Teasenz, Fujian Silver Needle

Teasenz Description:
For many centuries enjoyed by imperial families in China. Fuding's Silver Needle is a pinnacle-grade white tea with a soft, smooth, and silky-sweet taste.

Silver Needle is the most famous white tea from China and also known as 'Bai Hao Yin Zhen'.

Sample provided by Teasenz

My Review:
The weather has turned back to beautiful warm sunny days and cool nights. A/C by day and furnace by night days. Love it. Not loving the fall allergies that have hit like a brick today.

I have tried several Teasenz offerings to date, and all of them have been very good. I hope the trend continues as Fujian silver needle is one of my favorites. I haven't done a lot of comparison pricing but this one seems exceptionally reasonable at $15.45 for 70g (2.5 oz).

The packaging is a resealable aluminum bag. The label is brief and clearly provides brewing recommendations.

My first test with any tea is the sniff test. I have had enough white tea that I have certain expectations. This one meets them well. The scent is that wonderful sweet hay I expect, and more. This one has a melon fruitiness along with almost a minty hint. I can't say for certain it is not the allergies, but I don't think so. It certainly smells, not only nice, but fresh.

There was a little bit of crushed leaf when I removed a scoop. I am pretty certain that is my fault. Things are a little out of hand at the moment and the bag was a little banged around. The vast majority is full white fuzzy buds with hints of green.

I used my clear glass press and water heated to 175 F. The steep time was 4 minutes.

When the water hit the leaf it all began to float. As it steeped some began to slowly sink to the bottom while standing on end. The visual dance of the leaf is an important part of my tea experience. I encourage you to take note of it while preparing your own cup.

The liquor is far more enticing than I was able to capture with my point and shoot camera. It is a deep golden amber. It is almost radiant as it captures the light and reflects it back.

So far this is shaping up to be a very nice tea.

Upon tasting, I will first tell you I have had deeper more complex white teas, but not at this price. That is not to say this is a simple one note cup. It certainly is not. In fact there is plenty of depth. I am finding it to be just what I wanted today.

It is clean and crisp. As with most white teas there is not a hint of bitterness. This is naturally sweet and does not ask to be sweetened. It is not grassy but isn't exactly the typical hay taste either. It kind of fits in between somewhere but closer to the hay. There are floral/fruit notes swirling around the taste. I still get an occasional flash that suggests mint. It is very brief and light. Quite refreshing.

As I sip, I can feel stress melting away as I begin to relax. The wonderful thing about a good tea is the feeling of rejuvenation that comes with the peaceful contentment.

This has a good solid flavor at a reasonable price. Once again I can recommend giving Teasenz a try.

You can find Teasenz Fujian Silver Needle here.