Silver Tips White is a tea we picked up in small quantities at a very small producer in Sanxia, Taiwan. The tea is made from the Qin Xin Gan Zi cultivar, which means that the unprocessed tea is packed with a lot of fragrance and lasting flavor.
This is the same cultivar used for the famous Oriental Beauty, and has some similar characteristics, except it is mostly untouched, just a hand selection of the finest buds and baby leaves, dried and aged for a few years. This is not a fresh white tea, but aged, as the preference in Taiwan is for a white tea with more body in the tea soup and a heavier fragrance, which is not possible for a freshly harvested white tea.
This is a specialty rare tea as it is not produced in large quantities in Taiwan and is starting to gain popularity. This tea won a championship in Taiwan. It is similar in fragrance and taste to the other Taiwanese white tea that we have in stock, but the tea liquor is more delicate and refined. This tea can be steeped over and over again and is rich in floral fragrance and a smooth, slightly sweet flavor.
Because this tea has been aged for 2 years, the caffeine level is medium, especially in comparison to other silver needle, silver tip teas of this calibre. As you steep the tea throughout the day, the caffeine levels decrease quickly, as the caffeine goes into the earlier cups of tea. I have steeped multiple cups (5+) of this tea throughout the day, with no effect on my sleep even as I drink the last cup before bed!
