Tea: Gatekeeper Type: Gongmei Heirloom White Tea Harvest: Spring 2024 Press Date: Spring 2024 Region: Panxi, Fuding, China Producer: Master Qiu Tasting Notes: Pine Sap, Fresh Sage, Cream, Vanilla Wafers, Sweet Pea This item is a small 7 gram single-session pressing of the larger similarly named 100 gram cake: same material, same maker, same press date. We offer them individually or in sets of three. This is the first time offering these white tea cakes in mini form, so we are very excited about this new shape and style! Thus, this tea cake is made exclusively from the ancestral tea cultivar of Fuding: Gongmei. When compared to the Da Baihao, Gongmei is much more vegetal, earthier, greener and spicier than its sweet and floral offspring. We are excited to see how this tea will age, as it is an exceedingly uncommon practice to press exclusively gongmei tea cakes. When the dry leaves are placed in the warmed brewing vessel, we are met with a strong aroma of pinesap mixed with cooking spices. There is something both vegetal and savory about the fragrances of the wet leaves, but the brew is exceptionally light, clear, clean, and refreshing on the tongue. We get notes of cream, that is sweetened by the slightest hint of vanilla wafers. A majority of this session stays vegetal and complex without betraying hints of flowers that we find in the Da Baihao cultivar. We are excited to see the thick mineral depths this tea acquires as it ages. Already this tea sits pleasantly in the stomach and has a modest, relaxed energy about it. We recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan or porcelain teapot. Our brewing ratio is typically 6 grams of tea to 100-120ml of water in flash-fast infusions. We enjoy using boiling water when brewing our whites, but experimenting with cooler temperatures can create a more textured cup of tea.
