Category: Silver Needle

C. sinensis var. Dabai; Ningshi Shigulan Agricultural Co., Pingqiao Village, Chengbei Community, Shuangcheng Town, Zherong County, Ningde City, Fujian Province; Autumn, 2018; buds only, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.

Dry leaf appearance of Zherong Baihao Yinzhen is longer, thinner, and slightly darker than Fuding Baihao. It is also more slender and includes the occasional dark leaf tip. Its aroma aroma is fundamentally different, pleasant, fragrant, with hints of peach, pear, lychee, and melon. Wet leaves become more noticably green and maintain colour variation from light to dark. The wet leaves have a noticeably acrid scent, with a slight undertone of sweet stone fruit.

Liquor is pale pear in colour and has a slight, pleasant, buttery scent. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a peppery bite, followed by a drying astringent finish in the throat. The taste is mild with a very faint hint of lychee, nashi pear, and sweet stone fruit.

4g of tea was steeped in in 50ml of water for 10sec.@80deg. C then a further 100ml of water was added for 60sec.@80deg. C.

This is as lovely, aromatic and fruity tea which is a pleasure to drink. Is it true Baihao Yinzhen tea? Many adamantly insist, from appearance, it is not – “buds are too thin, poor quality!” That’s a controversy still to solve.

Zherong Country is the direct neighbour on the eastern border to Fuding City: considered the “Home” of “North Road” Silver Needle Tea; and two counties further west is Zhenghe County in Nanping Prefecture: the centre for “South Road” Silver Needle Tea. Curiously, all three counties seem to occupy a similar latitude, so the designation of North or South appears to be somewhat hair-splitting.

What is clear, is that geography and terroir is critically important to the designation, taste, and appearance, of this tea style. It does not smell, or taste like Fuding Baihoa Yinzhen, the character is completely different. But? Is that a bad thing? Is it something else that deserves it’s own space, rather than accusations of being an imposter? I do like the drinking experience that this tea brings.

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Spring, 2018; C. sinensis var. Dàbái; elev. unknown, Fuding, Guanyang, Fujian; young buds: one flag-one spear, pre-Qingming, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.

The dry leaves appear to be thick, fat, sage green, closed buds with silver hairs all over, and have an earthy, biscuit like scent, with a hint of charcoal; when wet the leaves become more ore less uniformly green with occasional yellow hints whilst they have a notably sharp, and mild acrid like wet ash aroma.

The brewed tea, which was steeped with 4g of tea in 50ml of water for 10sec.@80deg. C then a further 100ml of water was added for 60sec.@80deg. C.; has a white pear to pale yellow colour, accompanied by a mild buttery aroma. In the mouth it has a creamy, milky texture, is slightly thin and watery on the sides of the tongue, with hints of pepper, and a subtly metallic sensation, followed by a lingering sweet finish.The taste precedes from being full, creamy, mildly buttery with floral notes on swallowing, followed by an earthy, metallic, mouthwatering drift into a long, sweet aftertaste and a gradual drying presence in the throat.

This tea is now three years old and according to the saying, “One Year is tea, two years is medicine, three years is treasure;” this tea should be at its optimal best, IF it was stored well.

From my research, there seems to be two types of Silver Needle Tea from Fujian: “North Road” from Fuding City in Ningde prefecture, and “South Road” from Zhenghe in Nanping prefecture.

Comparing my tasting notes from last year, this tea seems to be mellower, and slightly darker in colour, but that could be attributed to brewing differences related to time and temperature. It does seem to have a notable minerality to it however, this does not detract in any way from its dominant, sweet, lingering finish, which is very pleasant.

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