Bai Hao Yinzhen, known also as Silver Needle, or White Down Silver Needle is a white tea produced in Fujian Province in China. Amongst white teas this is the most expensive variety and the most prized, as only top buds are used to produce the tea. Genuine Silver Needles are made from cultivars of the Da Bai tea tree family. The best productions are from the first flushes, which generally take place between late March to early April, when the year’s first new buds “flush”. For the production of Silver Needle, only the leaf shoots, i.e. the leaf buds before opening, are plucked.
A true white tea, hand-picked, hand-selected, meticulously perfumed, and then sorted in the mountainous Fuding, Fujian Province. The most tender white tealeaves and silvery down-covered buds are hand rolled into very small pearls. The rolled silver needle pearls are dried, then blended with unopened night-blooming jasmine flowers. Over the course of a night, the flowers open and release their aroma into the tea, flavoring it and giving it the heady scent associated with the white tea. The next morning, the flowers are removed and the operation is done all over again – up to six times for high-quality jasmine teas!
Different from common silver needle white tea, a few of the finest fragrant silver needle white tea leaves are selected and deftly hand-rolled into a tight pearl, sealing the sweet scent deep within the leaves. You can also easily find it different from other pearl jasmine tea which is made with green tea, there are lots of stems in the other type. Our silver needle pearl is an absolutely stunning tea, the pearl which is made with very short white tea spouts has the most subtle flavor of all the teas, it is milder, contains less caffeine and thought to have the most antioxidant out of all the teas. This has a strong tea flavour and a strong Jasmine fragrance, not bitter at all. The intense flavour and scent of jasmine gives way to an incredibly clean after-taste than any other tea you can find. When submerged in hot water, these hand-rolled fragrant pearls unfurl seductively in your cup, releasing their enchanting jasmine perfume. The rolled shape helps prevent oxidation and ensures longer optimal maturation. This tea has a sweet flavour with a flowery Jasmine aroma. Organic standard, you can find the unique tea in Dragon Tea House only.
Brewing Guide: Make in a glass teapot for optimum enjoyment. Use enough pearls to cover the bottom of small/average sized tea pot, bring 2 to 3 cups of water to around 160F or when tiny bubbles begin to form at the bottom of the pot – never allow it to boil, The jasmine scent is delicate and it can be damaged by water that is too hot. Steep for 2 to 3 minutes or until the leaves unfurl, wait another 2 minutes before drinking. Leaves can be re-steeped, to do so increase the temperature of the water with each subsequent steeping.
I’ve been loitering on dragon tea house’s website lately. :)
They do have a massive assortment of tea. :) But i prefer yunnan sourcing @ teavivre for chinese teas.
Good to know! Thanks! That’s what I love about Steepster, everyone sharing their experience with tea companies & teas!