2017 Silver Needle Aged White Tea Ancient Trees

I requested this for sampling just out of curiosity. It's my first time trying Silver Needles aged more than 5 years and also the first time trying Silver needles from old trees. In fact, Silver Needles made from a 300 years old tree is probably unheard of by most, not even my tea connoisseur friend who drinks tea for year heard about it. This tea is completely different from any of the Bai Hao Yin Zhen I've drank before. It didn't have the same elegance as compared to those in the China but I like its Cha Qi and its distinct flavor.
I'd like to call this tea "the middle path tea". This is the vibe I'm getting after every sip. It can be robust but somehow in a certain way also kind of gentle and delicate. The flavor is complex; something I have never experienced before. Flavors of strawberry jam and flowers is quite prominent, a little woody, with hints of vanilla cream and also it tasted like a little bit of lovage as if it's sprinkled over as garnishment.
I like it! This will be in my cart for my next purchase.

Warning: this tea is strong! The effect is powerful — don’t go for it unless you’re sure you’re ready. :)
Have you ever tasted a Duchesse pear soda… infused with pine resin, blackcurrant, and cornelian cherry? No? Then it’s time to try.

Aroma
The dry leaf reveals a sweet bouquet of pear, pine needles, vanilla, and gentle spices. Once warmed in the teapot, the scent intensifies: pronounced pear, flowers, spring herbs, and creamy candy. It’s impossible to pull away. In the cup — a rich pear blend, Duchesse soda, cornel, hints of sheng, pine, and candy-like notes. The aroma is vivid, perfumed, layered, and unforgettable.

Taste
Pear lemonade with a coniferous twist. The flavor recalls Duchesse soda blended with fir tips, tarragon, and wild taiga greens. Sweet and intense, with bright fruit notes and a touch of forest-fresh coolness. There’s a hint of astringency, but it integrates seamlessly into the flavor structure. This tea is bold and full of character.

Aftertaste
Sweet, long, and refreshing. A lingering coolness of pine and a syrupy pear note stay with you on the inhale — like the aftertaste of a fizzy drink.

Brewing recommendations
Brew with hot water (97–98°C), or go with 90°C for a gentler profile — in a gaiwan or a porous clay teapot. For this tea, a pot with medium-to-thin walls is preferred.
Ratio: 4 g per 100 ml. That’s already quite intense — you can start with 3 g and adjust to taste.
First steep: 20 seconds, then 12 seconds, gradually increasing to 3 minutes.

Effect
Potent, deep, and long-lasting. Highly discouraged for mid-day drinking.
In our experience, the effect kicked in by the second cup: serenity, meditative calm, and a sense of dreamy stillness.
So — go easy on the leaf!

Brewed with distilled water, the wet leaves smell of weathered cedar wood, damp spice, cocoa, hint of varnish, and a bit of celery. In the mouth, it is light but creamy, like vanilla wafers with later infusions moving into light caramel with a woodsy spice twist. Nothing like forest or campfire but there is a clean base flavor as if aged hinoki sticks were in the kettle. It reminds me of hojicha made with stems, because the wood flavor has a hint of roasted character and very clean finish. There is a cleansing quality to this tea - lightly bracing yet warming. The soup is very clear but satisfyingly dark armber as an aged tea should produce. And not to be overlooked: the buds are so very beautiful after the brew, appearing almost bronzed and trichomes are still evident after all these years. Drinks like an aged ya bao.

At first, the fragrance is a feeling like sitting in a wooden chalet, in a coniferous forest high in the mountains, on an early summer morning. The smell of resin, pine needles, warmth, wet soil, ferns. The dry tea smells of vanilla and white chocolate.
The taste is a bitter grassy freshness with a honeyed aftertaste.
I smelled the same in the bathhouse. In general, it felt like I was drinking tea in a steam room at home, even bringing a tear to my eye.
This tea is not about the taste, but about the feeling: warm wood, pine, resin, fern...