The silvery-white tea buds from Guangxi, China brew to make a very delicate, velvety, and sweet nectar-like tea. Silver Needles refer to the buds of the tea plant. The leaves or buds of white tea are not steamed or pan-fired (the process used in green teas) or oxidized and fired (the process used in black tea). The leaves are naturally withered and dried in the sun. Because white tea is the least processed type of tea, you can still see the fibers on the individual buds. If mechanical drying is required it is a baking process at temperatures less than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. This white tea is best enjoyed when the leaves are briefly infused with hot water, which is then poured off. The tea is then re-infused for the recommended time. The leaves may be re-infused several times, with each resulting infusion yielding different liquor from the proceeding cup.
