Organic Nonpareil Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen)

Tea type
White Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Celery, Fruity, Melon, Floral, Smooth, Sweet, Cucumber, Peas, Cantaloupe, Cranberry, Flowers, Grass, Hay, Lemon, Lime, Wood, Cedar, Cream, Corn Husk, Nuts, Honey, Pepper
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Low
Certification
Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by TeaVivre
Average preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 45 sec 5 g 7 oz / 205 ml

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105 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Same tea, new note. I added the rest of the sample. This is the last of one of the first teas I received from Teavivre. So sip down! This is still so fresh and clean. Along with the melon and...” Read full tasting note
    91
  • “I guess because of having to read about silver needle so much lately, I really started wanting some again. And like I said last time I broke out the Teavivre samples I need to a) drink the latest...” Read full tasting note
  • “Again, I am brewing this in my gongfu pot. I did 6 steeps:rinse,45s,1m,1m30s,1m45s,2m20s,3m The same notes come out as western brewing. Floral, slightly sweet, grass/hay, and that organic...” Read full tasting note
    93
  • “Hmm, have I never reviewed this? It seems unlikely, but there are no reviews to be found by me so I guess not. In that case I apologize to Teavivre for taking so long to get around to reviewing...” Read full tasting note
    86

From Teavivre

Origin: Fuding, Fujian, China

Ingredients: Tea buds covered in white hairs

Taste: A subtle, slightly flowery, sweet, lingering taste

Brew: 2-3 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 176 ºF (80 ºC) for 1 to 2 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: Silver Needle White Tea gives you the greatest health benefits of all White Tea’s. Composed of only unopened, fresh leaf buds, none of the beneficial antioxidants and minerals in this tea have yet had a chance to used by the plant to convert to chlorophyll or other parts of an opened leaf’s structure. As a result TeaVivre’s Silver Needle tea has the highest quantity of beneficial ingredients.

Certifications: The particular Organic Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) that TeaVivre is selling, is guaranteed to be organically grown and produced, independently verified to meet USDA, EU, JAS organic certifications.

About Teavivre View company

Company description not available.

105 Tasting Notes

95
53 tasting notes

Exquisite. Light, flowery, and smooth with an unmistakable sweetness present throughout. From the time you open the package and examine the near perfect buds to the aroma coming from the dried tea to the last sip, this is probably my favorite tea. It is of a superb quality, and one of the best silver needles available. Just a perfect light cup of sweet and floral tea. Perfect for the summer, or any other time for that matter :)

Flavors: Floral, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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80
12 tasting notes

Similar to Bai Mu Dan, this tea says flowers and cucumbers of sorts, even sweet peas. A delicate tea that smells amazing like any white needle though the sample that it came in had quite a bit of leaves broken up which might of altered the astringency and truthfulness of flavours coming out if it was unbroken. Any-hows, this white tea is a good standard silver needle, not the best but tastes pretty damn good even after the 4th steep.

Flavors: Cucumber, Floral, Peas

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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77
141 tasting notes

Teavivre sample 3/5

Well well, here we have the most expensive white tea that has ever come through my hands, so let’s see if it’s worth it.

The first steep is a lot of sweet hay, very thick and abnormally fruity for a white (melon)

The second steep is a lot more woody, with lots of clean florals coming through (clean like without the accompanying earth that always seems to be in whites)

Third – It’s a very full and rich tea, this one. it isn’t just repeating the same earth-flowers-melon-orange that makes me bored of a lot of whites. It’s very sweet and grassy, with subtle florals, and a very fruity overtone, lots of melon and hints of lemon/lime.

Fourth – You know how cranberry juice leaves your throat feeling like.. swolen? (is there a term for that sensation?) this tea does that to me, just along with astringency and a bit of.. cotton-mouth-ness. Hay, flowers, lemon-lime, melon.

Fifth – I may have been steeping slightly too long. Nevermind actually, it tastes just as good as before.

Sixth – I really appreciate these lemon-lime notes. It’s making the tea much more enjoyable. It’s kinda cantaloupey.

There’s nothing bad in this tea, (I mean I guess if you wanted to, then you could have a problem with the weird mouthfeel) but there isn’t really all that much that seems special about it. I know I never would have thought anything special about this if I hadn’t seen the price or.. frankly the steepster ratings.

I’m happy to drink this, in fact it’s more enjoyable than most of my other whites, but I’m starting to think white tea isn’t my thing anymore. Which is unfortunate since I have a rather large stash of whites at the moment.

Flavors: Cantaloupe, Cranberry, Flowers, Grass, Hay, Lemon, Lime, Melon, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C

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98
261 tasting notes

A sample of the 2015 April harvest, almost a year old and still exquisite. Such a delicate aroma, juicy mouthfeel, and complex yet balanced and soothing taste. I can’t imagine a Silver Needle getting much better than this.

