Silver Needle or Yinzhen is a white tea produced in Fujian, China, it is named for the needle shaped leaf buds the tea is made up of exclusively, covered in white hairs. Most of the flavour from tea leaves is present in the full leaves and stems, while buds that have yet to open have a more subdued delicate flavour prized in some teas.

In contrast to cheaper mass produced silver needle, this tea has a real strength of flavour to it, a strong fruity aroma in the dry leaves that trends towards more of a floral perfumed scent when infused and heated. As you’d expect this is a light bodied tea, but there is still some viscosity in the liquor, it doesn’t feel like drinking water until later infusions. The liquor is a pale light-gold, there’s no bitterness, the sweet floral scent dominates your mouth as you drink, providing a drying sensation that makes it easy to drink more.

Processing:

Creating white tea is a very simple, yet masterful process. Only 2 steps, withering and drying are performed with great care and adaption, with factors like the weather, and condition of the leaves playing a big role.