Silver Needle Tea

Published:January 5th, 2011

Yellow Tea is a rare variety, produced only in China. It has the same antioxidant content as green tea so its health benefits are impressive. There are two types of yellow tea, one is the so-called Tribute Tea paid to the Chinese Emperor every year by peasants. Yellow was considered a royal colour, so all types of tea paid as tribute were called yellow.

Fermented, oxidized tea that is the other category of yellow tea is not completely oxidized like oolong or black tea, but it is dried longer than green tea. By this specific process, the yellow tea loses the grassy aftertaste which is characteristic to green teas.

Jun Shan Yin Zhen, or Silver Needle tea is one variety of yellow tea coming from the Hunan province in China. Another variety is Huang Ya, or Yellow Bud which comes from the Anhui province. The flavour of Silver Needle tea is slightly sweet with nutty traces, similar to almonds. Types of Silver Needle tea include White Peony and Bai Hao.

Jun Shan Yin Zhen is among the rarest types of yellow tea in China. It grows on a small island in the Dong Tink lake in Hunan province, where the climate and soil are the ones responsible for the sweet fruit aroma and sugarcane taste of this tea. The island’s climate is moist throughout the year and the air is thick with fog and mist. Such conditions are very favourable for tea cultivation but are unique to Jun Shan island.

Jun Shan or Jun Mountain is situated on the island on Dong Ting Lake in the Chinese Hunan province. The tea bushes are situated at elevations of 800 to 1500 meters and are surrounded by pinewood and bamboo trees.

Only a small quantity of this tea is produced each year due to the limited growing area and the special skills required to make this traditional tea. Much of the Jun Shan Yin Zhen tea available on the market is in fact processed green tea.

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