Bai Ji Guan Tea

Bai Ji Guan tea, produced in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, is a type of oolong tea that is also known as Wuyi Rock Tea. It is considered one of the ‘Four Great Varieties of Wuyi Rock Tea’ along with Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, and Shui Jin Gui. Bai Ji Guan tea leaves are green with a reddish tinge. The tea broth is clear and orange-yellow in color after brewing. The aroma is long and natural, with an attractive floral, fruity, or herbal fragrance. The taste is mellow, sweet, and refreshing, with a long aftertaste. As a semi-fermented oolong tea, Bai Ji Guan requires a certain level of skill to brew in order to fully bring out its unique qualities. Whether you are drinking it or collecting it, Bai Ji Guan is a rare and excellent choice.

Bai Ji Guan Tea Details:

Product Name: Wuyi Rock Tea Bai Ji Guan
Place of origin: Fujian Province, China
Net content: 50g
Shelf life: 1095 days
Storage: Protect from moisture, odours and direct light

Bai Ji Guan Picking and Production

Bai Ji Guan tea is usually picked in late May each year, when the quality of the tea is at its best. The picking criteria are mainly two-leaf or three-leaf, and young shoots cannot be used because they are scarce and not suitable for brewing. The production process of Bai Ji Guan tea mainly involves the following steps:

Withering: The freshly picked leaves are spread thinly on the ground or on a sieve to wither. The purpose of withering is to evaporate some of the water and promote the physicochemical changes of the substances in the fresh leaves in preparation for the subsequent ‘making green’ process. During withering, the fresh leaves gradually become softer and their colour changes.

Making green: After withering, the tea leaves need to be placed in the ‘making green’ room to rest. During this process, the moisture in the stems and veins is transferred to the leaf surface, causing the leaves to straighten up. When the moisture content of the green leaves reaches a certain level, aroma-developing leaf shaking can begin. Aroma-Developing Leaf Shaking involves using an electric motor to rotate a shaking machine, causing the fresh leaves to collide, scatter and rub against each other in the shaking cylinder, destroying the cell tissue at the leaf edges and promoting contact and transformation of compounds such as tea polyphenols with the enzymes.

Fixation: Fixation is a process of rapidly destroying the activity of enzymes at high temperatures, with the aim of stabilising the qualities that have been formed. The tea leaves after greening are placed in a fixation machine for high-temperature treatment, which inactivates the enzymes in the tea leaves and stops fermentation.

Rolling: The tea leaves after fixation need to be rolled to set the shape. The tea leaves are placed in a rolling machine and rolled so that the leaves inside are squeezed and slowly formed into a ‘strip shape’. The rolling process needs to master the right amount of force and time to ensure the quality of the tea.

Hot air drying: After rolling, the tea needs to be dried. The tea is baked in a dryer. After repeated baking, the water content of the tea is reduced to the right level, and the aroma and taste are enhanced.

Picking: During or after the drying process, the tea needs to be sorted to remove impurities such as stems and old leaves (yellow leaves) to ensure the purity of the tea.

Second roasting and final firing: After the initial hot air drying, the tea needs to be second roasted and finally fired. These steps further enhance the quality of the tea and improve its aroma and taste.

Bai Ji Guan Brewing Method:

1. Prepare the tea set‌: A glass teapot or purple clay teapot is usually used along with a strainer, a kettle, a tea bowl, and teacups.‌
   
2. Heat the teapot‌: Fill the teapot with boiling water, let it fill the teapot, and shake it slightly. Then pour the hot water into the tea bowl to prepare it for the next step.
   Add the tea leaves‌: Add the right amount of Bai Ji Guan tea leaves to the teapot. Generally, 2-3 g of tea leaves are used for every 100 ml of water, but this can be adjusted to suit personal taste.
3. Steep the tea leaves: Gently pour in the preheated water to cover the tea leaves, and shake the teapot slightly to allow the tea leaves to steep fully. The steeping time is generally 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour out the first brew: Pour out the first brew, which is called ‘tea washing’ and is mainly to wash away the dust and impurities on the surface of the tea leaves.
5. Brew again: Reheat the water in the teapot and pour it into the teapot to steep the tea leaves. This time, the brewing time can be slightly longer, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Enjoy the tea: Pour out the second brew and start enjoying the deliciousness of Bai Ji Guan tea. While tasting, you can appreciate the color of the tea, smell the tea aroma, and feel the taste of the tea.

Bai Ji Guan Characteristics:

Appearance: Bai Ji Guan dry tea has a beige color with milky white highlights and red dots, which makes it unique compared to other rock teas. Most rock teas have a brownish color, while Bai Ji Guan dry tea has a beige color with milky white highlights and red dots.

Soup color: The brewed tea soup is bright orange-yellow and shiny.

Aroma: The aroma is fresh and high-spirited, and after a little storage it will have an aroma similar to orange peel.

Taste: The taste is heavy, sweetandfresh, with a cool and sweet aftertaste. The tea stalk also has a sweet taste when chewed.

Bai Ji Guan Benefits:

Promotes saliva and quenches thirst: Bai Ji Guan tea is fragrant and delicious, and drinking it helps to promote saliva and quench thirst. The catechins in the tea moderately inhibit the secretion of gastric juice, which has a certain protective effect on the stomach;

Refreshing: Bai Ji Guan tea contains polyphenols, a natural antioxidant. It helps to remove biological free radicals in the body, stimulates the central nervous system, has a refreshing effect, helps to relieve fatigue, and improves work or study efficiency.

Beauty and skin care: Bai Ji Guan tea contains a large amount of antioxidants such as tea polyphenols and vitamin E. Drinking in moderation can accelerate skin metabolism and help toxins leave the body as quickly as possible, which is beneficial for beauty and skin care.

Clearing away heat and detoxifying: Bai Ji Guan tea is cold in nature, and drinking in moderation can clear away heat and detoxify the body. It can also relieve symptoms such as sore throat and dry mouth caused by internal heat.