Chinese: 头采白毫银针
Origin: Baise, Guangxi, China
Cultivar: Fuding Da Bai Hao
Harvest: Early March · First flush
Picking: Predominantly unopened spring buds
Processing: Plucking → Peeling/Sorting → Withering → Drying
Silver Needle is the most bud-focused of the classical white-tea picking standards.
This tea is made predominantly from the first large spring buds of the Fuding Da Bai Hao cultivar. The buds are covered in fine trichomes — the characteristic silver-white hairs responsible for the visual appearance implied by the name Bai Hao Yin Zhen.
Unusually, this lot is grown in Baise, Guangxi rather than the traditional white-tea region of Fuding. Fuding Da Bai Hao plants were introduced to the area and adapted successfully to the local growing conditions, producing particularly large and robust buds.
Harvest takes place in early March during the first spring flush. Processing remains minimal: careful withering followed by drying, without intensive rolling or roasting.
The resulting infusion is pale, clean and texturally soft, with very low perceived astringency.
Profile: Wild white flowers · Crisp pear · Fresh cucumber · Young honey