should reflect the natural scent of the tea itself, without smoky, stale, grassy, or other foreign odors. If there are foreign odors, the tea aroma may still be detectable but will be overshadowed by them.
A good white tea has a naturally comfortable and non-irritating aroma that expands well, is fresh and pure, and lasts long, featuring the characteristic downy scent of white tea. Some may even have a brief throat resonance.
II. Evaluating the Flavor
Many people who drink aged white tea often fall into a misconception, thinking that a tea with a strong aroma must be a good tea. This is not necessarily true.
The aroma of a good tea is not the same as that of ordinary tea. It's neither too strong nor too weak; it's not just superficial but rather deeply ingrained, leaving a lingering taste even after swallowing.
The aroma of white tea can be divided into five levels: floating on water, merging into water, contained within water, born from water, and one with water.
1. Floating on Water
This is the most basic level of tea aroma, where the scent is shallow and fleeting. It can be smelled but not fully tasted. The characteristic here is that the air around the brewing tea and the lid of the cup smell very fragrant, but when you drink the tea, the aroma is much weaker, sometimes almost nonexistent.
2. Merging into Water
This is slightly better than the first level, where the aroma mostly dissipates but some merges with the tea liquor. This type of tea provides an experience where the tea smells and tastes fragrant, but not as strongly as it smells.
3. Contained Within Water
Reaching this third level already signifies a high-quality tea. Here, a small part of the aroma dissipates, while the majority merges with the tea liquor. The aroma that merges with the tea liquor sinks down, partly dispersing from the mouth and partly from the throat.
4. Born from Water
An excellent tea aroma – born from water, where the aroma blends perfectly with the tea liquor. It hardly smells fragrant when sniffed, but after drinking, the aroma slowly emerges from deep within the throat, lasting for a very long time. This type of tea usually has a smooth and oily texture.
5. One with Water
The pinnacle of tea aroma – one with water. This category includes only the highest quality teas, with a rich and complex but not overwhelming aroma that seamlessly integrates with the tea liquor. Wherever the tea liquor flows, the aroma follows. Drinking it gives a wonderful feeling of “the liquor is the aroma, and the aroma is the liquor.”
III. Savoring the Aroma
Savoring the aroma is a crucial step in evaluating white tea. Poorly processed low-quality white teas often have off-odors, smoky flavors, miscellaneous scents, moldy smells, and other flavors that don't belong in good white tea. By using the correct method to appreciate the aroma, you can initially determine whether your white tea is of inferior quality.
White tea is a tea with a rich array of aromas, including typical scents like downy, rice, floral, medicinal, jujube, and reed Leaf. To learn how to savor the aroma, start with the dry tea.
Let's use Silver Needle as an example.
Regardless of whether you're using a gaiwan or a purple clay pot to brew white tea, you should first warm the pot and cups. After warming the pot and cups, take advantage of the heat and pour the prepared dry tea into the pot, cover it, and gently shake it a few times. Use the residual heat to warm the tea for a moment. When you lift the lid, you'll smell the distinctive downy aroma of Silver Needle.
Don't linger at this point. While the pot is still warm, continue with the brewing. After brewing, cover the pot and start smelling the aroma on the lid.
After Pouring out the tea, lift the lid. At this point, the aroma is the strongest. Good white tea can have a downy, banana leaf, and other aromas, all of which will adhere to the lid.
When savoring the aroma, keep in mind to place the lid below your nose, inhale twice continuously, then move