Written by guest tea blogger One Man’s Tea Journey
My name is Eric and I am the man behind One Man’s Tea Journey (Blog: onemansteajourney.com; Instagram: onemansteajourney)
The purpose of One Man’s Tea Journey is to document what I learn along the way of my journey as I started with zero tea knowledge and wanted to share what I learned. I don’t want people that are new to tea to feel overwhelmed with the incredible amount of tea knowledge that exists in the world and let them know that it’s okay to not know anything. I didn’t and still don’t know very much, but the tea community is incredibly welcoming and eager to share their own knowledge with anyone eager to learn.
Most Silver Needle tea is grown in China, but there is one that is from the island nation of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Ceylon Silver Tips is a white tea made entirely of buds, and while it shares some characteristics with its Chinese counterpart, it also adds a little bit of spice. This tea has the common white tea flavours of summer hay and fruit, but there are hints of orange and cloves as well, which makes this a fairly rare and unique tea.
As this tea is made up of buds, it can be re-steeped many times before the buds fully open and release all of their flavour. For that reason, I prefer to brew this tea gongfu cha style with many infusions. I noticed a calming and cooling body sensation after several cups.
Tea Profile:
Type: White
Origin: Sri Lanka
Harvest time: Spring 2019
Leave colour: Pale green leaves with silvery white hairs
Liquor colour: Pale yellow
Tea aroma: Fruity and floral with hints of spice
Tea taste: Summer hay and fruit with hints of cloves and oranges
Steeping/brewing: I used 190°F or 88°C gongfu style with the first infusion for 25 seconds and an additional 5 seconds for each subsequent infusion. I made at least ten infusions before losing count.
Shelf life: Up to 10 years or more if aged appropriately.
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