I purchased two bags of this Taiwanese Shan Lin Xi white tea at the 2019 Seattle Northwest Tea Festival from Wang Family Tea. As said in the name of this tea, it is from Shan Lin Xi, and if I remember correctly, Qing Xin cultivar in Bai Mu Dan style. High Mountain Shan Lin Xi with Qing Xin cultivar is one of my favorite oolongs, so I was hooty giddy to get my hands on this white tea.
Each bag had a different hand-painted art so I was able to pick the ones I like the most.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The leaf is strongly fragrant, as soon as I cut the bag it released tulips and wheat scent into the room.
I went with my usual white tea steeping method using 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size. My water temperature is boiling, with no rinse. The Shan Lin Xi White has is huge spacious leaves that 5 grams of tea was looking too much! The steeped leaf smells strongly fruity and floral bomb.
Tasting of Wang Family Tea’s 2019 Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White Tea
First Infusion: Upon sipping and I thought I was drinking a super delicate high mountain oolong. This white tea starts off sweet, floral, vegetal, and thick creamy texture like Shan Lin Xi oolong, but then the sip settles into that crisp, sweet grass, and hay flavor that is closer to a white tea. The aftertaste is soft and sweet tulip stems.
Second and Third Infusion: This next infusion shows off the floralness of this tea. Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White tea sips cake batter thick smothered in perfume lilies and underripe but not tart blackberries that wafts up my sinus then lingering around. At the end of the sip, Shan Lin Xi white has a crunchy romaine lettuce bite.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White is changing as it shows a buttercup floral and parsley taste, with a fresh and lightly floral aftertaste. The white tea has lost its sweetness and each infusion gets more parsley in taste.
Despite this weird infusion, the tea is getting to me – the bud content is on the higher side and I can feel the owl brain amp being cranked loud making my left ear pop. My stomach is also quaking in gut rot anger. I do have time for another tea after this session, but my caffeine senses feel like a had a bowl of matcha.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: Shan Lin Xi White has gotten quite stewy like I threw in a bundle of parsley and boiled it to mush. It’s bitter and vegetal, with a sharp concentrated floral underneath, but isn’t dry.
Gorgeous leaf – oh my! Each of these has a nice leaf and one plump bud attached.
Comments
Wang Family Tea’s Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White tea is a noteworthy white tea – perfect for those who love floral heavy or want to taste something outside of the usual white tea areas. If you are a high mountain oolong fan, this white tea might be worth a try as it does start off stealing hearts, then goes down its own path. I regret not buying more! Unfortunately, I do not see this tea on their website at the time of my writing this.
To age or not to age, that is the question. I might drink at least a bag of this if I don’t keep it out of sight – the floral notes are very nice and youth still shows some. It doesn’t seem to bitter up, but get stewy. The oldest Taiwan white I have is my own storage is from 2016 and it is progressing nicely.
Either way, I want more Taiwanese white teas and to explore the regions and cultivars. I already have Ruby 18 white teas and wild Taiwanese white cakes, but I’d love further exploration like Jin Xuan cultivar or even Lishan white tea.
