Newsletter Archive Apr. 16, 2021

Dry leaves of Silver Needle pouring out of a small porcelain dish onto a white surface, with a few pale pink flowers strewn around and out of focus. — Freshly made Silver Needle showing off its crisp green brightness and the buds’ fuzzy coat of white hairs.

Fresh 2021 Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle) is here and for just this first weekend, we’re offering it to you at a discount.

There’s something different about Baihao Yinzhen when it’s just been made. In the first few months after production, Silver Needle’s fresh hay and green fruit notes are at the forefront. cucumber, melon rind, alfalfa and even green apple are all there for just a little while before they eventually settle into the cool herbal, delicate floral, fresh cut wood, and young grain sensations typically associated with this white tea once it’s had some time to rest. Silver Needle is thoroughly drinkable whether it’s 10 days old or 10 years old, but dang, is it ever fun when it’s fresh. Without the expedience of a direct-trade supply chain, it’s easy to lose out on those fresh flavors. We’re proud to bring them to you right now.

Close-up of freshly plucked fuzzy Silver Needle tea buds alongside a basket full of fresh buds. — Freshly harvested Silver Needle buds.

If you prefer the rested flavors of Silver Needle, the last few packages of 2020’s tea are available here.

Also, if you’re looking for another fresh 2021 tea to compliment your Silver Needle, we recommend the Mengding Maofeng. It’s plucked with the same Dabai tea bush cultivar, except it was grown in Sichuan, not Fujian. As Zhuping says, “Tea bushes are like people. Their environment changes their character. Whenever I go back home to China, all my friends tell me ‘you seem so American now!’” See if you can recognize the Fujian native in this Sichuan tea!

20.11.04 Silnee Brewing In A Gaiwan Outside Edited Bright — Brewing up some fresh Silver Needle in a gaiwan.

So why on earth do we discount teas when they’ve only just arrived? Well, we’ve got three reasons:

One, we want you to be able to try the tea. If you’ve never had the chance to try a certain tea, there’s no time like the spring to do it. When the tea has only just been made, it’s shining with a fresh intensity that we pine after all year until the next spring. Trying new tea for the first time when its characteristics are most expressed is a great way to explore tea.

Looking down a row of short tea bushes growing in red soil. They've put out small pale green buds lit up by the sun. — Some Dahao cultivar white tea bushes putting out new buds.

Two, we want you to be able to try the tea (again!) Teas are a little different every year. Even when you’re deeply familiar with a particular tea, every year brings something new. Flavors and aroma change just a little bit, even when we buy the tea from the same producers, grown and plucked from the same bushes. We want to give you a chance to taste what the new season has to offer.

Finally (and most importantly), we want to thank you. The fact that you’re reading this means that you probably care a lot about good tea and because you do, you’ve supported us. We’re grateful for this and we want to give you something special. In this case, it’s the first dibs on the new tea with the best discount we can give. Thank you for reading. Thank you for staying with us.

Teahouse Video Series

Do you miss talking tea with our tea house crew? Now you can join Wren and Santos for a (virtual) cup on YouTube every week. Today, Santos is brewing up fresh Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle) from 2021. He’ll give you the rundown on this highly popular white tea. Watch out for a new tea each week.