Bitterleaf Teas’ white teas are always pretty good and of great value. I was happy to hear they have a white tea version of their “Year of Zodiac” Yiwu. 2022 Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea is the same material, fangyang/ left to grow pesticide-free, as the sheng version and there is a black tea too!
The leaves smell like zesty hay and citrus pith.
I went a little heavier on the leaf for this tea than usual for white teas. Typically, I go for a gongfu ratio of 1g/20ml, but I went 1g/15ml as I wanted a bit stronger. After a rinse, it’s still zesty but going tulip flower and greens, with a hint of citrus.
Tasting of Bitterleaf Teas’ 2022 Year of the Tiger Yiwu White Tea
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Infusion: The leaves seem a bit chopped up. I pried off a nice healthy chunk but I have a lot of debris within my piece.
To start, Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea sips in light and crisp, then a booming tulip floral and thick milky cottony texture. An infusion, it comes in a crispy fuji apple that has a light tartness. After a while, the floral autumn flavors linger in the throat.
Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: I messed up and the fifth infusion steeped for 10 minutes as I was distracted by Twitch. Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea is strong, bitter floral and 1000 apple skins with an astringency to dry my gums. After I get past that, it’s a weird mix of boiled sandalwood and apples, I certainly destroyed this tea to give it a wild taste.
Comments
Bitterleaf Teas’ Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea is an interesting daily drinker quality white tea cake. It has an excellent fragrance and lovely notes of floral and fruit, all with a thick texture. This tea does go astringent and bitter but is overall consistent unless you oversteep it.
In the end, Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea is nice but I have other Bitterleaf white teas in a similar tier of quality (Like Skinny Dip or White Crow) so off to the back of the white tea pumidor it goes. If you missed those previous teas and enjoy white tea with a budget, Year of the Tiger is solid. It would have been a good comparative session to try Year of the Tiger Sheng and Black tea, but I didn’t get either of those teas.
