Silver Needle - Organic

This morning has been beautiful and sunny, and I’ve decided to pair the day with an organic Silver Needle white that I’ve not actually tried before. As with yesterday’s sheng, this came from a local tea house in my city. Aside from knowing it’s good quality tea, it is also just a good feeling supporting a local business in these uncertain times. A part of me does want to order some pu-erh from China though, I wish I could get what I want locally. Oh well.

My first impression of this tea is that it is one of the more delicate Silver Needles I’ve drunk. The dry aroma threw me off at first, as it mostly just smelled of fresh hay or sweet grass, but not in a stale sort of way thankfully. It took a couple infusions to really wake this tea up, but once it did a very soft honey and peppercorn flavour arose. It’s not spicy like some peppery profiles though, just smooth and sweet. The leaves also turned from their eponymous silver hue to a lovely blue-ish mint green once the pekoe fuzz washed away. Beautiful to look at. Hints of sweet broth started to shine through around the fourth or fifth brewed pot as well, but nowhere near the intensity of some greener teas I’ve tried. Seems like a well balanced tea overall. I probably won’t buy it again though, as I do prefer a bit of a stronger flavour to my whites.