A pinch of Silver Needles

[Photo by Fan Zhen/China Daily]

[Photo by Fan Zhen/China Daily]

In Zhejiang, there is a tradition of burying a jar of yellow wine when a daughter is born. The wine mellows as the child grows and it is only broken into on her wedding day. Hence, it has the lovely name of Virgin Red.

For the coastal province of Fujian, a similar tradition exists, only the daughter's trousseau is enriched by an elegant tea, which only comes of age when the child is married off. Silver Needles is a white tea, very simple but highly functional.

When it is new, Silver Needles is way too cold in qi. It is therefore used as a herbal medicine to cool a burning fever, or used as a common ingredient in throat-soothing lozenges.

First-year white tea sprouts go through simple dehydration, keeping the leaves fluffy and curled-up. It does not undergo any of the traditional tea treatments, and is still not ready to drink. It is carefully kept in jars away from light and heat.

After waiting for at least 12 months, or even better, a decade or two, the Silver Needles matures into a more balanced tea.

You only need a small pinch of Silver Needles for the teapot. It should brew fresh and clear in taste and in color. The freshness comes from tea polyphenols and amino acids, elements that healthy-minded urbanites should seek out.

Though the innate chill of Silver Needles is muted with age, tea sommeliers say the tea is still not for quaffing. Even in the summer heat, two to three cups are good enough for bringing down the temperature.

But there are more uses for Silver Needles than just in the teacup.

For ladies looking for facial therapies, try this recipe: Fill a small cosmetic bottle with water, put in two Silver Needles leaves, leave it overnight to infuse and you will have a clear natural toner in the morning.

Zhou Yutong is the tea sommelier at Four Seasons Beijing.

If you go:

Four Seasons Hotel Beijing

No.48, Liang Ma Qiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100125

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