Moon Bunny - Wild Silver Needle

Thanks to tea bento for the generous sample set. The dry leaf of this wild silver needle has a scent that is equal parts floral and hay. I steeped according to package directions: gong fu style, 80-85c, 4 steeps of 30s/15s/2min/5min. I didn’t try to get a fifth steep out of it.

The first steep was by far the best. It brews up very pale with a savory aroma of hay and sticky rice. The sticky rice note carries over into the flavor, which I really like.

Subsequent steeps also brew up pale but bring out an astringency in the leaf. The second steep is mildly astringent, with a dominant flavor of hay. The third steep had faint notes of cooked rice and hay. It was hard to make anything out past that initial astringency in the sip but the taste of bitter greens did linger after the sip. The fourth steep was the longest, which seemed to cut down on the astringency. The robust savory scent of that first steep returns. The astringency is still present but the underlying flavors are stronger than in the second or third steeps.

Overall, I think I would have preferred this tea brewed Western-style for relatively short steep times to bring out as much of the savory notes as possible while suppressing the astringency.

Thanks to Teabento for this sample. Up today we have silver needle tea by Teabento, and I have to admit, the cute little bento box it came in is rather appealing. I decided to steep this tea in a glass pot. I mostly went by their guide and used 4 grams of leaf, but cut the water from 200ml to 150 to give a slightly stronger brew. I also went with their recommended temp of 87c. The first brew gave a slight creamy, spicy aroma which is light and slightly floral, fruity and vegetal. There is also a very slight yeast or baked bread aroma which is fairly common I find in white tea, but not quite as intense. I also got a bit of white grapes.

The liquor is quite pale almost like a white wine color. Tasting it I got many of the same flavors, and the tea is very subtle and soft. It’s also a bit sweet and well rounded. Its quite a nice tea and has just a teeny tiny spice note that I cant identify.

Second brew is much the same, though there is a bit more fruit notes in as well as teeny bit of sour, which enhances that flavor of white grapes. I lost the spice notes at this point as well as the baked bread, but I am picking up more floral notes now, though I cant quite place it. Maybe possibly a teeny bit of honey, but its quite light.

This tea is nice for anyone who likes white tea or silver needle.

Recommended.

After trying other Silver Needle teas, I was expecting something light and difficult to discern. This Vietnamese tea is actually quite distinct. The aroma is somewhat spicy, but still has a gentle floral tone to it.

The cup is delicate and creamy, but has an edge of smokiness to it. Overall very pleasant – infused four times in a gaiwan, ranging from 30-seconds to 5-minutes. This is interesting enough to order more and play with the times and temps a little more.