Organic Nonpareil Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen)

Same tea, new note. I added the rest of the sample. This is the last of one of the first teas I received from Teavivre. So sip down!

This is still so fresh and clean. Along with the melon and cucumber notes, it made me think pea pods today. Silver Needle is such a beautiful delicate tea.

This morning we played all hymns – probably haven’t done that in a decade. Started out slow and quiet. The last two we do as rockers, so I turned the volume up a just little (honest – maybe 1/8 turn). The sound guy and the drummer saw this as the moment they had been waiting for. Things got pretty loud after that (he he).

I guess because of having to read about silver needle so much lately, I really started wanting some again. And like I said last time I broke out the Teavivre samples I need to a) drink the latest ones I got already and b) finish these already.

I still can’t get over how flavorful this tea is even after a minute. It’s so sweet, with notes of hay and flowers. It feels bright and fresh.

I have been feeling pretty meh lately about white teas, so I definitely needed this one back in my life. I’ve been having flavored ones of course but there’s just something about the pure flavor of silver needle that trumps them all when you drink one.

Also I just learned of the end-all of Gangnam Style parodies. Mitt Romney style: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6830834/mitt-romney-style-gangnam-style-parody I think the shark has been jumped now.. (note I think there’s at least one f-bomb in there so just in case, here’s a warning, but it’s HILARIOUS)

Again, I am brewing this in my gongfu pot.

I did 6 steeps:rinse,45s,1m,1m30s,1m45s,2m20s,3m

The same notes come out as western brewing. Floral, slightly sweet, grass/hay, and that organic freshness. Delicious for an afternoon relaxing on a day off.

Hmm, have I never reviewed this? It seems unlikely, but there are no reviews to be found by me so I guess not. In that case I apologize to Teavivre for taking so long to get around to reviewing this sample. As always, you are so generous!

I’ve never been really drawn to white tea. Partly I think because it reminds me strongly of hay, and while that is a pleasant olfactory memory, it is not necessarily one I want to drink (I feel this way about many puerhs as well). I usually enjoy a white tea fairly well but I never crave one.

This tea is so pretty, all downy and soft. Dry, it smells like fresh cut hay. Steeped it retains those hay notes, but also gains a sweet creamy smell. A bit of honey on whole-grain bread, perhaps. That seems to be the predominant flavor for me, and this tea is unexpectedly “chewy;” the texture is thick and the whole thing really reminds me of really good bread. Which is totally not what most others are getting, but there you go! I don’t really taste florals or melon, but I could be convince of roasted summer squash. It’s darker tasting than I expect a white tea to be, and richer. I’d be interested in brewing my other package in a gaiwan (if I had one, not sure if my little gongfu pot would be appropriate) just to see how the flavors differ. Even so, this is quite a lovely, toothsome white tea and I very much enjoyed this cup.

Long story
Canada Dry Gingerale is the bestest drink ever (excluding tea, so I guess it is the second bestest drink ever). There is nothing better. I am in love with Canada Dry Cranberry Gingerale. It only comes out around the Christmas season. So last year, when I was trying to find it, I had everyone I knew on the look out. My mom ended up buying me two cases of Canada Dry raspberry gingerale with white tea. Not what I wanted but I drank it. So I eventually found the cranberry gingerale and WWWAAAAYYYYY stocked up. I still have a box and a 1/2 of this in my basement because I was hoarding it, and my mom showed up last week with a fresh case that she just saw at the store as it is now on sale for the season.

Short Story
So thinking of the raspberry gingerale with white tea, I mixed the cranberry gingerale with this silver needle. I brewed the silver needle as per usual, cooled it in the fridge, and then mixed half and half with the gingerale. It is very good. Mostly tastes of cranberry gingerale but the sweetness and carbonation is much toned down. It seems to be smoother with the white tea. I get a taste of the silver needle in aftertaste. It tastes more like a drink/juice vs a soda/pop – so of course I feel better about drinking it.

Tea makes even the second bestest drink better!

