Compare two teas
Side by side across seven dimensions. There is no verdict and no winner — the purpose is to understand the difference, not to be told which to buy.
TeaHQ has written about this pair
The middle and bottom of the white-tea grade ladder. The counter-intuitive part is that the cheaper grade is generally the better one to age.
- What is picked
- Shou Mei: Larger, more mature leaf, later in the season.Bai Mudan: Bud with one or two young leaves.
- Fresh flavour
- Shou Mei: Thinner and more hay-like, noticeably less refined.Bai Mudan: Sweet, floral and clean.
- Price
- Shou Mei: The cheapest white grade.Bai Mudan: Several times Shou Mei.
- Ageing
- Shou Mei: Ages better — the mature leaf carries more of what ageing acts on.Bai Mudan: Ages well.
- Aged flavour
- Shou Mei: Dried date, camphor and a thick medicinal sweetness.Bai Mudan: Honey and dried apricot.
In summary: Drink Bai Mudan fresh and age Shou Mei. It is one of the few places in tea where the cheap grade is the right one to keep.
Point by point
| Dimension | Shou Mei | Bai Mudan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | White tea · minimally oxidised | White tea · minimally oxidised |
| Production | In order: Withering → Drying. mature leaf and autumn harvest. | In order: Withering → Sun-drying (shai qing). bud and two leaves and spring harvest. |
| Origin | China — Fuding | China — Fuding |
| Flavour | fruity, woody and sweet. medium and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: dried hay, date, dried apricot, wood. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. | sweet, fruity and floral. medium, silky and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: dried hay, melon, white flowers, light honey. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. |
| Brewing | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 90–100 °C, first steep 240s. Boiling and decoction: 0.5–1 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 300s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 4–6 g/100 ml at 90–100 °C, first steep 20s of 5 authored. | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 85–95 °C, first steep 180s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 4–5 g/100 ml at 90–95 °C, first steep 15s of 6 authored. Cold brew tea: 1–2 g/100 ml at 4–10 °C, first steep 21600s. |
| Cultural context | Not recorded for this tea. | Not recorded for this tea. |
| Who may prefer it | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. |
Nothing above is a recommendation. The last row describes the drinker each tea suits, using each tea’s own authored fields and the same sentence structure for both, so neither can be framed as the safe choice.