Silver Needle White Tea | Panxi Fujian

Silver Needle · Bái Háo Yín Zhēn · 白豪银针

2023 / 50 g

€155,00

1/14

Silver Needle · Bái Háo Yín Zhēn · 白豪银针

€155,00

€3.100,00/kg

The mountain’s most delicate armor, forged entirely from silver down and sunlight.

A pristine testament to ultimate minimalism and delicate craftsmanship. Hailing from the legendary, high-altitude terroirs of Panxi in China's Fujian province, Silver Needle stands as one of the most prestigious and revered white teas in the world. Made exclusively from the most tender, unopened tea buds plucked during the fleeting days of early spring, each needle is adorned in a thick coat of fine, silvery down—the hallmark of supreme quality. Because it undergoes the absolute minimum amount of processing, the tea leaves remain structurally exactly as nature intended, yielding a brilliant, pale golden liquor celebrated for its pristine purity and deeply refreshing nature.

velvet · fresh sage · cooling mint · chocolate · sweet butter · warm biscuits · white honeysuckle · mountain rain

FORMAT · Loose leaf single buds

HARVEST · Early Spring First Pluck (Ming Qian) · March

ORIGIN · Panxi Village, Fuding, Fujian Province, China

ELEVATION · 800m – 950m above sea level

CULTIVAR · Fuding Da Hao (Large Hair/Down Cultivar)

PRODUCER · Master Zhang’s heritage family collective

PROCESSING · Hand-plucked single buds → Meticulous indoor wither on traditional bamboo screens → Slow, low-temperature final charcoal baking

BATCH · 35kg of each vintage curated for the Yuan Archive

CERTIFICATION · Produced under China's national food production licensing system · Independent pesticide screening compliant with GB/T national white tea standards

STORAGE · Yunnan dry highland storage for 2017/2023 reserves; oxygen-free temperature-controlled vaulting for 2025 spring lot.

88/100

静山 · Jìng Shān Still Mountain · 88-94

The peak of nature’s expression. A flawless translation of terroir, variety, and absolute craft mastery. Silver Needle scores a rare 88 across our core criteria, demonstrating breathtaking mastery in leaf integrity and palate depth. The sheer uniform density of the silver down across all three curated vintages represents the absolute apex of the Fuding Da Hao cultivar. Its extraordinary evolution from a crisp, cooling herbal entry into a heavy, throat-coating milky texture elevates it far above standard white teas. A benchmark of purity that commands absolute presence in the glass. more about the Yuan Archive Scoring System

Lab Tested: This batch has undergone independent laboratory screening to verify its purity. It is confirmed free from synthetic pesticide residues and chemical contaminants, offering a clean and uncompromised tasting experience.

The Dry Leaf

Perfectly uniform, straight, and plump single buds entirely enveloped in a magnificent, shimmering coat of silvery down. The pre-heat aroma yields clean whispers of sun-dried hay, fresh sage, and a light, honeyed sweetness.

The Soup

A brilliant, exceptionally pale golden liquor with a shimmering physical clarity defined by the thousands of tiny downy hairs suspended in the cup.

Fragrance & Palate

The first impression opens with a crisp, aromatic burst of fresh sage and a lifting, cooling touch of wild mint. As the session matures and the buds prime, the fragrance undergoes a surprising sensory symphony, deepening into a comforting warmth reminiscent of chocolate, sweet butter, and warm biscuits. On the palate, the liquor breaks away from mere delicacy to offer a remarkably full-bodied, round, and milky texture. The abundance of tea down gives the soup a uniquely velvety, tactile presence that coats the throat in a lasting, structural sweetness.

Spiritual Character

The Energy:

Mild and neutral. It does not demand attention with loud, aggressive flavors; instead, it invites you into a state of serene, cool, and deeply grounded stillness. A mirror to a calm, focused mind.

The Hour:

Made for elegant, meditative solo sessions, formal Gongfu Cha practices, or when you wish to honor an esteemed guest during significant milestones.

Lineage & History Silver Needle represents the absolute crown jewel of the white tea world. Originating in the late 18th century, it was historically reserved strictly for the imperial court due to the astronomical labor required to harvest only single, unopened buds during a tiny spring window. It is a masterclass in minimalism: no rolling, no shaping, no high-heat roasting. Only the leaf, the sun, and the wind.

Terroir & Microclimate Panxi is renowned for having some of the steepest, most ecologically diverse terrain in Fuding. The tea gardens sit on mineral-dense, gravelly soil that forces the ancient tea trees to push their roots deep into the earth. Wrapped in mountain fog and constant mists, the buds grow incredibly slowly, protecting themselves from the cold by producing a heavy, dense coat of downy hair which holds the high-potency amino acids that define this tea's elite sweetness.

These pristine buds are wrapped in a dense coat of downy silver hairs that require an intentional awakening to release their full structural depth. Avoid a violent, turbulent pour. Vessel: Clean porcelain gaiwan or clear glass vessel (minimum 120ml interior) Ratio: 4g per 120ml Water Temperature: 85°C – 90°C (185°F – 194°F) First Rinse: The Awakening Ritual — Pour the hot water gently over the buds and let them steam in the closed vessel for 20 seconds before your first pour to prime the down and open the core. Steeps: 6–10 successive infusions, beginning at 15 seconds and expanding slowly as the sweet, complex soul of the bud reveals itself. Teaware Pairing Silver Needle’s heavy down yields a uniquely delicate physical presence that shows best in a neutral, highly polished setting. The Sedimentary Stone Teapot provides the perfect mineral foundation to frame the milky, full-bodied roundness across a prolonged session, while a tall glass vessel allows you to watch the silver spears stand suspended in slow motion.