Feb 08
Katie’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "I felt it lacked the complexity of an especially fresh and fine Silver Needle."
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This pretty little ditty is a hand-rolled Silver Needle white tea. Some time ago, I attempted to debunk someone's scepticism over hand-rolled teas. He (or she - I honestly don't remember) called them "gimicky." In some ways, you can consider them unnecessary, but along with being fancier-looking, rolled teas allow less surface area to come into contact with the air, thus allowing the tea to age slower. So sure, it isn't necessary and may add more to the cost than it always should, if you want your Silver needle to be that much fresher, rolled is the way to go. Besides, visually pleasing teas are nice to have around, though if they don't measure up on taste, then what's the point?I put two teaspoons of the pearls along with 12 ounces of 175° water into my clear glass teapot for three minutes. The tea smells sweet and somewhat vegetal, and the flavour is similar. It is hefty for a Silver Needle, and I had hoped for a more delicate cup. For my second steep, I left the tea for four minutes, which gave me a cup more like what I expected. It was less savoury and more of the delicate sweet white I know and love.
I attempted a third infusion, which I steeped five minutes. This cup had a somewhat tart aftertaste and teetered on the line set between the hearty first steep and the calm second.
Final verdict: A good white tea, but not exceptional. I felt it lacked the complexity of an especially fresh and fine Silver Needle. If you're looking to buy something particularly stunning, this isn't a miss, but if you're wanting to buy based on flavour alone, you can probably do better.
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