Junshan Silver Needle Tea - COLORFULTEA

Brewing difficulty: Easy
Best season to taste: Summer
Origin: Junshan Mountain, Yueyang City in Hunan Province
Shape: fat bud, even size, white pekoe, golden and bright bud and light yellow fuzz.
Liquid: orange yellow and bright.
Aroma: brisk, clean and fresh, like the aroma of render com. Taste: sweet, brisk and mellow.
Brewed tea leaves: fat, tender, bright and evenly yellowish green.

Recognizing: It smells clean and fresh, and tastes mellow, sweet and brisk. The high quality is fat, straight and bright yellow, and the inferior is thin, curly and dull yellow. After inflision，the tea leaves all goes toward the top，being straight in the water，and then ups and downs for three times, which looks like sprouting shoots and straight silver swords.
Middle-putting brewing method: suitable for Junshan Silver Needle.
Amount of tea: It is improper to over case when people drink the tea by glass to avoid much heavy taste.

Famous for its shape of needle，Junshan Silver Needle is one of the great ten teas in China. It has already been produced in the Tang Dynasty, and has been listed as "tribute tea" in the Qing Dynasty. Baling County Annals reads "tea in Junshan looks like tender and green lotus nut" and Hunan New Annals records" color of the tea in Junshan is similar to that of Longjing tea and the leaves are slightly wide and greenish". The ancient people described Junshan tea as "snail in silver plate". It is said that when Princess Wencheng married into Tibet, she took Junshan Silver Needle with her.

Gold-inlaid in jade

Junshan Silver Needle is praised in poems and renowned as gold-inlaid in jade. Its production can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. When Princess Wencheng married into Tibet, she took it with her. Junshan Silver Needle had been listed as tribute tea since the Post-Liang period.

Three wonderful ups and downs

Junshan Silver Needle is famous for its color, smell, taste and shape. It is renowned as gold-inlaid in jade with the tea bud being fat, evenly long and orange yellow inside, wrapped in a layer of pekoe. This tea is of both fine quality and appreciation value. After infusion, the tea leaves all are straight in the water, towards the top and backwards the bottom for three times，looking like sprouting shoots and straight silver swords. So, Junshan Silver Needle is named "three ups and downs".

Yinzhen (Silver Tip) Tea from Mt. Junshan

Mt. Junshan is a small isle in the Dongting Lake of Yueyang City, Hunan Province. It is also known as Mt. Dongting, which originally meant the divide mountain and fairyland. Legend had it that two concubines of Emperor Shun, E Huang and Nu Ying, once lived here. They were called Lady Xiang and Lady Jun, respectively. Therefore, Mt. Junshan is also known as Mt. Xiangshan. Another legend attributes the name of the mountain to a visit by the First Emperor of Qin (Jun: emperor). Mt. Junshan is surrounded by water on four sides and has a beautiful landscape. Among its famous scenic spots are the Dongting Temple, Tomb of Lady Xiang, Pavilion of Poem Chanting, Pavilion of Letter Passing, Pavilion of Autumn Moon, Pavilion of Cloud Dream, Pavilion of Smoky Waves, and Pavilion of Lake Sightseeing.

According to the legend, when Emperor Shun paid a visit to the south over 4,000 years ago, his two concubines, E Huang and Nu Ying, personally planted three tea trees beside the Baihe (White Crane) Temple. Through generations of propagation, the famous Yinzhen Tea of Mt. Junshan came into being. Tea has been produced in Mt. Junshan since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). The tea leaves are covered with hairs on a yellow background. After brewing, they stand up in the water like yellow plumes, hence its another name Huanglingmao (Yellow Plume) in history. The Yinzhen Tea from Mt. Junshan also started in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). According to the legend, when Princess Wen Cheng was married to the King of Tibet, she took with her the tea from Mt. Junshan. The Junshan Tea was chosen as a tribute tea in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

The Yinzhen Tea from Mt. Junshan should not be picked in rainy days. The following buds are not be picked either: dew bud, purple bud, hollow bud, open bud, bud with frost damage, bud with bug damage, lean bud, and too long or too short bud.

The Yinzhen Tea from Mt. Junshan is known for its color, aroma, taste, and appearance. The tea bud is thick and straight with even length and size. With an orange interior, it is covered with a layer of white hairs. It is therefore known as "Jade with God Inlay". As the tea bud looks like a silver needle, it is formally called Junshan Yinzhen. After brewing, the tea leaves first float on the surface and then slowly sink. This process goes on for three rounds. The tea soup is apricot yellow and bright and tastes mellow and brisk. The tea aroma is profound and spreads far and wide. The brewed tea leaves are yellow, bright, and even.

Brewing Junshan Silver Needle with glass

Preparation of tea sets / glass, electric teapot, tea holder, tea basin.
Preparation of tea sets / about 80℃ boiling water.
Selection of tea / Junshan silver needle.

1. Prepare some 85℃ water. Put proper amount of Junshan silver needle tea into tea holder.

2. Warm cups and glasses, and then pour the warming water into the tea basin.

3. Pour the water of one-third cup.

4. Put some tea with a teaspoon into the tea glass.

5. Rotate the glass to wake up tea leaves.

6. Lift up the pot and pour water to a 7/10 cup.

7. Tea slowly sinks the water and stretches, like "tea dance."