Indie Teas

Also known as Bai Hao Yinzhen, Silver needle is a very common type of white tea commonly referred to as the highest grade of white tea you can find. Today, I tried out an organic silver needle from Rishi Tea. White teas are completely unoxidized and are typically low in caffeine and produce wonderful light tastes. This particular silver needle comes from the Fujian province in China.Image provided by Wikipedia

The Nose and Color: The tea leaves look like mini green beans with a interesting fuzziness on the outside typical of many silver needles. As soon as I smelled it I thought of hot soybeans. This really makes me want to eat some edamame. The color is really light with a yellowish hue. 

Tasting: Very well rounded taste. Surprisingly, it tastes a little sweet to me. No astringency whatsoever and goes down really well. A little grassy component on the mid palatte but not a whole lot. Also I get some dirt, earthy notes but it's a nice subtle taste. 

Food pairing: Definitely some great lightly salted edamame would go really well with this tea. [Update] This is totally weird but I was just drinking this tea and I started eating some peanut butter straight out of the jar (what? I'm in college. I'm allowed to) and it started accenting the flavor of the tea very well. Try it some time and tell me if it happens to you too.

Price: $8 for 1 oz.

Summary: 91 out of 100. This tea is very well made and I like the organic aspect. It tastes and smells wonderful but it's also kind of pricey. I wouldn't really recommend buying a lot of this unless you're absolutely in love with it. Aside from the price though it's definitely one of the better silver needles I've ever had.