Shui Xian White Tea 水仙 白茶 (2026)
Tea Profile
Type: White Tea (Bai Cha 白茶)
Location: Da Shui Keng 大水坑, Wuyishan, Fujian
Harvest Date: April 7, 2026
Cultivar: Shui Xian 水仙
Age of Tea Bushes: Around 15 years
Picking Standard: One bud with two leaves
Growing Style: Wild-grown garden with no active intervention
The Story of This Tea
This Shui Xian white tea comes from our own tea garden in Da Shui Keng, Wuyishan. The bushes are young Shui Xian rather than Laocong, with an average age of around 15 years, and the leaves were picked on April 7, 2026 to a standard of one bud with two leaves.
The weather played an important role in this year’s harvest. Continuous rain began on April 4, and we had to wait for a suitable opportunity to pick and process the leaves. We finally harvested on April 7, but the rain had never completely stopped, so the fresh leaves still carried a relatively high moisture content.
As a result, the aroma of the 2026 tea is slightly softer than the 2025 harvest. Rather than hiding that difference, we think it is part of the character of the year. Tea changes with weather, and each harvest reflects the conditions in which it was grown and processed.
The garden itself has been allowed to grow completely wild since planting. There is no regular intervention, the ground is covered with weeds and natural vegetation, and the tea bushes grow sparsely and unevenly. This means the yield is very low, but the ecological conditions of the garden are exceptionally good.
What stands out most in this tea is the quality of the liquor. From the first infusion, the sweetness is immediately apparent. It is a very direct and transparent tea: once the leaves meet hot water, their quality becomes obvious in the gaiwan without needing many infusions to reveal itself.
Aroma and Flavour
The 2026 harvest is softer aromatically than the previous year because of the wet spring conditions, but the liquor remains rich, sweet and expressive. Gentle florals rise from the cup alongside a clean, fresh character, while the Shui Xian material gives the tea a rounded and substantial texture.
The sweetness appears immediately rather than building only in later infusions. The liquor is bright and smooth, with a clear rock-sugar quality and enough body to distinguish it from more delicate, purely aromatic white teas.
As the leaves open, the tea becomes fuller while maintaining clarity. The floral character remains restrained and elegant, allowing the pronounced sweetness and quality of the raw material to remain at the centre of the cup.
- Aroma: Soft floral fragrance with clean, fresh sweetness
- Flavour: Pronounced natural sweetness with a clear rock-sugar character and gentle floral depth
- Texture: Smooth, rounded and substantial
- Aftertaste: Long-lasting sweetness with a clean, refreshing finish
- Liquor: Bright, clear and golden
- Steeping Endurance: 6–8 infusions
Brewing Guidelines
Gong Fu Style
- Teaware: Porcelain gaiwan or glass teapot to preserve clarity and show the colour of the liquor
- Ratio: 5 g per 100 ml water
- Water: 90–95 °C, ideally spring water
- Infusions: Brief rinse if desired; begin with short infusions and gradually extend through 6–8 brews
Western Style
- Teaware: Porcelain or glass teapot
- Ratio: 3–4 g per 250 ml water
- Water: 90–95 °C
- Steeping: 2–3 minutes for the first infusion; resteep 2–3 times, extending the brewing time slightly with each infusion
Why Choose This Tea
This 2026 Da Shui Keng Shui Xian is unusual because it takes a cultivar most closely associated with Wuyi oolong and expresses it as white tea. Even more importantly, it comes from our own naturally overgrown garden, where the approximately 15-year-old bushes have been allowed to grow with very little intervention and naturally low yields.
The wet conditions of the 2026 spring produced a softer fragrance than the previous harvest, but the strength of the raw material is immediately evident in the liquor. The tea is exceptionally sweet, smooth and direct, revealing its quality from the very first infusion.
For those who enjoyed the more aromatic 2025 version, this harvest offers an interesting comparison between two different growing seasons from the same garden and cultivar. For those tasting it for the first time, it is a distinctive example of how Shui Xian can express itself outside the familiar world of Wuyi Yancha.