Beverage
Bai Mu Dan
C tier
Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) is a Fujian white tea made from one bud with one or two young leaves of Camellia sinensis sinensis cultivars such as Fuding Da Bai and Zhenghe Da Bai. Unlike Silver Needle’s bud-only pluck, White Peony includes leaf, giving fuller body after prolonged withering and natural drying with little or no rolling or pan-firing. Minimal processing preserves a silvery-green dry leaf mix of buds and open leaves and a style classed among China’s traditional whites. The cup is soft, honeyed, and gently floral or hay-like with light fruit and low astringency, darker and rounder than pure Silver Needle. Bai Mu Dan is steeped at moderate temperatures for multiple infusions, aged by some collectors, and used for light iced tea and delicate food pairing.
Also known as: Fuding Bai Mu Dan, Zhenghe Bai Mu Dan, White Peony (export name)
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Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Early Qing Fujian white tea methods using sun and indoor withering developed around Fuding and Zhenghe gardens.
Commercial Bai Mu Dan production expanded as export white teas diversified beyond pure bud Silver Needle.
State grading systems codified White Peony as a standard Fujian white tea tier below Silver Needle in leaf fineness.
Reform-era specialty markets revived interest in traditional Fuding and Zhenghe Bai Mu Dan.
White tea boom increased plantings of Da Bai cultivars for Bai Mu Dan and related styles.
Fuding white tea geographical indication frameworks reinforced origin quality for Bai Mu Dan and sister grades.