Silver Needles

Do you want all the fantastic health benefits of a cup of tea but find black tea too strong and green tea to bitter?

China Silver Needles Yin Zhen from The Tea Centre ("Silver Needles"), is an extremely delicate white tea.  It is the tiny ends of the new tea leaves very gently plucked off the plants (usually by women as they have a softer touch).  It is a rather exclusive tea but for an even more exclusive version, try the China Silver Needles Jun Shan from The Tea Centre.  It is the finest quality and most delicate white tea on the planet. Only picked on two days each year, it is often called the Emperor's Tea.

As I'm too poor to justify the China Silver Needles Jun Shan, I have tried the Yin Zhen version. 

Silver Needles barely colours the water but the smell is beautifully fresh and very subtle.  Rather like the fresh smell after rain when the earth steps, thoroughly washed clean, out of the shower.

It tastes very slightly of green tea but is exceptionally smooth.  Not a hint of bitterness or acid.  It is extremely refreshing and I imagine it would be a fantasic drink for summer, either hot or iced.  Everything about this tea is calming but bright.

I highly recommend a good quality white tea.  It is so different from black, green and oolong teas that even those that don't care for the taste of tea will find it to their liking.  My own mother who would like to drink tea for the health benefits but cannot stand the taste of traditional teas, loves white tea, particularly when it is flavoured with fruit.

China Silver Needles Yin Zhen:

China Silver Needles Jun Shan:

Floral Magic

I had seen those balls of woven tea leaves many times but never tried one.  Today I did.

It was a Jasmine Peach Buddha Ball from The Tea Centre.  The shop assistant had regaled me with tales of the ball opening to a beautiful flower in the heat of the water and I was quite excited.

I filled my glass teapot with hot filtered water and let it cool a little.  The ball was made of green tea leaves with a pink section on the top.  As green teas should be brewed using water about 70 degress celcius, I let the pot sit for a little to cool.

I then popped in my ball and sat back to watch the show.  First the little pink section perked up and became spiky.  It became clear that this was in fact a little pick flower blooming atop the ball, brought to life by the water.  Gorgeous!

Then the ball began to expand and each little tea leaf swelled and detach from the underside of the ball.  The tiny hairs on each tea leaf looked very soft and downy under the water.  So it looked rather like a tarantula with a pink floral hair piece than a giant tea flower but it was rather beautiful anyway and quite fun to watch unfurl.

The tea itself became slightly peach-coloured.  It smelled very soft and delicate.  The flavour had only the most subtle hint of peach.  If you didn't know it was supposed to taste of peach this may have been lost altogether.  Otherwise it was a lovely, very smooth, green tea.  More subtle than a straight green tea with a delicate and refined taste.

While I can't say it tasted more amazing than a beautiful green tea with a hint of peach, the ritual of brewing it and the visual beauty of the flower and the tea leaves coming to life made the overall experience very enjoyable and more than just the usual cuppa.