Silver Yin Zhen Pearls

General Review:
It is a fine tea. I got an ounce for free by using my Starbucks gold card reward. It is a bit off putting that it smells exactly like the escargot from my favorite restaurant… Really weak flavor, but I got the tea for free. I prefer their silver needle.

I’ve been searching for the perfect tea..I do consider taste important however I am in control of that through my steeping..My main concern and desire is to possess a tea which is natural and the healthiest..I’m certainly not looking for a tea to come out of the pot tasting like hot snapple..just something light with a fruity playful bite…“Antioxidant packed” is the feature that is most desirable..and this tea has everything I desire..price is not an issue here..In my lifetime..I’ve spent more for things that are garbage in comparison..I know my worth…My research uncovered the beauty behind this pure rare elixir..this Silver Yin is not exposed to the sun like other teas..and is picked when very young..The younger and smaller the leaves picked, the sweeter the taste and the more sought after the tea…Yin Zhen, is no ordinary white tea…Yin Zhen is made up of only the topmost bud from the youngest part of the plant, from only certain bushes deemed to be of high enough quality….This tea is only allowed by Chinese botanists to be picked on the two days of the year which are deemed to be auspicious enough….the plucking is carried out in the pre dawn darkness while the dew still sits fresh on the unopened buds … the buds are completely unprocessed excepting the air drying process…this results in a tea very light in taste but strong in health benefits…which include lowering cholesterol..blood pressure ..properties that strengthen collagen and elastin in the skin preventing wrinkles.. rheumatoid arthritis..and last but not least aggressively..fighting cancer cells…these benefits have been noted (ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2009) …so in essence..there is no logical reason for me to be negative about this wonderful tea..by any stretch of the imagination..its a good thing…and a great drink!…1 tsp/5 min ..×5...don’t boil the water…it will damage the antioxidant properties…use agave or estevia..the body recognizes these as natural sugars and will break them down as opposed to white sugar( stored as fat)…use the infusers!! to get the most from your measure..and also..caffiene is 1%..Enjoy

This is the second white tea I have tried, and although it rates number two out of two, it’s still a really good light tea. The young lady at Teavana ranted about its health benefits and convinced me to purchase it instead of the Silver Needle I went there to get. I wasn’t easily convinced since it was fairly expensive, but I eventually gave in.

The tea leaves are wrapped into small balls and just look incredible. After the first steep, the tea is a very light yellow and if you look close you can see small white hairs floating inside. I am not exactly sure what they are, but I have seen them in other white teas. I am pretty sure they are supposed to be there.

Similar to the color, the taste of this tea is extremely light too. Because it is so light I find it hard to describe. If forced to, I would say a slight splash (maybe a drop) of lemon. I have to admit that after paying so much for this tea, I wish the taste was stronger than the water I steeped it in. Maybe I am paying for all the magical little white hairs. If you like the taste of warm water, this tea’s for you.

I was told that this tea had virtually no caffeine (1%) and could be considered decaffeinated. The night I purchased it, I had a few glasses before bed, and was up until 2am.

Although it might not be clear from the tone of this review, I do like this tea. It’s a perfect early evening, healthy, relaxing, and light tea.

This was my first white tea purchase and Teavana purchase. The salesperson really raved about it so I bought some, enough for me and the tea swap members.
It was really fun to watch the pearls unfurl. The tea leaves get quite large. The aroma was very mild, maybe a subtle vegetal note. The liquor was a pale straw color. The first steeping I didn’t notice any floral or sweetness and it had a powdery astringency.
The second steeping was much more pleasant with a light floral note and less astringency. I added a bit of raw sugar and this amplified the floral taste.
I didn’t have time for a third steeping but I have some of this tea left for another day.

Tried this “delicacy” the other night. Not quite what I expected. The aroma was fresh and pure; smelled like a natural fresh tea leaf.

Brewing was fine; resulted in a nice pale brew which smelled ok. But tasting it was just bland. Not very much flavor going on, which is to be expected from a tea that is supposed to be so pure. But it had more of a “black olive/vegetable water” flavor that was fairly repulsive…I’m not sure how else to describe it.

I guess to sum it up—I was not impressed with the “prestige” that this tea had to offer, especially for the price. Would probably be much better paired up with an herbal, but I wasn’t too satisfied with this.

It was okay. I had never had white tea before. So far not a huge fan of white tea. I will have to try another places white tea. I really need to branch outside of Teavana, but it seems to be the only brick and mortar place that is on my route.

Teavana’s Silver Yin Zhen is a nice little white tea. Pearl teas are fun ’cause of the whole unfurling process — adds visual enjoyment and reminds me that I should relax like the little pearls in warm water.

The flavor here is fairly classic white tea. I’ll preface by saying that I tend to like white teas a little stronger and, in fact, enjoy a wee bit of bitter. I brewed for longer than the recommended time of 4 to 5 minutes, but at a slightly cooler temperature.

First steep: I let it go to about 6.5 minutes because it didn’t really look like the pearls had unfurled much, and I like the unfurling. 3 or 4 minutes would probably be nice for folks who like a lighter tea because there was some bitterness in that first brew. It was light in color with a pit-of-the-fruit type of flavor (not fruit flavor, but that slightly astringent, slightly woody flavor of the actual pit of a peach or cherry). I enjoy that. After tasting plain, I added a bit of sweetener and this brought out the light florals while minimizing the bitterness.

Second steep: About 5 minutes. Similar, without the bitterness, less astringent. A bit fruitier. I imagine it would have been stronger if I hadn’t steeped the first cup for so long. The leaves are nicely relaxed yet not limp — they’re dancing or doing yoga.

Third steep: Also nice, I let this one steep a looong time ‘cause I got distracted. It didn’t get bitter. Still a really nice cup of white tea. With sweetener, the floral notes are still present.

I’m not sure that there will be much flavor for a fourth steeping of these leaves. Folks who like a lighter tea who don’t steep as long can probably get a very nice fourth and even fifth cup out of Silver Yin Zhen Pearls. Instead of throwing away these leaves, I’ll make a flavorful blend by adding a fruity herbal or rooibos to what is left just to get a wee bit more out of the little dancers.

I purchased Silver Yin Zhen Pearls from Teavana during their after Christmas sale. I don’t know if I’d purchase again at full price. Love those pearls though!

So the Teavana sales people are REALLY good at what they do. The selling part anyway. This tea smelled incredible, of course I had to buy it. And of course it was the most expensive tea the have. But anyway, it’s very good for a white tea. I followed the brewing directions and it’s exactly what I expected. VERY light, in face I might steep an extra minute next time. It does have the earthy tones that everyone here has described but I find them very enjoyable. It sits well in my stomach and it’s even helping with my sore throat a little, although I guess most hot teas can do that pretty well. The one issue I have with it is although it’s a good white tea, it is not worth $22/ 2oz. I probably won’t buy it again, unfortunately. I might stick to the much cheaper youthberry.

Well, this was my very first steeped brew ever. And the only one so far. I was looking for a healthier means of improving my overall well being and heard of the benefits of tea (Especially this one). I cant give anything on comparison to other tea’s, but I can say that the scent is enlightening. The taste is something very different on the other hand and does have a very earthy taste to it. Plain, mellow and light with little flavor, but does not take away from the fact that the benefits of this brew is great from what I read. Worth the try and looking forward to my new exploration.

too expensive. pretty good light tea. very nice and light, pearls are always fun too.