Silver Yin Zhen Pearls by Teavana

Categories: Tea reviews, White tea
Tags: Bai Hao Yin Zhen, silver needle, Teavana
Post date: November 24, 2009
Comments: 2 comments

Teavana Silver Yin Zhen Tea Pearls

One of the things I’ve learned from Michael Harney’s Guide to Tea so far: tea buds are endowed with extra caffeine and polyphenols, to repel sun and bugs. As a result, white tea actually contains more caffeine than black tea and green tea, contrary to what you hear most of the time.

So this morning I decided to forego my usual cup of black tea and substitute it for a white: Teavana’s Silver Yin Zhen Pearls.

In the spirit of disclosure, I confess: I received this tea as a free sample, and Teavana is currently an advertiser on Tea Finely Brewed.

With all formalities aside, let’s discuss this tea. My first experience with white tea was a white peony I bought in New Zealand last year. I reviewed that here. Since then, I have tried a handful of other white teas, but I would still consider myself something of a novice when it comes to white tea.

But these pearls are instantly enjoyable, even for a novice like myself. There is a sweetness like burnt brown sugar woven through the tea’s vegetal textures. That makes sense: another thing I’ve learned from Harney’s Guide to Tea is that just as tea buds are turning into leaves, the tea plant injects an extra shot of glucose into the young buds, making them much sweeter than tea leaves.

There is also an astringency about this tea, which suggest to me that I might have brewed this a bit too strong (I used a teaspoon of pearls for a cup). The liquid is darker than expected, again telling me that I could probably get away with using fewer pearls next time. As it is, the astringency is far from overwhelming, but it dries the mouth and puckers the lips.

Silver Yin Zhen Pearls is available from Teavana for $22 per a 2oz bag.