2 DOVES SILVER NEEDLE

For the world's top tea collectors Fujian's Fuding County holds a special place as the home of the world's finest white teas. Each has its own special characteristics resulting from the unique soil conditions rain sunlight tea genus production method and story. That's right...story. Were they better known Fuding County's many tea legends would make the region a required stop for the world's top storytellers.

From one end of Fuding to the other stories abound describing the way certain teas were discovered and how they got their names. One of the lesser known of these tales has to do with 2 Doves Silver Needle a fabulously delicate buds only white tea plucked from a Fujian genus known as Fuding Da Hao.The story we were told took place during the early days of Fuding - (the county was established during the Qing Dynasty in 1739 AD.)

In those days a tea grower and his family found themselves indebted to a mercenary who lived in a neighboring county and had protected them during a local squabble. The mercenary told the grower that he had one year to pay back the debt he owed or he would claim their daughter. Faced with the prospect of giving his only daughter to be the man's concubine the grower began to pray.

After a few weeks the grower and his wife both had the same dream. In the dream a pair of doves told them that in the morning two real doves would appear on the farm gate. The grower and his wife should follow the birds deep into the woods where they would find a tract of undiscovered wild tea. From this tea they were to pluck only the top downy buds. These they were to process in a special new style that would help them make enough money to save their daughter.

The next morning just as the doves had said the grower and his wife found the wild tea. They plucked as many baskets as they could carry and brought them back to their house where they set to processing them. 3 days later they brought the tea to market and made enough money in one day to pay back their debt - a miracle!

From that day forward they called their new tea 2 Doves Silver Needle in honor of the birds who had saved their daughter. It's an amazing story. Whether or not you choose to believe it the amazing qualities of this tea can't be disputed. The wiry silvery buds coated in a light down resemble dove's wings while the flavor is light sweet and loaded with nuance - a wonderful tea to add to your collection today. Note: White teas are amazingly healthy and typically have less caffeine and higher anti-oxidant levels than black green or oolong teas.