Have not been feeling well all day – for the last couple of days actually. Spent the day sipping 52 Teas Pot O’ Gold and now ending my evening with a lovely white.
So many excellent tasting notes thus far. I get the floral, the hay, peppery, the summer lawn, and even the frost as others have mentioned. This is an awakening of tea, a chameleon. I don’t even want to bother writing more about it – this is a tea to be silent with and enjoy – and since we have a wonderful storm now I will sit back and relax and know that this tea is going to make me feel much better!

Who said white teas had to be bland?

The smell of the brew: I get lost in it, tea drunk at first sniff! Oh, I could just bathe in its holy water!

1rst steep:

It has a round texture, feels like a cloud of pudding in my mouth!

Of course, I can’t deny the freshly cut hay, it dominates this first infusion. It’s sweet and slightly flowery. Beautiful pale yellow nectar. I’m slurping it like there’s no tomorrow, thinking my 4oz Gaiwan is way too small, I’d rather have a gigantic pot of this! But as they say, with great patience comes great rewards!

2nd steep:

Brings more sweet, honey like flavor with hints of citrus and melon in the background. I can see this being an excellent iced tea.

The later steeps are still sweet, but they also kick in with a peppery aftertaste, nice addition to the already complex symphony of flavors, it gives it a second life. It’s definitely very potent.

L-O-V-E it!

In conclusion, this is white tea with an attitude , some kind of a white boy with a James Brown swag signing «I got soul!!»

Thank you Angel and Teavivre for the very generous samples

Ahhh…smooth luxury. This tea has absolutely no bitterness or artificial taste, it’s just simple, light, silky satisfaction. First, let me say that I love that this tea came individually packaged. I’m sure the intent is to ensure freshness, but I must admit, tearing into the pretty white packaging made me feel like I was opening a wee gift made especially for me. Perhaps that sounds delusional, but it’s the little things that can make a girl like me feel special : ) And what a gift this tea proved to be! My first brew had a faint natural aroma and flavor, somewhat akin to straw, which I surprisingly enjoyed. The second steeping was my favorite: absolutely flawless, smooth deliciousness, with no bitter aftertaste. The sheer number of infusions I get with this tea with more of maturation in flavor, rather than a loss of taste is astonishing. This is only the first of several teas sent to me from the generous Angel and Teavivre, but if the rest of the samples are even half as impressive, I will be placing my order with them by next week.

Thank you Angel and Teavivre for this sample!

I do enjoy a good Silver Needle Tea! I also am a believer in the curative properties of White Tea in particular having had a cure on my palms of a skin condition that I suffered with for 20 years and that White Tea applications cleared away completely never to return now many years later. (I don’t buy it when other people tell me these things, I know…but this is true for me!) I prefer the BEST ORGANIC I can afford! When this arrived in my package of samples, I was anxious to try it.

Opening the pretty white individual packet, the silver needles were long and covered with white down. Lovely! With a steep time of 1-2 minutes there was no waiting time. I am so impatient! The wet needles were fragrant with a green-bean vegetal scent, not scented enough to fill the room. I expected a floral smell which was not there. Curious.

The flavor was quite mild, unlike any white tea or silver needle I’ve tasted before. So mild in fact that I would not be able to say this is silver needle in a blind tasting. It was a bit salty and juicy, more like linen than needle, not floral or vegital at all. It was a bit hazelnutty.

I broke down and sweetened it…maybe that would change the picture.

Oh Golly! (like that word) The sweetness with the salt grabs the guts of the tea and yanks the hidden not-to-sweet flavor of salted butterscotch! This was mega better good!
Now I had the roll going…sweet….slurping…salty butterscotch silver needle white tea! My taste buds are having a party because this is one of those flavors that all you need is some friends to stop by. You want to share a tea like this one. This just can’t be a Silver Needle!

This is a keeper!

SIPDOWN! These are a cause for celebration for me, since I drink tea so slowly that I accrue much faster than I decupboard.

This sample was generously provided to me (a very long time ago, actually!) by Angel at Teavivre. I was in the mood for a white tea – actually I have been for a few days but I’ve taken my time getting around to it. I wanted something light and clean, probably to jump start my body into spring detoxification mode. I do less and less well with winter as I age.

I was worried that the flavor may have suffered in the year(!!) that I’ve had this, but it actually seems to be quite similar to how I remember it! Very sweet and straw-like, and quite mild.

This was perfect for right now – a fabulous Silver Needle!