Bai Mudan () is a type of white tea made from plucks each with one leaf shoot and two immediate young leaves (one bud two leaf ratio) of the Camellia sinensis plant. Bai Mudan is sometimes preferred by white tea drinkers for its fuller flavor and greater potency than the other major type of white tea, Bai Hao Yinzhen. The latter is made purely with leaf shoots, and so it is comparatively softer and more subtle. The typical taste of Bai Mudan is a result of both the processing and the tea plant cultivars employed in the production.
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Production and processing
The family of tea cultivars used in producing Bai Mudan are the "Da Bai" (大白) varietal. In eastern Fujian, the cultivar Fuding Da Bai is used. In northern Fujian, the Zhenghe Da Bai cultivar is used. The differences in the plant yield two distinct styles of Bai Mudan: the Fuding variety and the Zhenghe variety.
Genuine Bai Mudan is a white tea; therefore, it is a slightly oxidized tea.
thumb|A glass of Bai Mudan
The leaves are then baked to dry for packing. The handling of the leaves remains gentle and non-intrusive throughout the process to avoid breakage of the cellular structure. This is needed because once the cell walls are physically broken, oxidation of the leaves quickens and the quality will be compromised.