Silver Needle白毫银针
bud-only · Fuding, Fujian, China
Silver Needle is a bud-only white tea from Fuding, Fujian, China. Brew it at 85°C with 5g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 9 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. No rinse needed.
Quick facts
- Origin
- Fuding, Fujian, China
- Category
- White tea
- Cultivar
- Fuding Dabai, Fuding Dahao
- Oxidation
- none
- Roast
- None
- Water temp
- 85°C
- Leaf ratio
- 5g / 100ml
- Infusions
- up to 9
- Rinse
- No
Tasting notes
Silver Needle is the tea people get wrong most often, because the instinct is to treat the buds gently and then wonder why the cup tastes like warm water. These buds are dense and waxy — they need time and a little push. Give the first steep a real 20 seconds at 85°C and it opens into cucumber water, cold melon, a trace of wet hay. Push to 90°C and you trade softness for something fuller and more honeyed; both are right, depending on what you want. The texture is the point. A good Yin Zhen coats the mouth like thin cream and leaves a sweetness at the back of the throat that lingers longer than seems fair for something this pale. Don't rinse — you throw away the best sip. And don't crowd the gaiwan. Buds need room to breathe or they sulk.
Flavor profile
Delicate and refined with a silky mouthfeel. The liquor offers honeydew melon, cucumber, and hay-like sweetness up front, evolving into floral notes of linden and wet rose across infusions. A gentle creaminess develops mid-palate with lingering pear and white melon.
Terroir
Coastal hills, subtropical maritime climate, 600-800m elevation
Cultivar: Fuding Dabai, Fuding Dahao
Brewing
- Steep 1: 20 seconds
- Steep 2: 15 seconds
- Steep 3: 15 seconds
- Steep 4: 20 seconds
- Steep 5: 25 seconds
- Steep 6: 30 seconds
- Steep 7: 40 seconds
- Steep 8: 50 seconds
- Steep 9: 60 seconds
Use slightly cooler water (80-85°C) for a sweeter, more delicate cup. Higher temps (90°C) bring out fruitier, fuller body. The dense buds need a longer first steep to begin opening.
Aroma & taste
Aroma
- honey
- hay
- linden flower
- cucumber
Taste
- honeydew
- white melon
- cream
- pear
Processing
- withered
- sun-dried
- gentle baking
Sources
- https://meileaf.com/tea/silver-needle/
- https://sevencups.com/shop/bai-hao-yin-zhen-silver-needle/
- https://yunnansourcing.com/products/fuding-bai-hao-yin-zhen-silver-needles-white-tea
- https://verdanttea.com/wild-special-grade-wuyangcun-bai-hao-yun-zhen-silver-needle-white-tea
- https://www.teacurious.com/guide-silver-needle
- https://www.teavivre.com/silver-needle-white-tea.html