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January 16, 2005
White Down Silver Needle
Name: White Down Silver Needle
Kathy's Rating: 9.5/10.0
Company: TenRen
Origin of tea: Fujian, China
Price: $22/4oz (113.4g)
Tea form: Loose silver needle white tea.
What they say: White Tea is grown in the high mountains of Fujian province. Like Green tea, White teas undergo little processing. This purity may be what researchers from Oregon State University report may cause White tea to have a greater concentration of polyphenols than Green tea and therefore may have the strongest anti-cancer potential of all teas. White tea has the sweet aroma of fresh tea leaves and is unique in quality.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea. Steep for 4 minutes.
Review: I didn't start out with a favorable impression of white tea, as my first experience wasn't that great. Over time, I've really come to appreciate white tea, though. In case you're wondering, white tea is actually the buds of the tea plant instead of the leaves, and is not allowed to ferment at all. It's called 'white tea' because the buds have little downy white hairs on them when harvested. Another name for this type of white tea is 'Yin Zhen', which translates to 'Silver Needle'. Today, I prepared TenRen's Silver Needle along with Rishi Tea's Organic Silver Needle, which I will also review.
The results? Both teas were spectacular. TenRen's Silver Needle tasted sweeter and had a smoother aftertaste, which was why it got a slightly higher rating, but really, both teas are star performers. I was careful not to over-infuse the tea, which would have given it a bitter taste.
Posted by Kathy at January 16, 2005 11:49 PM