The Persimmon Tree, Silver Needle White Tea

The Persimmon Tree Description:
Harvested over a few short weeks each year in Fujian, China, Silver Needle white tea is the most sought after of all white teas. Our Silver Needle white tea offers a subtle sweetness, a clean and fresh fragrance, and extraordinary purity in one cup. Be sure to brew these delicate white leaves at the right temperature to fully experience their exquisite flavor.

Sample provided by The Persimmon Tree

My Review:
I chose this tea to review today because it is late January and I am in need of a little fresh air and sunshine. I am going to close my eyes and pretend.

The first thing I noticed, this was currently out of stock. Looks like everyone is in need of some spring, When in stock, this was $9.99/oz. That is not out of line with other sellers especially for an organic tea, and The Persimmon Tree teas all come in a solid tin for storage.

Dry Silver Buds

I popped the top and inhaled. It is sweet and summer hay like. Just what the doctor ordered. All compacted in the tin the aroma is almost minty.

The leaf as you see in the picture has some green present must is mostly ghostly white hairy buds. The buds appear to be a smaller varietal than many I have tried.

I used the prewarmed clear glass teapot and added 180 F water. During the steep, the leaf were fairly inactive. Mostly, it remained near the top of the teapot.

A steep time of 3 minutes resulted in a light golden liquor. It is nicely clean and clear. I used a mesh screen when pouring. I would have had a cup full of leaf without it.  

Green Steeped Buds

The steep washed all the silver fuzz off the leaf. It is plump and dragon well green now. The wet leaf scent is different than I expected. It is kind of more like a green tea. I was expecting melons and hay. This is more grassy and vegetal.

The taste is much more substantial than I expected. That is probably because I steeped this twice as long as I normally would per The Persimmon Tree's recommended parameters.

I am getting flavors that bounce between malt and corn. Even this sugar junkie can tell it is nicely sweet without additives.

There is a touch of bright bite at the end of the sip that turns mineral before it fades into a corn and floral aftertaste. I notice only a mild amount of dryness.

Cup two was prepared much as the first. This time the leaf filled the teapot with half suspended from the surface and the other half standing on the bottom. I love a clear teapot.

This cup is much different than the first. It starts out with a clean mineral rush. Next it becomes earthy, nutty, and lightly mushroom. As the sip reaches an end the taste finishes with a unusual sweet mineral with passing notes of corn.

I do sense a touch of cheek tingle and a warming sensation in my stomach. The interesting thing is long after the sip is gone the warmth remains. Strangely, it also results in a neat cooling sensation on my breath.

I love white tea and this is a good one. It is a somewhat different than others I have tried. While this one has some depth to it, the flavor goes in a different direction than expected.

I hope to experiment with this one a bit. I want to alter the time and temperature to see if I can coax anything new or different out of the leaf.

You can find The Persimmon Tree, Silver Needle White Tea here.