Jade Star IV

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I have never had an aged white tea of any kind before, and I knew of the hype surrounding Jade Star teas from Mei Leaf, so I thought this was the perfect time to try them both. I ordered a sample on the day it was released and broke into it as soon as I had a chance to have a proper session with it. This tea was picked in 2010 which makes it 9 years old. Aged white teas are known to have quite a strong body sensation effect, and are known for bringing about tea drunkenness on the drinker of said teas. I can verify that this is true for this tea. So let’s get to it.

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I used the entire sample pack, which was 5 grams. I used 200F of bamboo charcoal filtered water in a 100 ml gaiwan. First infusion of 20 seconds and add 5 to each subsequent infusion. These are the parameters that Mei Leaf recommends.

The first aroma that hit my nose was of burned sugar. The texture was very thick and soothing with no bitterness or astringency at all. The taste was quite sweet. It reminded me a lot of a Bai Mu Dan that I have had recently, but with more body. The finish was quite long as well. It was a nice start.

In the second infusion, I picked up notes of peach and butterscotch, which was very nice.

The taste really didn’t change much at all over the course of the session. But this tea isn’t just about taste, it’s about that body sensation. How does it make you feel? In a word: good.

On the third infusion, I started to feel very warm and very relaxed. My head was a bit cloudy but I felt really nice and just wanted to relax. This went on for a few more steeps.

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On the 8th infusion, I started to get an energized feeling, and my head cleared up. I was still very calm and relaxed but I was also interested in my surroundings and felt like interacting with people. This feeling was really nice and it lasted throughout the session and still going an hour later. This tea packs a punch.

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I called it a night after the 12th infusion, but the leaves aren’t done yet! I will finish them off tomorrow. I was still warm and sweating during the 12th infusion.

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I don’t know that my words are doing this tea justice, but it was amazing and I am really impressed with it! I know it won’t last long, but if you were on the fence about it, I say go for it if you still can get it.

The price on this tea is on sale for $74.45 for a 150g cake. The sample is $3.53. Using the cake price, that is 30 sessions per cake. That’s $2.48 per session. You can go for 20 sessions with these leaves, but I have gone 12 so far. I will use 12 and 20 both for price per cup. If you get 12 infusions out of a session, that is $.21 per cup. If you stretch it all the way to 2o, that is $.12 per cup. 12 cents for a tea that makes you feel this great and tastes great too. That, my friends, is what I call a bargain. You have to fork over $75 up front, but it is definitely worth it. I can’t even get one prepared cup of tea at a coffee or tea shop for $2.50, but you can get 20 cups for that price if you brew it at home.

I’ll be looking forward to Jade Star V and trying some other aged white teas in the mean time. Cheers.