This review is a comparison between Moonlight 1st Grade from Pu’er Zuxian highmountain Tea Garden CO., LDT and a 1st Grade White Peony sent by the same company that belongs to a very popular tea farm in Fujian Province, China.

Moonlight 1st Grade White Tea

Pu’er Zuxian highmountain Tea Garden CO., LDT

Contact Company for Pricing

I was contacted by Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co. a couple months ago. They were looking for a blogger to help promote their teas and I am honored that they chose to contact me. The main purpose of our collaboration was for me to compare their Moonlight 1st Grade White Tea to a White Peony from a neighboring tea farm. They also sent a couple other teas for me to review and two for me to use for Tea Trivia Tuesday on Instagram! Be sure you are following me for your chance to win!

Packaging

My samples arrived safely from China in a sturdy box with plenty of padding. The five samples that belong to the company, including the Moonlight sample, arrived in silver light proof, air tight, and heat sealed zip lock bags. On the bags is the name of the company, Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co., LTD, the name and type of tea, and marks it as organic. They also provide their e-mail address for further communication. The White Peony sample arrived in a sturdy brown heat sealed zip lock bag. The name of the tea was hand written on and clearly marked as my “comparison” tea.

Steeping instructions are not readily available. They are a wholesale company so their prices are not available on the website but you can use their “Inquire Cart” to discuss pricing.

First Impressions

I opened the bag of the Moonlight first. The aroma was earthy and light. It was sweet and reminded me of a spring afternoon after a rainstorm. The leaves were beautiful to look at and were silky to the touch. You can tell these are young tea buds by the fine white hairs that are present on the leaves. There are light and dark leaves which is where the name “Moonlight” comes from.

Next, I opened the White Peony. The aroma was also light and earthy. Not nearly as sweet smelling as the Moonlight. The leaves were pretty and obviously young. While the hairs on this tea were present, they were not nearly as fine as the Moonlight.

How To Brew

The Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co. website did not have steeping instructions so I did a little research before beginning my tea session. I found that both teas needed a 5 second rinse before the first steeping. But the Moonlight would steep between 195-205ºF beginning wtih 15 seconds and adding 5 seconds with each additional steeping. The White Peony, on the other hand, should be brewed  at a lower temperature, 175ºF for 1-3 minutes.

The Experience

Moonlight

I started my tea session by steeping the Moonlight. I gave it a quick 5 second rinse to warm up the tea leaves. My first steeping sat for about 15 seconds. Moonlight steeped to a pale yellow color. It was light and crisp and had sweet floral undertones. I had a hard time pinpointing the flavor but after awhile I finally realized it reminded me of a honeysuckle! It was silky smooth on the tongue. Zero astringency. This would be a great beginners tea.

Typically I find white teas to be too light but at the end of the session I found myself wanting to sip on it for the rest of the morning. And again later in the evening. As a matter of fact, I have a big cast iron pot (half) full in my kitchen and a cup by my side as I type. I ended up steeping these leaves 5 times after finishing my comparison and it probably could have gone a few more times. I found that around the 3rd or 4th steeping the color of the tea deepened to a amber color.

White Peony

After the first steeping of Moonlight, I moved on to the White Peony. I gave the tea a quick 5 second rinse, just as I did with Moonlight. This tea brewed at a lower temperature and sat for 2 minutes. The White Peony steeped to a slightly deeper yellow color, which I attribute to the longer steep time. There was a light honey/floral taste to it but it wasn’t nearly as sweet as Moonlight. I also found that it had a slight astringency to it that was not present in the other tea. I did steep this tea a second time, just to see if the astringency would go away. But I found that after drinking Moonlight, the White Peony just did not have the same smoothness.

I also learned that White Peony sometimes goes by another name-Baimudan.

Comparison

One very important difference between the Moonlight and the White Peony is the Province of China where each tea originates. Moonlight comes from Yunnan while the White Peony comes from Fujian. Both teas were a 1st grade, which is the youngest tea leaves. Also meaning 1 bud and 1 leaf.

As for the taste of two teas sent to me from Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co., Moonlight blows the White Peony out of the water! The sweet, smooth, honeysuckle flavor lingered on the palate long after I had finished the cup. This is a tea that I could share with tea skeptics and have a shot at converting them.

Moonlight is the perfect all day sipping tea. With the high antioxidents and other health benefits of a white tea along with the sweet flavor, this would be the perfect tea to help soothe a sore throat if you aren’t feeling well. I didn’t have to add anything to it but it would be perfect with a sweet honey.

This is absolutely a tea I will be keeping on hand. As a matter of fact, I have already ordered myself a full cake and can not wait for it to arrive at my door! I will use what I have left of the sample sparingly until my refill arrives!

As another comparison, I would love to compare Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co.’s 1st and 2nd Grades of Moonlight to see the difference in grade.

Follow Pu’Er Zuxiang HighMountain Tea Garden Co. on Instagram.

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