I'm just getting done with the most time consuming of the labor involved in building my own house with my husband (talk about something eating into your tea drinking time!) but enjoy both writing and tea! I've begun purchasing tea through Rishi recently and am enjoying the process of learning more about tea from harvest to tea cup. I've been drinking tea as opposed to coffee for about three years now, having had some very strong physical reactions to the high caffeine levels in coffee, including shoulder tension. I originally cut out drinking caffeine altogether, but tried a white tea, loose, at the local co-op, and found myself hooked on the pleasant sense of awareness and alertness that the white tea brought out, without any of the jittery tensions that I usually associate with a caffeinated beverage. That led me to start drinking a white peony tea on a regular basis. I recently became interested in proper storage of teas (as to which there seems to be a lively debate still raging) and was concerned about the light the tea I was purchasing in bulk at the co-op was getting in its glass jars. I thought I would check out Rishi online, since they also do a lot of support of small farms, and promote not just organic agriculture, but also strong and often anicent local economies and fairly traded products, which seems incredibly important in this day and age. I tried the silver needle premium white tea after considering my options. I wanted to try something new and see if I could discern a difference between what I consider a luxury tea (at $100.00 a pound, I think that's pretty luxurious) and a more everyday specialy tea (that's the $20.00 a pound range). I was a bit skeptical that I would notice that much of a difference, but the enitre process was amazing.

I prepared the tea according to the directions. I used a candy thermometer to take the water temperature, and now do so religiously. (After all, what's irreligious about using a candy thermometer to take tea water temperature? Purist notions have never trumped economy for me, especially if I've paid $100.00 a pound for the tea!) Opening the bag of tea released an incredible odor, at once subtle and very strong. It was fragrant, but in a different way than white peony. I was stunned that there could be such a difference in the odor when I was dealing with "just another white tea." (You'd never guess I am a gardener who could wax eloquent about the subtle differences in the flavors of carrots! Where did that bias come from? Inexperience, I guess). I infused the tea and just enjoyed leaving my head over the tea pot as it steeped. What an aroma!! When I finally brought the tea pot out for my husband to imbibe some of the heavenly fragrance, I was delighted that he agreed that the fragrance was subtly different and entirely delicious smelling (he's been building a house for over a year, and his thoughts don't tend to stray too far outside construction issues right now!). The taste was phenomenal. I'm hard pressed to describe it. I wouldn't say it was a floral taste, but it was light and bright, solid tasting but not strong. There was no bitterness to this tea at all. I wouldn't say that white peony tea has a harsh taste to it at all, but somehow, the silver needle had a polish to it, almost the difference between someone who'd learned a language through study and a native speaker. Very clean, and subtle, but this tea was not a weak tea at all. Drinking it made me google Fujian Province and want to learn all about the area it was produced, and how. I know of no other way to describe this tea than it's a varietal that I can fully believe is really only harvested once a year. And what a difference it makes. It didn't taste like anything else I've ever tried, and it didn't have the taste of almonds, flowers, chocolate or anything else in my opinion. It didn't make me think of anything else at all, which to me was delightful, as I felt that I was really enjoying the tea fully on its own terms, not for what it reminded me of. Do I know what subtle magic of the soil and the air and the farmer and time and weather vagaries and blessings coalesced to make this tea grow just as it did and taste this way? No, I really don't. My knowledge is still at the basic level, but I will never again question whether or not it's very possible indeed for an expensive (or not so) varietal from a specific region, to carry a flavor and strength and character all it's own. I'm delighted by the differences! I still enjoy my white peony regularly, but I'm now on the lookout to try smaller quantities of special teas as often as I can, just to get a little glimpse of another place through my taste buds.

— To purchase Rishi Tea Silver Needle Premium, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

Jamie Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Jamie's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Jamie.

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