The 2008 Bai Mudan from Teamania is an aged white tea from Zhenghe. It has a stony minerality in combination with hay. Overall, subtle but enjoyable tea.
Mei Leaf’s White Peony Open Pluck is a delicious treat in the morning sun. A refreshing sweetness that transports you to a green and blooming meadow.
ANMO’s 2016 Fuding White is a fruity and sweet mini teacake. Fruity notes in combination with a candy sweetness that go on long into the aftertaste.
Tea Joint’s Bai Jian white tea is a good entry-level silver needle. It consists of big hairy buds and has a sweet and fruity flavour profile.
Mei Leaf’s Guangxi Silver Needle is a rewarding tea. It offers a sweetness in combination with chrysanthemum flowers and even oranges if you pay attention.
The 2017 Jianyang Lao Bai white tea from ANMO offers a combination of sweetness and notes of hay. The combination is just about right.
ANMO’s 2016 Jianyang Lao Bai White Tea is developing nicely to become a sweet tea. The sweetness is there, but it’s more in the background and finish.
The 2015 Jianyang Lao Bai White Tea from ANMO is a combination of sweet notes and subtle hay. This slowly changes into roasted notes towards the end.
ANMO’s 2014 Jianyang Lao Bai White Tea is a fantastic tea. It’s almost like a rock oolong with a sweet undertone that lingers through the infusions.
Teasenz’ Fujian Silver Needle is a sweet tea that almost tastes like wine gums. The later infusions offer flavours of citrus fruits.
White2tea’s Chuan Bai is a mysterious tea. Flavours range from sweet to green. You feel that more is going on but it’s difficult to say what exactly.
White2tea’s 2015 Gongmei is a typical aged white. Affordable everyday drinker with subtle flavours of hay, spices and a light sweetness.
Mei Leaf’s Moonlight White is almost like a cool and minty syrup. It’s mainly a creamy mintiness with some sweet notes at the end.
Despite both being silver needle tea, there are major differences between silver needle from Yunnan and silver needle from Zhejiang Province. How can one and the same tea be so different?
I opened a 2017 batch of Mei Leaf’s Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) and was rewarded with a subtle sweetness of meadow flowers and dry grass.
