«The White Cockscomb» is one of the oldest Famous Wuyi Cliff tea along with Da Hong Pao, Shui Jing Gui and Te Luo Han. This tea variety can rightly be called “cliff”, because it grows only among the cliffs in a limited area of the Wuyi National Park. It is relatively rare one, or, as they say in China, “Xiao Ping Zhong”, oriented to a narrow circle of sophisticated lovers and gourmets, because its manufacturing requires a great skill. In appearance, the tea tree of Bai Ji Guan is very different from others: its spring shoots of a very light salad shade grow close to each other, resembling a cock's comb. The tea legend explains this similarity by the miraculous transformation of the white cock that died in the fighting with the eagle. The monk, who seen a cock that sacrificed his life while protecting his chick from an eagle, was touched by its courage. He buried the cock in the monastery garden and from that spot, the Bai Ji Guan tea bush grew. "Bai Ji Guan Yan Long" is made by master-technologist Yan Long (Cliff Dragon). During manufacturing the tea leaves were exposed to moderate fermentation and baked on charcoal in traditional style (medium heat).
Dry leaf: lengthwise twisted, middle size, olive-green and light-brown color. The aroma is intensive, ginger-biscuit. The liquor is transparent, meadow honey color.
The brewed tea has bright, spicy-biscuit bouquet with woody, berry and floral hints. The aroma is spicy-floral, complex and enigmatic. The taste is full-bodied, juicy, silky, sweetish with a tender tartness of dried berries, transforming into lingering finish.
Brew tea with hot boiling water (90-95°C) in a porcelain gaiwan or a teapot of porous clay. The proportion is 4-5 g per 100 ml. The time of the first steeping is about 6-8 seconds. After that do short steeps (just for 2-3 seconds), increasing steeping time for each subsequent step, if necessary. You can steep the tea up to 7-8 times.
Rare tea for sophisticated connoisseurs. “Yan yun” (“Cliff Melody”) sounds in it in its subtle, floral mood, shimmering with fleeting tinges.
