This is an extremely mild and very subtle tasting tea! You really have to sit there and close your eyes to concentrate on the slight grassy notes that it has to offer. I prefer more taste and flavor to my teas, but the health benefits are supposed to be great when drinking a Silver Needle tea. This would probably be great blended with another tea that has flavor, just to get in your daily dose of health benefits.
Comments
Hey Jessica, nice review. I have a very popular tea called Cancer Fighting Tea which blends Silver Needle, Jasmine Dragon Pearls and Rooibos Mirage(Peach, Lemon and Orange flavored). It’s quite yummy plus you get the health benefits of both silver needle and rooibos. I’ll send you some.
Thank you Daniel! Jasmine Dragon Pearls are my ultimate favorite tea out there so far and peach mixed in a green or white tea is always a plus, you can never go wrong there; I look forward to trying this blend, it sounds amazing! Again, thank you.
Heh. There is trick to buying Jasmine Pearls. There are numerous different grades and types. Some sell a “Jasmine Pearls” which is not the same thing. It’s a lower quality pearl that’s only scented 1-2 times with jasmine flowers. Then there are several grades of “Jasmine Dragon Pearls” which are ‘okay,’ but the best grade is called, “Organic Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Fujian Provence.” They are organic, hand picked and hand rolled 100% buds, which are scented 8-10 times with jasmine flowers. Their aroma is amazing, it kicks you in the face. They are a bit more expensive, but if you’re going to have Jasmine Pearls, you gotta go all out or it’s just not the same.
I have noticed this amongst the Jasmine Pearls that I have tried… I’m somewhat on a mission to find the very best out there so far the winner of my heart is Teavana’s which are the Phoenix Pearls. The Art of Tea has a lower grade I am guessing since they are named simply “Jasmine Pearls”, but they’re pretty good as well.
Do you know what type of Silver Needle you tried from Teavana? The grade makes a big difference on it too. There is a medium grade which a lot of companies sell which is called “The King of the Silver Needle” but despite the name ‘king’, it’s not the highest grade. The highest is called Yin Zhen Silver Needle, only the largest and nicest buds are hand picked out for Yin Zhen. Also the more down or fuzzy hair on it, the higher the quality. Some Silver Needles are naked, or don’t contain any hair, they are very low grade and don’t taste great at all.
Actually, I went to their web site, they do sell Yin Zhen Silver Needle, and by the looks of the needle, it’s correct. I knew they used to sell Yin Zhen, but quite a bit of their teas have changed over the last 10 years.
I’m not sure, it was just called “Silver Needle” I believe, but the leaves weren’t fuzzy, not no where near as fuzzy as their picture online shows them. Hmm now I want some fuzzy leaves… wait, does that sound a bit odd?!
Hmmm maybe the fuzz got knocked off from being rattled around in their canisters? There wasn’t very much fuzz, maybe I’ll have to try their Silve Yin Zhen Pearls, but they’re a bit proud of those and I only want to sample it and not own 2oz of it! ;-)
Oh, yes, they mark up their teas a lot. They have always been some of the most expensive teas on the market. That’s mainly because there main business is specialty tea shops in areas where there are no tea shops, so there online store is only an added bonus to them, so they don’t care to compete much in price online.
@Daniel Mann: Just gotta say a big thank you for all the interesting information you’ve been adding to comments lately. I’ve always loved it when liberTeas or Frank add some bonus knowledge to conversations — it’s great to have another tea guru out there helpin’ out us noobs :)
Hey Jessica, nice review. I have a very popular tea called Cancer Fighting Tea which blends Silver Needle, Jasmine Dragon Pearls and Rooibos Mirage(Peach, Lemon and Orange flavored). It’s quite yummy plus you get the health benefits of both silver needle and rooibos. I’ll send you some.
Thank you Daniel! Jasmine Dragon Pearls are my ultimate favorite tea out there so far and peach mixed in a green or white tea is always a plus, you can never go wrong there; I look forward to trying this blend, it sounds amazing! Again, thank you.
Lol — I think you had her at “Jasmine Dragon Pearls” ;)
Lol yes, yes he did! hahaha
(how funny — I think Jessica and I posted at the very same time!)
Heh. There is trick to buying Jasmine Pearls. There are numerous different grades and types. Some sell a “Jasmine Pearls” which is not the same thing. It’s a lower quality pearl that’s only scented 1-2 times with jasmine flowers. Then there are several grades of “Jasmine Dragon Pearls” which are ‘okay,’ but the best grade is called, “Organic Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Fujian Provence.” They are organic, hand picked and hand rolled 100% buds, which are scented 8-10 times with jasmine flowers. Their aroma is amazing, it kicks you in the face. They are a bit more expensive, but if you’re going to have Jasmine Pearls, you gotta go all out or it’s just not the same.
I have noticed this amongst the Jasmine Pearls that I have tried… I’m somewhat on a mission to find the very best out there so far the winner of my heart is Teavana’s which are the Phoenix Pearls. The Art of Tea has a lower grade I am guessing since they are named simply “Jasmine Pearls”, but they’re pretty good as well.
Do you know what type of Silver Needle you tried from Teavana? The grade makes a big difference on it too. There is a medium grade which a lot of companies sell which is called “The King of the Silver Needle” but despite the name ‘king’, it’s not the highest grade. The highest is called Yin Zhen Silver Needle, only the largest and nicest buds are hand picked out for Yin Zhen. Also the more down or fuzzy hair on it, the higher the quality. Some Silver Needles are naked, or don’t contain any hair, they are very low grade and don’t taste great at all.
Actually, I went to their web site, they do sell Yin Zhen Silver Needle, and by the looks of the needle, it’s correct. I knew they used to sell Yin Zhen, but quite a bit of their teas have changed over the last 10 years.
I’m not sure, it was just called “Silver Needle” I believe, but the leaves weren’t fuzzy, not no where near as fuzzy as their picture online shows them. Hmm now I want some fuzzy leaves… wait, does that sound a bit odd?!
Hmmm maybe the fuzz got knocked off from being rattled around in their canisters? There wasn’t very much fuzz, maybe I’ll have to try their Silve Yin Zhen Pearls, but they’re a bit proud of those and I only want to sample it and not own 2oz of it! ;-)
Oh, yes, they mark up their teas a lot. They have always been some of the most expensive teas on the market. That’s mainly because there main business is specialty tea shops in areas where there are no tea shops, so there online store is only an added bonus to them, so they don’t care to compete much in price online.
That is a good point, very true!
@Daniel Mann: Just gotta say a big thank you for all the interesting information you’ve been adding to comments lately. I’ve always loved it when liberTeas or Frank add some bonus knowledge to conversations — it’s great to have another tea guru out there helpin’ out us noobs :)
Hehe, you’re far from noobs, you guys and gals have probably drank more than tea than I have. I may have the knowledge but you have the tea wisdom! It’s encouraging and informative to read all the reviews, nothing helps me more. I love to talk about tea, so this is a great place to do it.