Teas / oolong / Bei Dou (North Star Wuyi)

Bei Dou (North Star Wuyi)
🇨🇳 China

Bei Dou (North Star Wuyi)

Běi Dǒu · 北斗

wuyi-yancha

Bei Dou ("North Star") is one of the two authenticated descendants of the original Da Hong Pao mother bushes in Wuyi (the other is Qidan). In the 1950s a tea expert, Mr. Yao Yue, started a laboratory study on stems from an 800-year-old Da Hong Pao tree; the resulting clonal cultivar was planted on Bei Dou Peak in the 1980s, making Bei Dou the first generation of Da Hong Pao propagated from the historical mother stock. Harvesting from the six remaining mother trees themselves was officially stopped in 2006; today's Da Hong Pao is from descendants like Bei Dou or from other Wuyi cultivars.

Quick facts

Region
Wuyi
Harvest year
2024
Harvest season
spring
Oxidation
50%
Roast
medium

Brewing

Leaf
5.0 g / 100 ml
Water
100°C
Rinse
yes
Gongfu steeps (s)
10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120

Boiling water and a thick-walled clay or porcelain gaiwan; the cultivar's fruit-forward aromatics emerge most clearly on infusions 2–4. Holds 8–10 steeps.

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Tasting notes

Aroma
ripe stone fruit, mineral, light cocoa
Flavor
full, fruity, mineral, sweet
Mouthfeel
thick, smooth
Finish
long, warming

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