Life in Teacup’s Pre-Qingming Silver Needle [Episode 76]


In episode 76, Denny & James review another Silver Needle. An early harvest (Pre-Qingming) tea, this one may be the best of all! Acquired from Life in Teacup.


5 responses to “Life in Teacup’s Pre-Qingming Silver Needle [Episode 76]”

  1. Sheng that tastes like cement? Yeah, I can relate to that!

    Out of curiosity – why do you use a pitcher? Why not pour directly from the gaiwan into the bowls?

    Thanks.

    • Hi Peter,

      Thanks for the comment! I’ve seen it done both ways and they both have their merits.

      Pouring straight into a pitcher will help to make the brews more even with minimal hassle. The other way would be to alternate pours between the cups. This method will keep the liquid hotter and prevent the tea from going lukewarm quicker!

      Cheers!
      -James

  2. I read on puercn that China tea speculators are guessing Silver Needle tea cakes will be the next big collector thing. Do you have any thoughts about this notion?

    • Silver needles cake has been the next big thing since at least 2002. At least silver needle cakes made from puerh trees. Chinese people have a natural obsession with viewing tippy leaves as premium, when that’s really mostly true for delicate greens. Gongting shu is alright, and drinking fresh tippy lobular leaf can be very nice. However, as aging goes? They typically oxidize into red tea as time goes on.

      If you really want to be avant-garde, it’s probably high quality hongcha pressed into cakes. I would be interested in hand-picked darjeeling pressed into cakes. Also some of the smokier (in the nice way) black teas like qimen and souchongs also would probably be nice–stronger original flavor, plus the certain aged plummy character that comes out after some years.

    • Hi Cwyn,

      I’ve heard the same thing, but honestly have no idea if it is just a passing fad or something more lasting. Will be interesting to see as they get older for sure.

      Cheers!
      -James

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