#silver needles

i got a new backpack, quite a big one if you ask me - but its a nice one! theres enough space for a camera with 150-600mm lens on, a smaller spare lens, binoculars, tea equipment, snacks and more. its not the most stylish bag, but i prefer usefulness and comfort over looks anyway...

today i spent some time adoring the blooming greater pesque flowers, managed to find an eagle-owl, watched a common wall lizard run around. its crazy that this old limestone quarry is so close to my uni city! its a 5 minutes long (maybe i should rather say short?) train ride + 40 minutes walk. isnt that just great? though, the place is quite busy and there are many people, basically everyone trying to get the best shot of the pesque flowers. there are also whole groups of people searching for the owl.

i brought a low-quality silver needle tea with me. i would not buy it myself, it was a gift. and although not the best, its still decent and i dont mind drinking it. but it tastes better from a basic ceramic or porcelain cup than from the kuksa. those moomin cups are nice for red teas and some significant japanese green teas, but the material theyre made of can negatively affect the taste of some other kind - including white tea, apparently. i need to keep that in mind.

SilverVale

White tea (1) - SILVER NEEDLE (bai hao yin zhen)

White tea reaches its perfection point just as the shoots of the leaves are about to open. At this stage, this leaf is referred to as the silver needle. Bai hao yin zhen is grown in China (Fujian Province), and is hand picked in the mountainous plantations of Tai Lao. Only real tea afficinados can appreciate the taste, as a refined palate can only experience the subtle taste of this very epensive tea. 

A low caffinated tea, white tea is tea in in purest form (NO THIS IS NOT A BLACK TEA WITH MILK!!!!!). Perfect to enjoy with meals early afternoon, as the silver needles are perfect to be brewed multiple times.