Autumn Silver Needle White Tea

Autumn Silver Needle White Teais made of a second harvest mainly composed by buds and just a little part of young leaves.

This tea, besides its features are usually linked to second choice products, has a lot to show thanks to the important camelia where it comes from and the cures it received during the growing and the processing.

So, a well made autumn harvest, is also capable of giving leaves rich of taste that reveal some significant differences when compared with the first spring batch.

The camelia’s trees of Fujian that originated this product, thanks to a long resting period, were, in fact, able to give thick leaves with a rich profile of aromas that is mostly linked to floral scents.

The infusion of White Tea Autumn Silver Needle also shows a good body in the cup, a characteristic also linked to the presence of some single leaves in addition to the buds.

We invite you to compare this product with its spring version that you can find with the name ofEarly Spring Silver Needle White Tea, so you can deep dive in the harvest differences in first person.

Tasting – Sight and smell

Autumn Silver Needle White Tea is silvery green in color and rich in buds, covered with a thick and soft white fluff. Once infused, leaves and buds release aromas of hawthorn, honey, hay and hops, as well as fruity notes and hints of mountain herbs. In the cup it has a beautiful golden color with pink reflections: it has a velvety body and denser than a classic Silver Needle, totally devoid of astringency or bitterness.

Tasting Notes

GONG FU CHA

The first infusion of Autumn Silver Needle white tea is soft and enveloping: sweet hints of vanilla cocoa and lime honey alternate with fresher notes of hay, white pepper, wildflowers and hawthorn. The second infusion reveals notes of gentian and hops, with a slight hint reminiscent of juniper berries. With the third infusion and the following ones, fruity hints of dehydrated apricot are also clearly perceived and the notes of cocoa return even sweeter and velvety..

WESTERN

The first notes that you can taste while sipping Autumn Silver Needle white tea are certainly enveloping and sweet: they recall acacia honey, lime honey and cocoa. These are immediately followed by fruity notes of dehydrated apricot and apple compote, then by floral notes that recall wild flowers and even slight hints of vanilla. The finish is very fresh, with notes of hay and mountain herbs, while the persistence remains long and sweet of honey and cocoa.

Place of origin

Fuding, Fujian – China

Production

After the harvest, the leaves of the Autumn Silver Needle White Tea whither under the sun in order to loose some humidity and start the oxidation process.

Then, when it comes the right time, the producer moves the tea indoor to follow the last moments of oxidation in a more controlled environment. In the end, the leaves are exposed to hot air and this way their aromas are fixed.

The processing is really simple but it requires a certain experience to determinate the proper oxidation steps of the leaves and, moreover, dissipate gradually the humidity in the product, so it doesn’t loose its organoleptic features.

Brewing instructions for Autumn Silver Needle White Tea

We strongly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (Gong Fu Cha) with a gaiwan with a capacity of about 150 ml. By following this preparation, multiple infusions can be made with 5 grams of leaves that are useful to best capture all the flavor nuances of the tea.

Heat the water to a temperature of 80°C: conduct a short rinse of the leaves and then an initial 40-second infusion. Keeping the water at the same temperature, you can then continue to exploit the same leaves by adding more water and increasing the infusion time by 10 seconds each time (40-50-60…).

This tea has a longevity of about 5 infusions.

For a more classic preparation in the Western style, we recommend 3 grams of leaves in a 200-mL cup with water at 80°C for an infusion time of 4-5 minutes.

For a better tasting experience, we suggest that you strain the tea as soon as the brewing time is over. The infusion timings we suggest can be slightly modified to your liking to achieve a more or less intense taste.

Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

White Tea benefits

The category of White tea, together with the Green one, gives a moderate energetic effect thanks to caffeine and amino acids content.

The high presence of buds and young leaves in Autumn Silver Needle white tea also allows you to have a brewing with a significant presence of antioxidants and minerals.

Depending on the kind of white tea and its place of origin it is also possible to feel a pleasant warming or refreshing feeling at the end of the cup. Thanks to this feature the product is suitable to be consumed in every season of the year.