Silver Needle

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 6
Theme: Icicles
My pick: Yunnan White Jasmine from Verdant Tea

Once again, Marjorie and I are of one mind, ha ha. We both chose a silver needle to fit the “Icicles” theme. Adorbs.

Anyway, I steeped them both grandpa style because I thought it would be fun to drink them together. Obviously I won’t get all the subtleties and whatnot but I’m okay with that, ha ha. Casual steeping is more my speed these days. :P

I was actually surprised how different they taste (ignoring the jasmine, of course). This has a much heartier, deeper haylike flavor that reminds me of a mellow aged shou mei. Wet autumn leaves and piled hay with a drizzle of a dark honey, some dried apricot, and a sprinkle of oats. Love the little hint of tangy stonefruit in there. Really a lovely and cozy tea for a chilly day, though not necessarily flavors I associate with bai hao yin zhen!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDQOqyYOheF/

An okayish white tea! I got the 2022 harvest of this tea from my Mei Leaf order, and it is decent, but not good enough. Beautiful budded dry leaf with a very nice dry and wet leaf smell. Liquor was full of trichomes and the longevity of this tea was surprisingly good. This tea had a okayish flavour that lacked a bit of potency and nuance, and it didn’t really have much going for it in terms of cha-qi, finish, and texture. Not a bad tea, but not good enough.

Medium to thick-bodied. Peppery with sweet, floral end-notes. Very subtle in its flavor and lacks the milky creaminess found in the Fuding-Fujian variant.

Fruity smell, citrus, very sweet taste: very sweet, ripe apples texture: sirup after taste: lemonade

19th March picking. Hay, vanilla, osmathus, papaya, crème fraîche.

Lovely honey and fresh alfalfa hay taste. Rich, full mouthfeel. Soft floral notes in the aftertaste. A bit like drinking the sunshine in a little meadow. Holds up pretty well to higher temp brewing but can get a little dry. Cold brews like a dream!