Silver Yeti

Flavor Profile: Stone fruit ~ Snow ~ Dewy

Silver Yeti is an exceptionally clean and silky white tea made from only the finest tea buds. The absence of tea leaves creates a buttery brew, with floral aromas and subtle notes of vanilla and sweet hay.

Ingredients

White tea (camellia sinensis)

Producer

Kanchanjangha Tea Estate and Research Center Pvt. Ltd. (KTERC). KTERC is the first certified organic tea garden in Nepal that was established in 1984 by Mr. Deepak Prakash Baskota to rid his community of poverty. It remains a model social enterprise still today, that runs on cooperative infrastructure and is truly focused on the people and planet before profit.

Production Process

White teas are the least processed of all teas, especially silver needles tea, which go through virtually no processing at all. This might as well be the purest form of all teas. While the process is quite simple, the meticulous precision and timing in plucking from very special bushes is what makes silver needles one of the most expensive and prized teas. The special thing about our silver needles is that the bushes that it comes from are very young, less than 50 years, unlike tea from India and China. This gives a unique fresh floral brew to our loose leaf white tea that is quite unmatched.
 
Only the fine unopened buds (there are no leaves in this tea) are carefully hand-plucked and allowed to dry naturally. The moisture slowly evaporates leaving behind shiny silver buds with fine hairs surrounding. The fine hairs are called trichomes and they protect the new leaves on the tea plant. Since the buds are not fully grown into tea leaves, silver needles tend to have much more of these fur than other teas.

Origin

Our tea garden is nestled in the foothills of Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, in the eastern part of Nepal. Located precisely near the western borders of Darjeeling, India and north of the Illam, the most famous tea growing region in Nepal, our small village enjoys the best of both worlds. Situated at an altitude of 1300-1800 meters (4,200 - 6000 feet), the area enjoys a pristine himalayan climatic conditions to produce highly unique and aromatic teas.

Who is Silver Yeti for?

Well, in the early days in China, silver needles were mostly reserved for royalties. However, with its growing recognition, rarity and the uniqueness in the flavor profiles, tea makers around the world make their own versions of this loose leaf white tea these days. Anyone who loves subtle yet complex, white teas and especially silver needles or silver tips are sure to appreciate this tea.

What are the pros saying about this tea?

• Hanamichi Review
• SororiTea Sisters Review
• Tea Journeyman Review
• Tea in the Ancient World Review
• GONGFU BREWING
• 180 degrees Soak and Steep* (15 Seconds + 5 Seconds Additional
• Candidate for Gongfu: Yes
• Evolution of Flavor Profile: Barky and stone fruit to brisk, muscatel, and floral.
• Body and Aromatics: Textural with fine siltiness from the down that became thinner in later steepings, peaky, fresh, dewy, and orange aromas. The aromas were heavy and persistent.
• Steeping Parameters: Good as stated, slightly hotter water temperature would likely be excellent.
• Structure: Never quite balanced, moved from young and slightly raw to floral and mellow.
• Notes: There is bruising and oxidization present at the site of plucking, which gave it an astringency that mixed with the acidity of the young leaves in later steepings. I am completely speculating, but a finer pluck would, I think, significantly change the flavor profile.