Yue Guang Mei Ren

Yue Guang Mei Ren (月光美人, “Moonlight Beauty”) is a Yunnan white tea picked from large-leaf cultivars and dried under cool conditions. The result is a leaf with a distinctive silver-and-dark contrast — pale buds against darker leaves — said to recall moonlight on water.

Yunnan whites have a rounder, more honeyed character than the Fujian whites they’re sometimes compared to. The liquor is pale gold, the fragrance gentle, the finish long.

Brewing. 90°C is plenty. Use a generous pinch of leaf in a gaiwan or simple glass; rinse briefly, then steep for around 20 seconds, extending with each subsequent infusion.

Provenance. Fengqing County, Lincang Prefecture, Yunnan — one of the recognised heartlands of Yunnan tea.