Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea * Spring 2016 from Yunnan Sourcing. . . .

Has the phrase “heavy pungent nectar quality” ever crossed your tea bucket list?

It wasn’t on mine, either; but now that I’ve tried this tea, you might want to add it to yours.

This tea tastes like flowers and honey. (And “heavy pungent nectar.”) It also supposedly tastes like “sweet potato,” which I’m not really getting, but I am not a nuanced person. I just get the big brushstrokes.

If you’ve ever wondered what being a honeybee was like, this tea is your answer. You’re flitting between flower and hive here, getting your job done in sweet, sugary, natural beauty. The sun dapples the prairie of bobbing flora. The wind rustles your fur. You are getting your job done.

Just like in the real world, you’re getting your job done, because black tea is naturally caffeinated. Thank goodness, right?

Instead of a digression about myself, today we’re going to get two digressions: one about the area this is from and one about bee hair. You should hang in with me on this. I’ve found out a lot.

THE TEA’S REGION:

This tea comes from China’s Guangdong Province, also known as Canton. You know, the place where “Cantonese” (the dialect) comes from. In the 1800s, an opium war occurred there.

Currently, it’s a huge commercial center, mostly because it has the port closest to Hong Kong. This province touts the highest GDP and population in China.

Only 7% of the population (SEVEN) claims to be religious, which, here in America, sounds crazy. And maybe a little amazing.

They have several soccer (European football) teams, a futsal (like soccer, but smaller, and indoors) team, plus basketball, baseball, and volleyball.

BEE HAIR:

Bee hair looks like mammal fur, but it’s totally different. It’s made of chitlin, instead of the mammilian keratin. It comes straight out of the exoskeleton.

It has different uses, but mostly it’s a pollen-gathering tool. Bees don’t have backpacks. They use their hair instead. Bee hair has a branched-out structure that enables it to sweep up pollen like a broom. The hair also generates a lot of static electricity, like socked feet on carpet, which sucks pollen in like a vacuum.

The fuzzy bumblebee uses its hair for heat regulation (like mammals), but scientists don’t think that bees rely on that like mammals do.

Finally, the bright, patterned color of bee hair serves as a warning:

Don’t screw with bees. Don’t eat them.

Just drink this tea instead.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  Yunnan Sourcing
Description

This tea is no longer available but the 2017 version is.  Click below for more information.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!