2014 Spring Silver Needle Cake

I’ve had this tea sitting in my closet in a small cardboard box for several months now, and decided to take it out and try it out.

I had brewed this tea for the first time immediately after it arrived. That first cup was more typical of a white tea, with delicate hay notes. Naturally sweet, I didn’t add any sugar which is unusual for me.

This cup surprised me, as I could taste sugar cookies, and even eventually milk. These flavors float atop the fresh hay notes mentioned before, and all meld and blend together for a very smooth and soothing cup of tea. Lovely!

I can’t wait to try this again in the future to see how the flavors unfold with time.

I loved this tea. I reccomend using 150 degree f water for the frst 5 steeps just to really enjoythis teas floral sweeter qualities. Its hard to oversteep this tea.

The aesthetic value of this cake alone would make anyone swoon. I opened the wrapper to revale a beautiful downy disk. Long silver furry buds make up this fantastic tea. I brewed it in my gaiwan with slightly hotter water than I would with Bai hao yin zhen. The dry leaves have an intense aroma of stone fruit, honey, and cyprus. I broke a small chunk off and brewed. The taste is almost identical to Silver needle except for the intensity. It has the same honey and hay taste but more in depth. The flavors are brought out and maximized. The dry leaves have the scent of honey, sugar, hay and with a spicy undertone. I can hint at lychee and peppercorn. The aftertaste is phenomenal with a sweetness that lingers long after drinking. Unlike silver needle I’m able to steep this repeatedly with a consistent palatableness. The liquor is light golden copper with hairs lining it. A truly magnificent brew, I only wish I could taste it once it has aged for some time.

This sample came from miss cookies. Between looking at the description and the tea itself, I was a bit confused as to whether this is technically a white tea or a sheng. So I ended up just steeping it like I would a regular silver needle. The leaves are similar to other silver needles – they’re long and covered with silver hairs. However, I can definitely tell that they’re been compressed into a cake. They look somewhat flatter than usual and they have an interesting crimpy texture. Dry scent is subtly sweet with hints of stonefruit.

The steeped tea does smell like a combination of white and sheng teas – it has the soft hay notes but there’s also a touch of menthol. Yum, I was afraid this would come out bitter, but it’s not even close. It’s actually very sweet and there’s the most lovely and super creamy grain flavor that reminds me of oatmeal with cream. There’s a bit of apricot that especially comes out near the end, and I also get a tiny hint of sheng-y menthol and a slight cooling sensation on my tongue. I really like this one, and I imagine it would only get more delicious as it ages.