What Are Silver Tips? A Guide to Ceylon's Rarest White Tea
Silver tips — sometimes called silver needles — are made only from the unopened buds of the tea plant. Here's how they're made, why they're so prized, and how to get the best out of them.
Only the bud, nothing else
Most teas are made from a bud plus two or three leaves. Silver tips use only the tightly closed bud at the very tip of each shoot. The bud is covered in fine white hairs, which give the dried tea its silvery look.
Each bud is picked by hand. A bush only produces a few new buds at a time, so it takes a great deal of skilled plucking to make even a small batch. That's the main reason silver tips cost more than ordinary tea.
How silver tips are made
Silver tips go through very little processing. After plucking, the buds are withered and then carefully dried. They are not rolled or deliberately oxidised, which is why silver tips are classed as a white tea.
Because there are so few steps, the quality of the raw buds is everything. Single-origin silver tips, picked and dried in the same garden, let you taste the character of one place.
- Plucking: unopened buds are picked by hand
- Withering: the buds rest and lose moisture slowly
- Drying: gentle drying preserves the silvery down
What do silver tips taste like?
Expect a pale golden liquor that is light, smooth and naturally sweet, with soft honey-like notes and no bitterness when brewed correctly. It's a calm, subtle tea, best enjoyed without milk or sugar.
How to brew silver tips
Use about 2 teaspoons (2–3 g) per 200 ml cup — the buds are light and bulky. Pour water at 80–85 °C, never boiling, and steep for 3–5 minutes. The same buds can be steeped 2–3 times, and each cup will be slightly different.
Silver tips from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is known for producing some of the world's finest silver tips. At Delicate Buds we pick and make ours by hand in our own garden near Kandy, below the Alagalla range.
Frequently asked questions
Are silver tips the same as silver needle tea?
Both names describe white tea made from unopened tea buds. 'Silver needle' is mostly used for Chinese white tea, and 'silver tips' for Ceylon (Sri Lankan) white tea.
How should I store silver tips?
Keep them in an airtight, opaque container away from light, heat, moisture and strong smells — our tins are ideal.