Owner's pick - First Picked Bai Hao Yin Zhen

3g of tea in a 60ml white porcelain gaiwan. Boiling water.

The dry leaves carry the scent of dried hay, rice husk, and the steam rising from plain rice congee. Underneath sits the pale sweetness of fresh pea pods. The fragrance stays close to the leaf.

After rinsing, the wet leaves shift toward damp bamboo leaves, spring vegetation, and small wild white flowers. The floral side leans closer to withered honeysuckle blossoms than fresh flowers, carrying a dried nectar sweetness shaped by the withering process. Alongside it sits the roundness of fresh soy milk and the pale protein-like aroma found inside freshly opened nuts.

The first infusion, around five to six seconds, produces a liquor that is clear and transparent. The texture is smooth and fluid, with noticeable weight but no heaviness. The tea has structure and density, though the liquor continues to spread easily through the mouth rather than settling thickly on the tongue. The palate stays loose throughout.

The opening taste moves between fresh soybean, sweet bean water, and rock sugar sweetness. As the liquor cools slightly, the sweetness shifts toward barley sugar and light malt warmth.

Seven infusions in, the tea never really leaves its main register. Wildflowers, dried hay, damp bamboo leaves, spring green sweetness, and withered honeysuckle move in and out of focus from one infusion to the next. Sometimes the greener side rises first. Sometimes the flower notes sit higher in the water. 

By the middle infusions, a nutty aroma begins to settle underneath the floral and vegetal layers. Fresh almond, lightly warmed macadamia, not roasted or confectionary, closer to the scent released when breaking open fresh nuts.

From the third infusion onward, the greener side gradually moves toward tender pea shoots and young spring vegetation. The character stays humid and fresh, carrying the sweetness of green stems and spring water rather than cut grass.

Throughout the session, the water remains clear, sweet, and fluid. Even with its weight and presence, the liquor never becomes heavy, sticky, or stagnant.