Re: What is Ya Bao?
Posted: Jan 18th, '10, 01:42
Norbu has some additional information in the description of their 2009 Summer Harvest Ya Bao: " it comes from a wild Camellia varietal specific to the Yunnan/Myanmar border region. Sometimes referred to as "Ye Sheng" or "wild Pu-Erh tea" by indigenous populations, this is not a Camellia varietal traditionally used in the manufacture of Pu-Erh tea; however, Xiaguan tea factory near Dali (in Western Yunnan where this varietal is from) regularly produces compressed teas incorporating both leaf and bud materials from this Camellia varietal."
http://www.norbutea.com/2009_latesummer ... gory_id=13
I was given a sample of the spring 2009 Ya Bao in a tea swap and found it very surprising and found it delicate and delightful, similar to the 2007 White Bud Sheng PuErh that I adore, but without the smoky, earthy, aged elements. I bought some of the summer buds because by the time I'd tried the spring buds they were sold out. The summer buds have been a bit disappointing because the flavor seems weaker. But both certainly look like pointier versions of the flower buds on my camellia bushes in my yard; the plants produce no comparable flower buds, but then, these are evergreen and a different species entirely. I will probably try the spring buds if they are available again this year, as they were an interesting change from my usual teas, and well worth the not very high cost (don't have a record of the price of the spring buds, but the summer buds are $4.75/50g); but unless I can figure out how to extract more flavor from the summer buds, I will avoid them.
http://www.norbutea.com/2009_latesummer ... gory_id=13
I was given a sample of the spring 2009 Ya Bao in a tea swap and found it very surprising and found it delicate and delightful, similar to the 2007 White Bud Sheng PuErh that I adore, but without the smoky, earthy, aged elements. I bought some of the summer buds because by the time I'd tried the spring buds they were sold out. The summer buds have been a bit disappointing because the flavor seems weaker. But both certainly look like pointier versions of the flower buds on my camellia bushes in my yard; the plants produce no comparable flower buds, but then, these are evergreen and a different species entirely. I will probably try the spring buds if they are available again this year, as they were an interesting change from my usual teas, and well worth the not very high cost (don't have a record of the price of the spring buds, but the summer buds are $4.75/50g); but unless I can figure out how to extract more flavor from the summer buds, I will avoid them.