Peony White Needle
"This tea is an absolute delight delicate and
clean with notes of apple."
The production of white tea is very different to green tea. Firstly the leaves come from a special varietal tea bush called Narcissus or chaicha bushes. Secondly, the leaves are not steamed or pan-fired. These leaves are withered and dried naturally under controlled conditions. If mechanical drying is required the leaves are baked (not fired) at temperatures less than 40°C.
Only special leaves are selected. These leaves must be a very light green almost grey
white colour and be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. The ideal is a leaf or two being wrapped around a newly developing shoot. These shoots are plucked and segregated from the rest of the leaf being plucked. These leaves are then naturally withered and the painstaking process of manual sorting to select the long ‘furry’ white tip occurs.
Peony White Needle Tea is the top grade available and very rare - hence its high cost. You will see the long white needles covered with furry down and a very uniform appearance – hallmarks of very rare white tea.
Fujian Province China
These are the rules for picking Peony White Tea:
- Only picked between March 15 and April 10.
- Not picked on days that may be raining
- Not picked if the dew has not dried or if there is frost on the ground
- No purple buds allowed and the stems must not be too long or too short.
- Leaves damaged by the wind, handling, insects or partially open are rejected and put into a lower grade.
The Western cosmetic industry has recently discovered the benefits of white tea. In addition to its positive medical properties, tea has a calming and detoxifying effect on the skin. White tea is especially potent in that it has three times as many antioxidant polyphenols as green or black tea and has been shown to be 100% more effective in mopping up free radicals that cause the skin to sag.
Some of the world’s top cosmetic companies are becoming very interested in white tea for skin creams and the result is that high-grade white tea is becoming even rarer than before.
This tea is amazing and so refreshing it lifts the day, a spectacular treat for all tea lovers.
Origin: China
Caffeine Guide: Low
Region: Fujian Province
Antioxidant Content: Ultra High
Growing Altitudes: 1500 – 4900 feet above sea level
Appearance: The leaves show a very light green/ grey
Grade: Bashan Silver Tip Peony white colour and covered with velvet peach fuzz down
Process: Non-fermented, Traditional process, naturally
Infusion Colour: A shimmering clear infusion
withered and dried, Small batch crafted, Hand sorted.
Taste: Reminiscent of fresh apples
Ingredients: White tea
Wrapped Gift Set Details
50g of your chosen loose-leaf tea in a metal matt black Airseal caddy
Arts and Crafts style Empress tea strainer with drip bowl
One perfect cup of tea measuring spoon quality 18/10 s steel
All gift wrapped in a sturdy re-usable kraft presentation box with ribbon and tag (Christmas tag from 1 Nov to 22 Dec and plain red rest of year unless requested)