| Name | Jūnshān yín zhēn / 君山银针 |
| English | Jun Shan Silver Needle |
| Region | Junshan Island, Dongting Lake, Yueyang, Hunan |
| Manufacture | Yellow (72-hour oxidation). Pan dried. |
| Style | |
| Flavor | Sweet, hints of smoke |
| Aroma | Floral |
| Liquor | Golden |
| Brewing | 70°C for 1-3 minutes. Multiple infusions. |
Junshan Silver Needle is the preeminent yellow tea and also a member of the 十大名茶. Said to be the favorite tea of Mao Zedong this tea unsurprisingly comes from his home province of Hunan. Junshan Silver Needle itself is very rare as it comes from a restricted region and has a labor-intensive harvesting process. It is said only 500kg are produced every year.
Tea Tip – Yellow Tea?
Yellow tea has a similar manufacturing style to green tea up to initial firing when it undergoes an extra step called “Sealed Yellowing” （闷黄）. At this stage the unopened leaf-buds are lightly and slowly steamed then covered with a cloth which starts a bio-chemical transformation and produces the leaf’s characteristics pale gold color. These chemical changes also make the tea sweet, bright yellow in color and remove any hint of “grassy taste” typically characteristic of green tea.
The most appropriate introduction I found to yellow tea was in the The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea:
Yellow teas offer the best of four worlds: they have the big sweet buds of white teas, the gentle vegetal flavor of green teas, the bright and changing aromas of oolongs, and the mild sweetness and soft astringent bite of the finest Chinese black teas.
Compare the three tea leaves below (from left to right: green tea, yellow tea, white tea):
Authentic Junshan Yinzhen is controlled by a monopoly on a small island in Dongting Lake. Unsurprisingly, it is the most expensive tea I have ordered on Taobao to date costing RMB109 for just 40g.
In typical Chinese “shanzhai” fashion there are many pretenders to the Junshan Yinzhen brand. To battle these counterfeiting efforts, the monopolist has set up a website where you can verify the authenticity of your tea at http://www.yinzhentea.com.cn/cx.asp. Printed on the foil bag is a 16-digit number that you can enter on the website.
The resulting success message (a visual clue like a green check mark would be helpful!) verifies the authenticity of the tea leaves.
As someone who has extensive first-hand knowledge of, ah-hum, occasional quality problems with Chinese websites I decided to enter a random 16-digit number to see if it would be rejected. The resulting message of “This code is not registered, to guard against counterfeiting please double-check the code entered. For more information call the security hotline at 02584796031.” helped put me at ease.
As for the taste, I was surprised at how much I like the first infusion – strong tannins with a long, lingering aftertaste. All in all, a new favorite on The Taobao Tea Trail.
More Information (from Baidu Baike):
Junshan Yinzhen hails from Junshan Island in Dongting Lake in Hunan Province. It is a type of yellow tea. A native of Hunan, Mao Zedong claimed Junshan Yinzhen to be his favorite tea.
Junshan Yinzhen has evenly shaped tea leaves. One side of the leaves is golden colored whereas the other side is covered by a layer of white fur. The leaves are fine and thin, resembling a silver needle, giving the tea its name “Yinzhen”, which literally means “silver needle” in Chinese.
The earliest record of Junshan Yinzhen dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD). The era’s most iconic princess, Princess Wencheng brought Junshan Yinzhen with her to Tibet when she married a Tibetan hero.
Junshan Yinzhen has mellow taste with a smooth finish. But like most teas in the Yinzhen family, what distinguishes it is its aesthetic beauty rather than the flavor. In order to fully bring out its beauty in form, the brewing process is especially important. It is best to use clear glass cups. Before brewing, one should warm the glass by rinsing it with hot water. But the glass needs to be dried properly lest the tea leaves absorb too much water, which prevents them from “standing up”. Junshan Yinzhen should be brewed with boiling water. After it is brewed, the leaves will float vertically in the glass. Some will rise to the top while some float at the bottom of the glass. The tea liquor is a mild Ginkgo-hued yellow.
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