Our Anji Bai Cha from Zhejiang Province comes from the very first picking of the year, towards the end of March. Only the freshest buds are selected, each accompanied by its first two tender leaves. These early Anji Bai Cha leaves have a strikingly pale green colour, gradually deepening as temperatures rise above 25°C later in the spring.
As remarkable as its delicate colour is the tea’s subtle yet complex aroma. Despite its name – Bai Cha translates as “white tea” – Anji Bai Cha is in fact a particularly rare type of green tea, celebrated around the world for its elegant and complex character.
After picking, the leaves are dried in the sun before undergoing a brief heating, or “kill-green”, stage to halt oxidation. They are then rolled and gently pre-dried in an oven for ten minutes, spread out on wooden boards to dry, and finally returned to the oven for a further ten minutes of drying.
