Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Driftwood Teas
Tea Description:
Doke Organic Silver Needle is one of the finest examples of a white tea I have ever tasted. It’s easy to see the care that has gone into the hand harvesting of each one of these buds and personally I think this is easily more than equal to even the very best examples of silver needles being produced in China’s Fujian Province at the moment.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I find myself in total agreement with Azzrian’s assessment of this tea: “Doke Organic Silver Needle Second Flush from Driftwood Tea offers a crisp, clean, and juicy sweet cup.” It certainly does!
This is one of the finest Silver Needle teas that I’ve ever encountered – and I’ve consumed quite a bit of Silver Needle Tea!
The dry leaf is beautiful: long, silvery spears covered in soft downy fuzz, and the liquid they produce is softly fragrant with notes of fruit and perhaps a hint of hay, reminding me of the smell of the air after a field of hay has been harvested.
The flavor is delicate – no big surprise there. But what does surprise me is how abundant the flavor of apricot is in this cup. It is as though the flavor just bursts onto the palate. The background notes are of hay, hints of a grassy vegetation, and vague floral tones. There is a slightly dry astringency to the cup – slight! Those of you who tend to be “astringency-shy” … I don’t think you’d be put off here. This is more “juicy” than it is astringent.
It is a very enjoyable Silver Needle – as I said, one of the very best I’ve tried. I’d highly recommend this one.
Organic Silver Needle White Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Organic Silver Needle White Tea has exquisitely shaped buds enveloped in white down. This white tea excites with its savory aroma, rich body and a sweet flavor with rounded finish that is soft and airy on the palate. White Teas which include our Organic Silver Needle variety are known to promote weight loss and stimulate the metabolism. This low caffeine antioxidant packed tea is delicious hot or cold and can be enjoyed any time of day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the pouch of this Organic Silver Needle White Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf, I knew I was in for a treat. The dry leaf is so beautiful – so fluffy, so soft, beautifully pale green with silvery tips! – and the fragrance was sweet and fresh. The leaves look so fresh and perfect!
And the tea they produce tastes as good as the dry leaves look. Sweet with notes of light vegetation, and a hint of hay. I’ve compared the flavor of silver needle tea as the taste of the air that surrounds a field of freshly cut hay and that is true of this tea also. I love the fresh taste of this tea, it’s so crisp and pure and light!
And even though it is a delicate taste, there is a certain invigorating quality to it as well. It’s a gentle vigor, like something that softly calm and relax you while still allowing you to maintain a certain level of alertness. It doesn’t leave me feeling overly stimulated – most white teas don’t! – but, it isn’t something I’d necessarily drink right before bedtime as it may cause me to stir a little longer than I want to when I try to get some shut-eye.
I prefer a high-quality Silver Needle tea like this one to be served while it is hot, although it does make a very refreshing iced tea as well. It doesn’t need sweetening – I find that adding sugar or other sweetener to a delicate white tea will overwhelm it – instead, allow the natural goodness of this tea to come through unadulterated.
I love this Silver Needle from Nature’s Tea Leaf … and I’m LOVING that it’s organic! Another great tea from this company – if you haven’t tried anything from them yet, I highly recommend visiting their site the next time you’re in need of some top-notch teas!
Bai Hao Silver Needle (Yin Zhen) from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2012
Production Season – Spring, first day havest
Production Region – Fujian, Fuding County
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I can always count on Life in Teacup to offer some of the very best teas … and this Bai Hao Silver Needle – also known as Yin Zhen – is a perfect example of what I mean by that. The dry leaves are so beautiful with the coloration ranging from pale green to silvery white, and each needle is soft and covered with fluffy fuzz. The aroma of the dry leaf is soft, with notes of flower and hay.
The flavor is delightful. On the Life in Teacup website, there is a short discussion on brewing this tea using boiling water … this is something I’ve not tried (or if I have, I don’t recall having tried it!) I’ve always used a lower temperature, but today I was feeling a little rebellious and while I wasn’t feeling quite so courageous to try boiling water, I did turn up the heat just a little, using water brought to 185° instead of the customary 160° that I usually would use for a silver needle. The flavor is stronger … but not too strong. But … it certainly is no longer the “delicate” flavor that I’d expect from a silver needle.
And while I have a great appreciation for the delicateness of a white tea, I like the slightly bolder flavor of this cup using a higher temperature. Maybe next time, I might even try boiling water on my white tea!
As it is, though, I’m finding this to be quite delightful. The flavor is sweet and vegetative … but not a green tea vegetative taste. It’s more like the flavor of sweet flowers and hay … similar to the fragrance I enjoyed from the dry leaf. There is an earthiness to this as well … and I find that the earthiness here is where I notice the biggest difference between the lower temperature and higher temperature brewing water. The earthiness really comes out with the hotter water.
