Tea Review: Yunnan Pure Bud Silver Strands First Flush Green Tea (Yunnan Sourcing)

Yunnan "Pure Bud Silver Strands" First Flush Green Tea (2021)

Yunnan Sourcing
Type: Green
Origin: China, Yunnan Province, Simao, Mojiang
Product Description:

We have offered the "Silver Strands" 银丝 varietal green tea (a robust one leaf to one bud ratio) since 2005, but decided to also offer its first flush tippy "pure bud" counterpart. Picked in the earliest part of spring (in Late-February before the spring rains arrive) and in the autumn (late-September after summer monsoon has gone), this pure bud pluck features small hairy silver tips with no leaf.

Sweet, buttery and crisp vegetal umami character makes this tea perfect for starting your day (or any time of day). We recommend brewing in a gaiwan using 85-90C water and very short steeps.

A fine hand-picked and processed tea that showcases Silver Strand varietal and Yunnan teas in general!

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1.5-2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of hay, sweet oats, nuts, and fragrant wood with a hint of grapes.

The pale yellow infusion has a savory aroma of nuts, hay, snow peas, and baked squash.  The taste is savory with notes of sunflower seeds, nuts, and hints of baked squash and berries with a long nutty green finish.

The first infusion was umami-filled, savory all the way through.  Sweet notes in aroma and taste had moved to the front with the second infusion as well as the beginnings of astringency while the third leaned more toward green vine and vegetal notes.  There's something quite compelling about a tea that changes so much with each steeping.

This tea was received as a gift from a third party.