White peony tea is a delicious type of white tea, which is a lightly fermented tea. Another name for White Peony Tea is “Bai Mu Dan” in China, because the green leaves on the tea tree are just budding, like the leaves unfurling when they are brewed.
The appearance of White Peony is broad, stretched leaves with a celadon color and a silvery tip. When brewed, the leaves of the Bai Mu Dan brew up a clear bright apricot colored liquor that has a fresh, mellow and sweet flavor that has no sharpness or astringency.
White Peony has many health benefits, including stress relief, weight loss, anti-oxidants to protect your body from toxins and free radicals, and much more. This makes white tea one of the healthiest drinks in the world. If you would like to learn more about the health benefits of white tea and other teas, please read our article on The Health Benefits of Tea.
Preparing White Peony Tea with a Teapot
Choose an ideal teapot: The ideal teapot will be made out of ceramic or glass. Using a teapot will allow you to brew more of your tea easily and conveniently, so a teapot is a very good choice for those of you who love to indulge in afternoon tea.
Add Your Tea Leaves: Put 3-4 teaspoons of dry Bai Mu Dan in the teapot. If you prefer stronger, you may add more dry leaves if you like. Adding too many leaves will not harm your stomach or intestines, in fact, stronger white tea will contain more anti-oxidants, so adjust the amount of tea you use to get the flavor you most enjoy.
Pour Water into Your Teapot: Pour 85-90 ºC (185-200ºF) water into the teapot, and allow the leaves to steep for 3-5 minutes. The leaves and the buds of the Bai Mu Dan are tender so the temperature can not be too high or it will brew up yellow with a bitter astringent taste, and the nutrients in the leaves will be destroyed. However, if the temperature is too low the leaves will not brew correctly and the flavor will be too light. It is best to keep the temperature of the water just under boiling so that it brews correctly and the resulting tea will be both delicious and nutritious.
Enjoy: Finally, you can serve the brewed White Peony, straining out the leaves and pouring the clear bright apricot colored liquor into your teacup. You and your friends can enjoy the refreshingly sweet mellow taste of a good Bai Mu Dan White Tea.
Flavored White Peony Tea:
White Peony is famous for a lightly sweet and mellow taste. If you would like to add an interesting flavor to your White Peony, feel free to add herbs, or fruits in your tea. Blueberries and strawberries as a flavoring are a good choice, as well as peach or other fruit flavors. You can also add herbs such as lavender or lemon verbena. Be sure that if you do add extra flavors to your White Peony tea, that you don't add too much or it will overwhelm the natural sweetness of White Peony itself.
Preparing White Peony Tea with Gaiwan
For those of you who are true tea enthusiasts, we would like to share with you the traditional way of brewing Bai Mu Dan the Chinese way with a teapot and Gaiwan.
In this article, Teavivre’s advanced tea ceremony specialist Angel Chen will illustrate how to properly brew White Peony tea with a Gaiwan.
Prepare Your Tea Set: First, gather the necessary materials for your tea brewing, including your tea tray, tea holder, Gaiwan, fair cup, Pinming cup, filter, shelf, tea ceremony sets (tea pin, tea tongs, tea spoon, tea scoop, tea funnel, and tea container).
Select Your Tea: Use tea scoop to take 2-3 grams of White Peony from your tea canister, then put it into a tea holder.
Warm and Cleanse Your Tea Set: Pour boiling water into your Gaiwan to clean and warm it, then use the water to clean and warm your fair cup and Pinming cup. This is a good way to cleanse your cups of the scent of other teas and prepare it for the tea you are brewing for an optimal tea drinking experience.
Cast the tea: Cast it into your Gaiwan with a tea spoon.
Pour The Water: Pour 85-90 ºC (185-200ºF) water into the Gaiwan, and wait for 45 seconds. Again, be sure that the water temperature is not too high so that you don't damage the delicate young tea buds and leaves. As White Peony tea is slightly oxidized, it takes a slightly longer brewing time to brew white tea than with most other teas.
Serving The Tea: Pour the liquor of the White Peony into your fair cup through your filter, then divide the brewed liquor into each Pinming cup equally for you and your guests to enjoy.
Steeping Times: White Peony can be brewed several times, in fact the leaves remain fragrant after being brewed 5 or 6 times, adding an additional minute to the steeping each additional time you brew the leaves. Each time you brew the leaves, you will get a slightly different flavor and aroma with it, making each brewing a unique and enjoyable experience!