Chinese Silver Needle

I’m a big fan of white tea, so I couldn’t wait to try Harney’s version of silver needle. This is actually my first silver needle (everything else has been white peony/bai mu dan, which is absolutely delicious), so I was REALLY psyched to steep this up.

I used a heaping tablespoon in ~6 oz. of water, but I had to stop to admire the leaves. HOW pretty. The sample I received from Harney was full of unbroken, beautiful needles. So downy and soft and fluffy! And a beautiful silvery down over bright green. Gorgeous. The smell was a bit woodsy and vegetal. I’ve learned that whites aren’t exactly the best-smelling teas.

I anxiously awaited the steep. If you want something that unfurls and dances around in the pot, then this isn’t for you. The leaves barely budge. But still. Gorgeous. The infusion that came from the pour was a light yellow, a very pretty white color. And the smell coming off of the liquid was similar to the dry, but more concentrated. Very woodsy, a hint of sweetness, an a lot of planty goodness.

On the first sip, I was pretty disappointed. This lacked a lot of depth of flavor that I’ve experienced with other whites. And I really do enjoy subtle notes. But this one was mostly vegetal. As Steepster’s description says, this is definitely the most vegetal white I’ve ever had. It almost tastes like edamame, or the water that would result after boiling some of those nom-worthy beans. Edamame tastes wonderful, but I’m not sure I want my tea to taste like that. It’s nearly savory, in a very bizarre way.

There’s not much sweetness hitting the palate, which is a shame. That nectar-like love from white tea is one of my favorite things about it.

There are plenty of better whites out there. Samovar’s Bai Mu Dan, for starters, has to be one of the best whites I’ve ever had. I’m sure there are better silver needles out there as well, that will give me the sweet and yummy cup that I so crave.

I certainly wasn’t expecting this to be as vegetal (reasonably “strong” bok choy note) as it turned out to be. I’m used to [naturally] sweeter white tea’s I suppose. The liquor was very light even when steeped for 3 minutes, like water. Not something I’d keep in stock as I much prefer Teavivre’s Silver Needle, but interesting nonetheless.

Edit: The second steeping of this was way better, for my taste buds anyway. The vegetal flavour is more balanced and a little of the sweetness I’ve come to know with white tea’s has come out. The man (who isn’t a fan of tea…yet!) took his usual cautionary sip, then 3 gulps followed by a sigh and a “I could get used to this”. Hooray for progress!

Edit 2: Third steep was just like drinking hot water – nothing there.

Switching to white tea now, given the hour. Steeping this at the time and temp in the H&S tasting note.

Beautiful, long, feathery silvery/green needles. They look like they’d be soft to the touch. I’m using the entire sample packet. It measured out to about 1.5 cups worth of tea. The dry leaves have that earthy, watery, airy scent that white tea seems to have to me. Essentially all the alchemical elements except fire.

The liquor is… white? Clear? (Did I use too much water in the Breville? Or do it blame it on my clear glass tasting cup?) It has a very faint floral aroma. The sort of smell you admire on a friend who has used just the right amount of perfume. I think it must be the honeysuckle I’m smelling, as it doesn’t seem jasmine to me. In any case, it’s divine.

There is flavor here, but you have to be patient. It’s sort of the same reaction I had to the GM Snow Sprout. At first it’s like there’s nothing there, but then, all of a sudden, there is. There’s sweetness, of the sort that reminds me of the nectar that I used to suck out of the ends of shrimp plant flowers as a kid but not as strong. There’s a floral flavor note that carries the honeysuckle from the aroma into the mouth. And there’s a tail of a slight vegetal bitterness, not at all unpleasant, just the sort you’d find in the bok choy of the H&S description, but mediated quite successfully by the sweetness of the tea.

Not recommended for those who prefer strong flavors in teas. I generally prefer strong flavors but I’m always amazed by how an extremely subtle tea can also grab me and I can like it just as much as the deepest smoky tea. I guess that probably says something about my personality but I’m not gonna dwell on it.

I think I’ll resteep this instead.

This is one of the most beautiful teas I have seen. The soft dry leaves are so pretty. The aroma is very light but the flavor is amazing. Soft notes of melon, peach, and honey. I can catch some slight vegetal notes but mostly a sweet, ripe honeydew flavor. I’m actually surprised with how sweet this is. Definitely one of the better whites I have had.

Edit: The second steep is still super sweet and almost reminds me of cotton candy. I’m not complaining of course :] MMMMMM

Also known as Yin Zhen, this tea smells of wet, sweet hay with a glaze of sugar, sweet like cotton candy. Light floral high notes of honeysuckle and jasmine add quite the finish. Though it sometimes begins tasting only of water, it quickly blooms in the mouth to show a light sugar sweetness, dulled with gentle vegetal flavors of steamed bok choy (mmm).

