Silver Needle White Tea
(Baihao Yinzhen)
An Insider's Guide
Also known as the Silver Tip, Silver Needle white tea (Baihao Yinzhen) was only invented in
1857, but now ranks as one of China's 10 Famous Teas.
Baihao Yinzhen means White Hair Silver Needle.
Why? Because it is covered with lots of white
hairs, which give it a silvery appearance. It is also straight as a needle.
If you are looking for the highest quality white, you have found it.
As a bud tea, it has no leaves, just the youngest and fattest buds picked
earliest in the season.
It ranks among other celebrities such as Longjing tea and Wuyi Rock tea as
one of China's 10 Famous Teas.
Modern white tea history began with the re-invention of Silver Needle at the
Fuding County of Fujian Province in China.
The original white tea was made from the Vegetable Tea (Caicha). It is a seedling variety.
The breakthrough came in 1857, when the Big White variety, native to the
nearby Taimu Mountain, was successfully cultivated in Fuding County using the
propagation method.
Its enormous buds and showy white hairs make it ideal for making Silver
Needle.
Production started in 1885. It was an instant hit - the Big White sold for 10
times more than its predecessor.
First exported in 1891, Silver Needle white tea was hugely popular overseas,
until the first world war struck and reduced trade to a trickle.
History has gone a full cycle - it is regaining its allure with foreign
drinkers in recent years.
The making of white tea consists of 3 stages: harvesting, withering and
drying.
It is in stark contrast to green tea and oolong tea.
It does not undergo fixation, where high heat is applied to kill the enzymes
and stop the oxidation.
Pick one leaf
with one slightly unfurled leaf, then extract the central bud for further
processing.
Ideal picking season is spring. First two rounds yield the
fattest and sweetest buds from the top of the tea bushes.
Third and
fourth rounds yield "side" needles that are thin and small. They make low
quality needles.
Autumn tea is said to be good, while summer tea is low
quality.
Not all the tea gardens can last several rounds in one season.
Some organic tea gardens are so low yield that they last only one round of
picking.
Spread out fresh leaves thinly on bamboo mats for up to 3 days in a bright
and well ventilated room.
Natural withering takes place indoors or under
the sun.
Artificial withering takes place indoors at higher
temperature.
The aim is to reduce moisture to 20% before drying.
Oven-bake the buds at low heat to about 30 to 40 degree Celsius.
After that, remove any debris and discoloration to maintain the
uniformity.
Finally, re-oven to reduce moisture to under 5%. Package into an airtight
container.
The Zhenghe Sliver Needle follows a slightly different process. Instead of
oven-baking, where weather permits, leaves are dried naturally under the
sun.
There are two kinds of Chinese Silver Needle white tea: Fuding and
Zhenghe.
Fuding is known as the
Northern Style (Beilu), whereas Zhenghe
is known as Southern Style (Nanlu).
Fuding Needle is silvery-white; Zhenghe is silvery-grey.
Some vendors prefer Zhenghe to Fuding, as its sun drying process gives it a
stronger, more toasted flavour.
It really is a matter of personal taste.
In practice, other factors such as tea garden quality, harvest timing and
withering method have a bigger impact on quality.
A superb offer, this excellent everyday Silver Needle tea shows that rare white tea needs not be expensive.
Organic certified, this AA grade tea is sun-withered and tastes deliciously fresh.
Silver Needle Tea Limited Offer - Price Myth Busted!
Yuan Di Shun (2006). Zhongguo Baicha. Xiamen Daxue Chubanshe.
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