There are subtle notes of fruit to this cup as well, and I notice that as I continue to sip, the fruit notes become more distinguished. Overall, the cup is sweet, refreshing and light … but with a fullness to it that I find really satisfying.
If you are one who generally finds white teas to be too soft or delicate in flavor, I recommend trying a slightly higher temperature … this really brings out the flavor, and I am not noticing any bitterness or scalded tea taste from the higher temperature.
A really enjoyable tea experience – thanks to Life in Teacup!
Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yinzhen) from Enjoying Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Enjoying Tea
Tea Description:
This white tea with a white downy appearance comes from the province of Zhejiang. The Silver Needle, highest quality white tea, is picked during the spring before the buds open to preserve its tenderness. Exquisite and delicate, Silver Needle has a fresh, sweet fragrance and produces a pale yellow brew. Brewing with a Yixing teapot can best show the aroma of Silver Needle. This tea has high concentrations of polyphenols (antioxidants that help fight against cancer-causing radicals and heart disease)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a LOVELY Silver Needle White Tea – also known as Bai Hao Yinzhen – from Enjoying Tea. It is so deliciously sweet and beautifully delicate.
The aroma is sweet and reminiscent of hay. I’ve compared the fragrance of other Silver Needle teas that I’ve tried to the scent of the air that would surround a field of hay after a cutting, and that is true of this Bai Hao Yinzhen as well. It smells fresh.
The flavor is also fresh tasting. Sweet, mellow vegetative tones. It is certainly delicate, and I have heard that some people tend to avoid white teas because of their delicate quality. I would say don’t let this detract you! It took me a while to allow my palate to adapt to the lighter characteristics of a white tea … but once my palate became accustomed to the softer flavor, it was so rewarding! I love white tea!
This Silver Needle from Enjoying Tea is an absolute delight!
Royal Gold Yunnan Needle from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Tea Description:
Exquisite, rare, high-altitude Royal Gold Yunnan tea. This needle tea, along with our Silver needle, is considered to be one of the finest teas in the world. Ours is completely comprised of copper-y, soft, curly buds. The dry leaf is quite aromatic; deep woodiness, tobacco, and floral hints. Once steeped, the leaf denotes hints of honeysuckle, with an autumnal richness. In the cup we find a deep caramel color and complex aromatics; bing cherry, baked bread, dark chocolate, roasted nuts,and spring blossoms. A long aftertaste leaves an incredible tobacco-y cacao finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I just love it when I take that first sip of a tea and I exclaim: “Awesome!” … or something like that. Sometimes it’s “oh, that’s good.” Or, just simply “mmm…”
That was my response when I first tried this tea. It was first “mmm…” and then “Awesome!”
This tea has such a deliciously rich character – smooth and complex and full-flavored. The first thing I noticed is just how well-rounded it is. It has a richness – almost creaminess, but that’s not quite the right way to describe it. This isn’t creamy the same way an Oolong, for example, is creamy. But, it has a thickness to it … a satisfying quality that seems to warmly blanket my taste buds in a swathe of flavor that ranges from flower to cacao, from caramel to fruit. This tea seems to have it all.
There are distinct cocoa-y notes – a deep, dark chocolate-y note that seems to set the tone for the entire cup. The cup is sweet, but not so much from the cocoa as it is from the burnt-sugar caramel notes. After the first couple of blissful sips, I begin to notice the fruity tones emerging, reminiscent of fresh plum that has been ripened on the tree in the summer sun. More sweetness and just a hint of tart from the fruit. Just a hint – just a touch of tartness – and it helps to keep the cup interesting.
By mid-cup, the floral notes begin to reveal themselves. The description above suggests honeysuckle, and yes, I suppose I get that. But it isn’t quite the honeysuckle one might find in other teas that possess honeysuckle-like tones, these floral notes have the subtle qualities of chamomile, but with the flavor of honeysuckle. That is to say that they are soft, not sharp or overpowering – just a gentle hint of honeysuckle, as if a warm breeze filtered through a honeysuckle vine and the essence of the air and the flower met in the teacup.
By the time I reach the bottom of the cup, I can reflect over the different flavors that I’ve tasted and might also mention a slight spiced tone that peppers the cup – not heavily, just a touch of warmth here and there that tastes of freshly ground pepper that has been finely ground and used to season modestly the overall cup.
A truly wonderful experience, this Royal Gold Yunnan Needle from Zhi Tea. It’s one of those teas that will serve you well as a breakfast tea and takes the additions of milk and honey well. I prefer it straight though, as I find that it allows me to explore the many facets of flavor it offers.