Silver Peony Yinhao Green Tea

Silver Peony Yinhao Green Tea is a hybrid tea because it has some characteristics similar to those of a white tea and others similar to those of a green tea. Looking at the product, in fact, we can see a selection of leaves similar to the one that is performed for the famous Bai Mu Dan white tea. In addition to the first two apical leaves, we can also see some slightly wider leaves and well-developed buds. The processing of the product instead takes place following the typical steps of a green tea. Despite originating in Yunnan, this tea during the oxidation blocking phase is still subjected to a heat similar to that of green teas from eastern China. This ensures that the product stabilizes and does not remain active and changeable over time as it happens for raw puer.

Given these premises, you can guess that the flavor of this tea in the cup will be quite complex. Thanks to the thick leaf due to the camellia cultivar native to Yunnan, intense plant tones are preserved, capable of giving an oily sensation in the aftertaste. After a few sips, however, a fresh, sweet note of honey and wildflowers will spread in your mouth, similar to that of some white teas such as Bai Mu Dan.

Tasting – Sight and smell

The Silver Peony Yinhao green tea leaves, slightly rolled in shape and in some places almost unprocessed, have various shades of green and ocher, as well as numerous silver buds, covered with soft white fluff. Once infused, they release very fresh, sweet and delicate vegetal scents, as well as notes of honey and wildflowers more similar to those we would find in a Bai Mu Dan white tea. The liquor is pale yellow, with soft pink reflections to reflect the delicacy of taste: it is a tea without astringency or bitterness, and with a medium dense and oily body that pleasantly envelops the palate.

Tasting Notes

GONG FU CHA

The first infusion of Silver Peony Yinhao green tea proves to be very delicate, with a vegetal sweetness reminiscent of fresh grass and new peas and slight sugary and floral hints. It is with the second infusion in gaiwan that the tea acquires more character, revealing notes of baked thistle and boiled fennel, notes of acacia honey and more intense floral hints of wild flowers. The third infusion and the following ones amaze with woody notes that emerge for the first time: there are hints of bark and almost a fresh balsamic tip, flanked by a very soft citrus acidity.

WESTERN

The first notes of Silver Peony Yinhao green tea are sweet white sugar and honey sulla, hints that would make you think more of a white tea than a green tea. Then sweet vegetal hints of bamboo shoots emerge and fresh notes of freshly cut young grass, which evolve into more floral notes to recall wildflowers and wild mountain shrubs The persistence is characterized by sweet vegetal scents, with a floral note that arrives a few moments later, almost surprisingly.

Place of origin

Yunnan, China

Production

Silver Peony Yinhao green tea has a very classic processing process that provides, after a first drying outdoors, the cooking of the leaves in large woks heated to temperatures around 180°C to block the enzymatic activity and prevent oxidation of the same. After these stages the leaves receive their characteristic flattened shape and are left to rest so that they lose some of the residual moisture inside.

How to prepare

We strongly recommend infusing Silver Peony Yinhao green tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to enjoy these leaves to the fullest. Following this preparation you can use 4.5 grams of leaves (about 3 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of about 100 ml to obtain more infusions with different flavors. After a quick rinse of the leaves in 85°C water, an initial 10-second infusion can be made, and after that, keeping the water at the same temperature, proceed with multiple infusions, each time increasing the time by 5 seconds (10 – 15 – 20…).

This tea has a longevity of about 6 infusions.

For a classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend 2 grams of leaves (about 1 teaspoon) in a 150-mL cup with water at 85°C for an infusion time of one and a half minutes.

The tea can be filtered for greater ease at the moment of tasting, and also the infusion times indicated above are intended to be purely indicative, so you can also adjust according to your personal taste.

It is recommended to store Silver Peony Yinhao green tea in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.