Another small masterpiece from Master Xiang. She made this fermented white tea from leaves of ancient wild tea trees in the Da Ya Kou tea garden in Madeng. Some of the trees were planted about 150 years ago but were abandoned during the Republican era of China. Throughout this time, except for the past few years, these trees grew untended and unharvested. They have become partially wild, which means the tea made from this raw material combines the flavor and aromatic base of cultivated C. sinensis var. assamica trees with the nuances and notes characteristic of wild Camellia taliensis.
Unlike the white Arjuna made from the same raw material but using a classic technique, this tea has a slight fermentation twist. For this, the master first lets the fresh leaves wither for two days to make them more pliable. Then, to start the fermentation process, the leaves are gently crushed. The fermentation itself is very short; Xiang simply leaves the leaves in a basket for five minutes, as they oxidize very quickly due to the prior withering and crushing. Finally, the tea is traditionally shade-dried for 30 hours.