In a previous post I wrote about how deceptively complicated the process of White tea production actually is despite being fairly simple on paper. In this video I attempt to demonstrate how you can spot the variations in the processing by eyeballing the leaf.
These are tips and tricks which I use when selecting the Mei Leaf Silver Needle tea but it is very important to note that the fundamental factor for judging the quality is the tea experience. I have tasted the most beautiful looking Silver Needle with absolutely no flavour and I have sampled scraggy looking buds that were delicious. But for the majority of Silver Needle, these visual cues correlate directly to the quality in the cup.
One important note: I speak about looking for lighter coloured tea buds which have not been overly oxidised but this is referring to the outside of the buds. The inside of the buds may be darker and is more dependent on taste.
