Bai Ji Guan

Bai Ji Guan — white cockscomb — is one of the sì dà míngcōng, the four famous bushes of the Wuyi rock-tea tradition, alongside Da Hong Pao, Tie Luohan and Shui Jin Gui. It is the odd one out, and the easiest to recognise: its cultivar carries a pale, almost albino leaf, yellow-green where the other rock teas are dark, said to resemble the comb of a white rooster.

That pale leaf calls for a gentler hand. Bai Ji Guan is given less oxidation and a lighter roast than the heavy, charcoal-finished Da Hong Pao, so it keeps a softness and a floral lift unusual in yánchá. It still grows in the same mineral gullies of the Wuyi cliffs and still carries the yányùn, the “rock rhyme”, but worn lightly.

In the cup

Brew it gongfu — a good measure of leaf, near-boiling water, short steeps — after a quick rinse. The liquor is pale gold for a rock tea, the flavour sweet corn and herbs over a soft mineral base, the floral note clearer than its roasted cousins. It is the rock tea to reach for when you want minerality without the weight of the roast.