Loose-Leaf Silver Needle White Tea, from Wegmans in album tea

In Albums: tea

Silver needle white tea, showing silvery tea leaf tips covered in downy white hairs

Feb 27th, 2013, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows a closeup of loose-leaf silver needle white tea, which I purchased from Wegmans supermarket.

Silver needle or Bai Hao Yinzhen is a type or grade of white tea whith is made exclusively from tips or leaf buds. The tips are usually covered with downy hairs, giving them a white or silvery appearance, clearly visible in this photo. There is a slight greenish color, but the greenish color is diminished somewhat relative to green teas, reflecting a slight oxidation resulting from the fact that this tea is not heated to stop oxidation in the way that green teas are.

This type of white tea tends to be very expensive. This was a relatively inexpensive batch but was still $80 a pound. I bought only 0.02 pounds for $1.60, enough for several cups. I thought it was reasonable and above average quality for this type of tea, but in the end, I just don't tend to be impressed with this type of tea; you can read my full review on RateTea.