The buds are picked and then sun-dried or steamed & sun-dried. Some are further compressed into round cakes. The buds do not resemble any regular white tea leaves (e.g., silver needles) and have a piney aroma.
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| Sparrow's Mouth |
Use boiling water to brew and re-brew the buds for making 'tea'. The infusion is mild, sweet, floral and lightly spicy. A pleasant piney and sweet aftertaste lingers in the mouth.
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| Sparrow's Mouth infusion |
Is it or is it not? This wild 'thingy' is not a true tea but is likely from the buds of wild-grown vaccinium dunalianum var dunalianum in Yunnan. Local Chinese people call it Sparrow's Mouth. Limited analysis of it has shown that Sparrow's Mouth contains no caffeine. There are two types of Sparrow's Mouth : purple and white. Both are touted as remedies for detoxification, indigestion, sore throat, lethargy, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The 'thingy' is also known as Moonlight Goddess because the steeped buds could appear like ladies in a hot tub!
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| Moonlight Goddess |
