The Tea of the Season

This page is dedicated to one tea, highlighting each new season. When you buy said tea, I will donate 15% of your purchase to a charity. This year I am looking to all of YOU to nominate a non-profit program of your choosing. At the end of the year, we will tally up the suggestions, and the program with the most nominations will receive a donation of 15% of the proceeds from Tea of the Season sales. In 2022, 60 pounds of tea was purchased in the name of Oregon Wild. 

Jasmine Silver Needle is our spotlight tea for the spring.

A new season means a new spotlighted tea. From now to the Summer Solstice, Jasmine Silver Needle will be our charitable donation tea. This white tea is harvested in the Spring from the buds of the tea plant that flourishes in the magnificent mountains of Simao, China. Simao District is the starting point for one of the branches of the historical Ancient Tea Horse trails in the Pu’er Prefecture. It was the southern point for the transporting of tea by mule caravans heading north to Dali, Lijiang, and Lhasa. This trail first appeared during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and it lasted until the 1960s when the Tibetan highways were constructed. If you want to know more, I really enjoyed the book Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic.

 Let’s learn more about the spring equinox tea by looking at the base, Silver Needle. Sliver Needle white tea is also known as Bai Yin Zhen. The process involved in drying leaves involves wilting the leaves in order to remove the moister in the leaves. Removing the moister requires the leaves to spend a very brief time being pan-fried and then left to dry naturally. Unlike other teas, like Oolongs that go through a six-step drying process, Silver Needle is quick.  In order to make the fabulous Jasmine Silver Needle, during the drying process, the tea is scented with high-quality Yunnan-grown jasmine flowers. To scent the tea,  the leaves are laid on top of a bed of jasmine flowers. Magically the tea absorbs the jasmine scent from the flowers, and the process is repeated until the desired strength of the jasmine is achieved.  The end result is a tea with an elegant, clean, floral flavor and a bit of sweetness that lingers on the tip of your tongue. Sip it slowly so you can really taste all the flavors of this refreshing tea with its heavenly fragrance of jasmine. I really enjoy icing this tea when I need something very refreshing and hydrating. 

Along with its amazing taste, it has wonderful health benefits. A study by Kingston University found that this tea has anti-inflammatory properties which can help heal the skin. We have all heard about free radicals existing everywhere and how important it is for us to ingest all kinds of antioxidants. Drinking white tea every day can help prevent free radicals from building up in our bodies.  White tea is also rich in L-theanine which is an essential component for improving your concentration and helps calm your brain which could help to improve alertness and focus. This is a short list of all the health benefits of tea. 

Have I sold you on drinking Jasmine Silver Needle? If you need an extra push, let me remind you that I will donate 15% of the sale to an unknown charity. It is completely up to you to nominate your favorite charity this year. The charity with the most amount of nominations will win. Want to know more? Check out my webpage link to The Charity of the Year.