Silver Needle White Tea

Pale, downy buds, each one furred like a rabbit's ear and faintly silver under lamplight, this is white tea at its least handled. No rolling, no pan-firing, no oxidation to speak of: the buds are simply picked and left to wither and dry in filtered sun. The dried leaf is astonishingly light, a full tin weighing barely more than the box it ships in, and the liquor it makes is the palest gold, almost water-white. White tea is the least processed of the true teas, and its makers have long prized that restraint as a virtue rather than a shortcut. Practitioners of tea tradition have long taken it as a gentle, low-caffeine cup suited to any hour, its delicate polyphenol content valued for the same antioxidant interest that surrounds green tea, only quieter. It is not a tea that announces itself. This particular 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. 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 tea hierarchy. Ours is sourced from Fujian province and third-party tested before packing. Steep 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, as the buds are light and take up more room than they weigh. A tea for the unhurried morning, or the evening when you want warmth without the wakefulness.