# Silver Needle White Tea

> Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Silver Needle proper: plump, downy spring buds simply withered and dried in filtered sun, brewing a pale gold, almost water-white cup. Contains a little caffeine.

Price: 26.00 USD · in stock

## About
Tip the buds into your palm under lamplight and they shimmer faintly silver, each one furred like a rabbit's ear and so light that a full tin weighs barely more than the box it ships in. This is white tea at its least handled.This grade is Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Silver Needle proper, made only from the plump, unopened buds picked over a short window each spring, before the leaves beside them unfurl. There is no rolling, no pan-firing and no oxidation to speak of: the buds are simply picked and left to wither and dry in filtered sun. It takes a skilled picker to gather enough buds for even a small batch, which is part of why Silver Needle has always sat near the top of the white teas.The liquor is the palest gold, almost water-white, a quiet cup that does not announce itself. White tea is the least processed of the true teas, and its makers have long prized that restraint. It contains a little caffeine.How to useSteep at 175°F for four to five minutes. White tea forgives a longer steep more readily than green, since there is so little tannin to turn bitter. Use more leaf than you think you need: the buds are light and take up more room than they weigh.A tea for the unhurried morning.