Da Bai Tea

Da Bai Tea

　　Da Bai Tea is produced in Yangta Village, located at an altitude of 1,600 meters in Jinggu County. It is a premium variety of large-leaf tea from Yunnan. Around the 20th year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1840), a man named Chen Liujiu—who was known for "eating six bowls of rice a day and wielding a nine-and-a-half-jin hoe"—went to do business near the Jiangyi River (also known as the Lancang River). While at Chashanba, he discovered white tea seeds. He secretly picked dozens of seeds, hid them in a bamboo tube and carried them back to Yangta in his carrying pole. He first planted them in Dayuandi. After several years of cultivation, the plants grew vigorously, and were later expanded to fourteen surrounding tea fields, covering an area of three to four mu, yielding three to five dan of tea per year. Today, some Da Bai Tea trees still survive in Dayuandi. Among them, there is one with a base circumference of 88 cm, a chest circumference of 61 cm, six main branches, a height of 4.26 meters, a spread of 35×360 cm, and an annual yield of six to seven jin of white tea. This tea tree is the original mother plant first planted by Chen Liujiu, and is about 150 years old. Historically, the production method of Da Bai Tea involved manually fixing the freshly picked leaves, followed by cooling, rolling, and a thorough loosening of the leaves. The leaves were then evenly spread on bamboo mats and sun-dried until semi-dry before undergoing a second rolling process (called “collecting the second paste”). After that, the leaves were shaken out and dried to completion. The finished Da Bai Tea is visually appealing, covered with abundant white pekoe, has a fragrant taste, and features a distinctive hint of olive aroma. During the feudal dynasties, it was made into Dragon Beard Tea—bound with red threads into an ear of grain shape—and presented as tribute to the imperial court, known as White Dragon Beard Tribute Tea. Nowadays, the production of Da Bai Tea has shifted to the pan-fired green method. Around the time of Qingming Festival, one bud with two or three partially opened leaves are harvested. These are processed through fixation, rolling, and drying. The finished tea has long, robust strips with glistening silver tips and an elegant shape. The internal quality features a rich, fresh fragrance, a mellow and sweet aftertaste, and clear liquor. When brewed in a glass cup, the tea leaves float like magnolia petals on water, creating a captivating visual experience. In 1981, it was recognized as one of the province’s famous teas. (Dehong)