White tea liquor delights consumers in Hubei

In Xianfeng county of Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, Hubei province, an innovative white tea liquor delights consumers with the freshness of tea and fragrance of sorghum liquor.

Wang Mei began combining tea with baijiu in 2019. Last year, he succeeded in creating a satisfying taste with locally produced white tea.

Wang sun-dries and steams fresh tea leaves, then mixes them with sorghum fermentation mash in a precise ratio. After fermenting, the mixture is distilled and cooled.

Xianfeng's white tea contains over 5 percent free amino acids, twice that of ordinary green tea, while its tea polyphenol content is around 11 percent, significantly lower than other tea varieties. This resolved the bitterness issue Wang previously encountered when brewing liquor with local green tea.

In November 2024, Wang brought samples of his exclusive Xianfeng White Tea Liquor to an agricultural expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Locals responded positively, with particular enthusiasm from young women.

"Using white tea to brew liquor is an innovation in traditional distilling techniques," Wang said. Since founding his distillery in 2017, he was recognized in 2023 as a county-level representative inheritor of sorghum liquor brewing techniques.