I had some amazing white tea from Bitaco, a tea grower in Colombia. I recall they had a silver needle last year, but this year certainly caught my attention as the taste of their latest white tea, a Baimudan/ White Peony grade, is outstanding. Bitaco regularly attends the Tea Convention circuit, and I’m finding every year their teas are getting better and better.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The leaf smells like under-ripe melons and linen. Gorgous looking leaf with the fuzzy silver buds mixed with a rainbow of red browns, greens, and dark leaves.
My gongfu ratio is 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, steeping in boiling water. The hot wet leaf smelled like underripe honeydew and cucumbers. Yes, I am boiling a white tea.
Tasting of 2019 Colombian White Tea from Bitaco
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Infusion: The 2019 Colombian White Tea flavor is crisp and fresh, tasting like sugared cucumber slices and crunchy green melon, with a honey finish. The second steep is even better with stronger full flavor, honey flavor throughout, and addition to a creamy floral note. The broth is thick and slightly oily, like drinking a blended vegetable soup. The third and fourth infusion was very similar to the second infusion.
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Infusion: This infusion got golden orange.
Colombian White Tea has a touch of a weedy bitterness and top of tongue astringency, but still retains a thick texture and stronger dark honey fruit flavor. It has a touch of woodsy here too. The final infusion got very astringent but had a sugar cane note before turning my mouth to dry out.
Comments
I got a surprising amount of infusions from Bitaco’s Colombian grown White Tea. This 2019 White Tea is of excellent quality with its thick texture and interesting rich honey taste. I’d love to taste this one aged, so I’m gonna forget about these packets for a while. If you are a white tea fan, this is delicious and a treat to drink.
I did get to taste one of their special commissioned white teas that they briefly aged in eucalyptus wood, which had more of a slightly aged and extra woody profile. I want to try my 2019 Colombian white in 3 to 5 years to see how it goes. Currently, this tea is great to drink now, so it will be hard to keep my hands off it.
Overall, awesome white tea. How do you get your hands on it, Bitaco is wholesale. A quick google and I found a couple of online shops who I think carry the same tea – Upton, Chado, Simpson & Vail.
(tea provided for review)
