Silver Needle White Hair Tea is Full Yang. Lightest in Taste, Highest in Medical Value. Traditional Chinese Medicine describes this as the most energetic Qi. The lightest and purest of energy. Full Yang. Therefore most indicated for disorders of the heart and lung.

White teas are simply quickly air-dried. They represent the least fermented of all categories of teas. They also appear to be highest in antioxidants. According to recent Japanese studies (cancer research) white teas offer the highest in medicinal value. Some folks reason that since white teas are the least fermented, less than the typical green, then they should contain the least caffeine. But they do not. The caffeine varies greatly dependent upon what part of the tea plant and the time the leaf is picked. Early morning, Spring, tender young buds and new growth leaf, and only the first few leaves are actually one of the highest in caffeine.

White Hair Silver Needle. Tea brewed from these buds have a pale yellow hue with a honey-sweet scent. Its taste is delicate with a clean mellow sweetness. The after taste is fresh and sweet. The water used to steep this tea should be 160-180F or 70-80C. Use about 2 teaspoons (3 grams) of tea leaves for every 6-8 ounces (180-240 milliliters) of water. For kombucha brewing a long steep time at water temperature well below boiling. This tea will not become bitter from over steeping. Use about 1/2 ounce (3-4 tsp) tea per gallon size brew. A steeping time of about 20 minutes with more or less time depending on desired concentration. As a rough guide, the higher the temperature of the water or the greater the amount of leaves used, the quicker the steeping time should be. Steeping time remains a personal preference but when brewing kombucha a longer steep time releases more sterols, which in turn favor, the yeasts over the bacteria. Since kombucha brewing is a balancing act a long steep time favors the yeasts, short steep time favors the bacteria side of the equation. Steep until the leaves fully open. Allowingthe tea leaves directly in the water is ideal or use a very large meshstrainer or extra large t-bags. You may break the leaves and hand crush them just prior to placing into a t-bag, but be sure the teas are not too tightly packed together, as they swell to 2-3 times their size. Too tightly packed and the tea will be unable to release their full flavor.

Green teas tend to produce bitter brews if steeped over 5 minutes. Our premium grade White Tea, (White Teas are in the category of Green Tea) do not become bitter and may be steeped 15 minutes or more similar to Black Teas. Our Pu-erh Teas (a category of Black Tea) may be steeped until the cows come home and rarely loose their natural sweetness - but they do become very strong! Additional information on package and accompanying booklet.

Many folks find combining teas into their own blends as well as adding pieces of fresh or dried fruit and herbs; Hawthorne, Elderberries, Wolfberries, Ginseng, to name just a few. We recommend Harald Tietze Book (herbalist, kombucha enthusiasts) as he offers hundreds of wonderful flavorful and healthy combinations.

A home decaffeinate water-process: Immerse the tea in one cup of boiling water. Wait 30 seconds and remove the tea. Discard that water. Now use the tea in your regular water. 80% of caffeine is naturally extracted in hot water within the first 30 seconds. It is debated the role or benefit that caffeine plays in our lives as well as that in the life of the kombucha. Most kombucha brewers believe that some caffeine is necessary for kombucha brewing. True, depending upon the balance of the kombucha ferment and the lenght of the ferment some of the caffeine will be reduced

Store this tea in a cool dry place.