Our “Needle King” Green tea uses the same grade of tea leaves to make silver needle white tea, but it’s processed using green tea techniques. With precious tea buds at this grade, Master Chen must handle this tea with extra care. This is the tea that Master Chen’s uses to compete in the yearly “Fuzhou Floral Tea - King of the Tea Master Competition”.

In the middle of March, tea farmers started picking tea buds and storing them. When it comes to “入伏 (rù fú)“ - usually around mid-July to mid-August in the traditional Chinese calendar, which is the hottest time of the year. Tea farmers start to store jasmine flowers and process tea since the flower smells the best during this time. The abundance of sunlight and high temperatures in Fuzhou gives the aromatic jasmine flowers a unique rock sugar sweetness. The combination of spring tea buds and heady summer jasmine flowers creates the ultimate quality of jasmine green tea.

The “Needle King” has the exact same appearance as silver needle white tea with different processing techniques. Master Chen skillfully and carefully baked the green tea in a way that doesn’t break the cell of the tea leaves and maintains the freshness from tender spring leaves.

Needle King might sound like an aggressive name, but the taste is not aggressive. It’s delicate and long-lasting. You will enjoy the lingering fragrance of jasmine flower and sweetness from tea buds.

Suggested brewing:

1. For brewing in a gaiwan: ratio 1:30, boiling water (185°F/85°C), steep for 10 seconds, then pour it out. Add more time to steeping as you go further. It can be brewed for 6 - 8 times.

2. Cold-brew: use mineral water, ratio 1:100. Add tea leaves to the cup, then let it sit in the fridge for 1 hour or so.