Brewed at 167˚F, 5g leaf, 150ml glass gaiwan. High quality leaves, few broken bits. Skipped the rinse.

1st infusion: (45s)
The aroma is amazing. Beautiful, smooth, reminiscent of roses in moonlight. Such a creamy mouthfeel, not bitter at all.

2nd infusion: (60s)
The liquor has this invigorating yet delicate, musky fragrance. It is full-flavoured, tastes like some creamy fruit. I can see why some people say melon, but that’s not exactly what it tastes like to me. Maybe dragonfruit or something?

3rd infusion: (90s)
Leaves still smell potent. Liquor has not slowed down. Barely very slight astringency in aftertaste.

4th and 5th infusions: (105s, 140s)
Mellowing, getting lighter. 5th is light and elegant. No astringency.

6th infusion: (180s)
Nice finish, still thickish mouthfeel. It’s not water.

Flavors: Cantaloupe, Cedar, Cream, Floral, Hay, Smooth

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
TeaVivre

The 2016 White Silver Needle will be available soon!

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86
676 tasting notes

This is a delicious, high quality silver needle tea. It has a light body and sweet, soothing taste. Steeped at higher temperatures, I get a lot more of the hay and corn. For me the sweet spot for this tea was around 165 F at 1 min. That produces the most balanced cup with a mild nuttiness, natural sweetness, and pleasant vegetal notes.

Although I still prefer jasmine scented silver needles, this is easily the best straight silver needle tea I’ve ever had. Just the tea to help unwind and relax before bedtime.

Flavors: Corn Husk, Hay, Sweet

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 4 OZ / 118 ML

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85
523 tasting notes

I’ve only ever had a couple silver needle tees that I absolutely love. I tend to prefer White Peony as far as white teas go.

While this isn’t my favorite white tea, it has some things going for it. It has the characteristic hay flavor, of course, but it’s not so intense to either make me sick or feel like I’m eating my father’s horse-food-flavored cereal. Instead, it has a subtle hay note and a creamy mouthfeel. Sometimes I can detect something sweet, but it comes and goes.

Flavors: Cream, Hay, Nuts, Sweet

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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84
103 tasting notes

This tea tastes exactly how the dry leaf looks – soft, downy, and light. Though not as strong as black and green teas, this almost clear cup in no way tastes of water. It is somehow full without being at all assertive. The cup ends with an unexpected and pleasantly surprising peppery note on the breath out.

Flavors: Honey, Pepper

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 5 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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83
630 tasting notes

This was tasty – standard white tea, for me. A bit sweet, fruity, hay-y. Good hot and cold. Not the best I’ve ever had, but very enjoyable.

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94
4170 tasting notes

Thank you for the sample, Teavivre! I’ve recently become obsessed with white teas. I never would have guessed. The flavor is a nice change from other teas sometimes! These leaves are almost green in color and larger sickle shaped, slightly different than what I’m accustomed to for this type(usually wirey, twisty). The scent of the leaves is very sweet and grassy. Teavivre suggests using five tablespoons of leaves for 17 ounces, which I’m not even sure is possible, but I know they mean loose teaspoon measurements since these leaves are so big, they’ll fall easily out of a teaspoon. It should really be 10 grams. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons which seems like half a sample pouch.

Steep #1 // 40 min after boiling // 1 minute steep
The flavor is a great white tea. Refreshing, light, grassy, hints of lemon. This is the white tea flavor I’m addicted to. I can tell the next cup will be even better, the flavor is just getting started, as white teas tend to do. Do NOT miss out on resteeping white teas!

Steep #2 // 30 min after boiling // 2 min steep
Yes, the flavor is better here, it seems to meld together with fuller flavors, as the first cup of white teas seem a little tangy. More sweet lemon flavor, a little nutty, and some sort of flavor I can’t describe that only reminds me of white teas. The flavor brings to mind having a picnic with a fluffy lemon cake in a field of grass. I wish I were there right now with this December weather! I’m sure the other white teas from Teavivre are just as good… I know I’m in love with the jasmine white.

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89
694 tasting notes

This is a sample from Angel at Teavivre. Thank you!

I was not in the mood for rooibos or chamomile, but wanted something soft and soothing. I thought a cup of this would be a good choice and I was correct. This tea is magical. I have had a few silver needle teas before Teavivre, but nothing had come close to this. This cup was sweet and creamy. There were hints of melon, and hay. This tea had more depth to it than I would expect in a white tea. I mentioned creaminess before but this texture in the tea blew me away. It made it different than any other silver needle I have had before. Definitely a great cup! I am glad I still have some more of this to enjoy. This will be going on the wish list. Thanks again for the opportunity to try this tea.

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