Yin Zhen is widely considered the best white tea in the world. Although it is expensive, it merits its price. It comes from a beautiful corner of the Fujian province whose hills and valleys are carpeted with gorgeous tea gardens. The best Yin hen comes form the coastal counties of Fuding and neighborng Zheng He, whose mountains are steep but not high. Yin Zhen’s silver tips grow on the Da Bai (big white) tea tree, whose name aptly describes the plant’s large buds. The Da Bai plant forms fat buds, thickly coated with down. The plants need time to create these big buds, so the Yin Zhen harvest starts later than in adjacent green tea areas.

The buds are painstakingly picked by hand. In the spring, int he mornings after the dew has dried, the hills can be seen dotted with harvesters. Typical of the variation within many Chinese teas, every Yin Zhen maker makes this tea a little differently. Some tea makers dry the buds on tarps in the sun, others dry them on wooden slats in the shade, and still others lay them out on racks in temperature controlled rooms. A few Yin Zhen makers lightly fire the teas after drying them, giving their teas the faint “heat” flavors of lightly toasted white bread.

Yin Zhen is just as charming for the way it brews. It’s worth steeping this tea in a glass vessel to watch the steeping process. Instead of pouring the water of the buds, scatter the buds over the surface of the water. Sometimes the buds will fall right to the bottom, but in the best of times they will float a few moments on the surface, then tip their noses to hang vertically in the water. There they will sway gently before falling to the bottom of the glass. As they unleashed a pale green liquor, the buds themselves will slowly tunr a dark sage green.

Fresh tasting with quick shots of sweetness. Subsequent steepings more vegetal but pleasant.

I told myself I would save this tea for another day, but lies wear many robes. This robe looked like a spontaneous trip to Target (where I also told myself I would buy NO TREATS!) to take my mind off the tin of plump, happy buds waiting for me. Inevitably, I would get home and allow an ample three minutes for me to sink back again into the depths of boredom and ultimately give in to temptation. What can I say? I can’t resist a snappy dresser.

In the dry buds I immediately noticed a bright aroma that caused me to say out loud in disbelief, “Coriander? Is that you?”. (I consulted my kitchen spice rack for confirmation – I can hardly recognize my old friend.) This largely dissipates into a nose that is more vegetal and floral as it steeps, but the spark is somewhat retained in the wet, tough buds, which have a strikingly bitter taste. Though the vendor listing predicts a thin, diminutive body likened to water for the steep – by no means a bad thing in my book – its arrival is accompanied by a certain, faint, buttery quality that sits sweetly on the tongue long after it’s swallowed.

Ordinarily I approach “vegetal” descriptors with caution, as they’re not my favorite with respect to teas, but as a recent and a zealous convert to the Cult of Cabbage, I profess to some partiality on behalf of your commentator, and I find it to be balanced and mild otherwise. Perhaps that will change as I let it steep into infinity. Additionally, the flavor of the buds is so pronounced in comparison to the tea itself that it seems unfair to consume them together, so I might strain this one in the future to give it a fighting chance.

For the second steep, time to put the screws on Chinese Silver Needle. I subjected it to 200F and was rewarded with a much more uniformly saccharine profile. On the other hand, the steeped buds persist in being unbearable – blech!

Ive never seen a tea like this so I was excited to try it. Its on the pricier side too so I assumes the flavors would be amazing. I was wrong! It has a vegetal light taste and thats it. Tastes like it should be 7 dollars. I just wasn’t a fan. I ended up mixing it in with strawberry cream herbal tea which made the tin go by quicker and gave it a flavor boost. One thing I do want to note, the last white tea I had was rough on my body. This one the caffeine effects are there but gentler which is interesting because they state it should have more. Usually white teas mess me up by keeping me up forevef

It smelled so pretty, and looked pretty too. But not much in the flavor department. Brewed this at 180F in a 100 ml gaiwan. Did three infusions, but never got beyond a slight vegetal flavor.

Brewed the remaining sample western style, 2 tsps at 90C. Much better. Floral notes followed by creamy notes

Silver needle is special to me.
I like the clear colour, I like the body, I like the smooth taste, sweet aroma.
And I feel I can get the most of it if I steep it for longer than the 3 minutes recommended in the packaging.
Never add nothing more than just the tea and water.
I enjoy the ‘magic’ each silver needle cup of tea brings me! :) Its delightful!