Silver Bud Pu-erh was picked as a raw white tea on Big Snow Mountain (Da Xue Shan) in 2003 from the Yunnan Province in China, and brought back to Lagunitas, California where it was further processed and refined by David Lee Hoffman. Aged 12 years in his climate controlled pu-erh cave, this tea has us captivated and surprised at what pu-erh can be.
Get ready for notes of dried apricot, honey and pine.
Rich and Alice, our tea experts, had a chance to taste this tea with David at his home and were blown away by it. Not only because neither of them had ever heard of a white pu-erh but also because it presented so well and showed such unique qualities in each steep.
What we do know is that the raw tea was picked from the broad leaf dayeh variety in Yunnan, China (a well-known tea producing area and the home of pu-erh tea) and made into a white tea. It was then brought back to Lagunitas, California for further processing and aging by David Hoffman in his climate-controlled pu-erh cave. Did we mention that it's a 12 year old tea? Pretty cool!
Unlike the darker, richer forms of Pu-erh that you may already be familiar with, this white pu-erh is soft and smooth with hints of apricot, honey and pine. It unfolds beautifully with multiple short steeps and has a presence all it's own with one, long steep. Either way, this tea is something we are super excited to share!