Amped-up Yunnan Silver Needle 'old tree' character. Soft, sweet and silky but with added foresty charms.
Most Silver Needles from Yunnan are made with the Da Bai Hao cultivar which is an Assamica hybrid and produces great tea - soft, supple and sweet. This Silver Needle tea, however, is made with the heirloom Da Ye Zhong Assamica which has been growing in Yunnan for millennia. Add to this fact that the trees used for this tea are estimated at 80-years old and you have a very unique 'Old Tree' Silver Needle.
The difference that the cultivar and the age of trees make to this tea was immediately apparent in blind-tasting. While it still has the sweet, syrupy nature of other Yunnan Silver Needles it also brings that old-school, complex, foresty swagger that we associate with old forest trees. Think wet woods, moss and camphor.
The liquor is darker than your average Silver Needle, partly because of the peculiarities of the trees but also because this tea has been withered that little bit longer to add a little extra 'Black tea fruitiness' to the brews - pears, custard apples and grapes.
A great Yunnan Silver Needle which shows off the terroirs more than any other that we have sampled over the years. Buy to drink now but also stash some away because this 'Old Tree' character should make a stellar aged tea.
