We are delighted to have secured a small quantity of the 2012 first flush harvest of this beautiful and rare organic silver needle. The Doke Garden in Bihar, Northern India, was established by Rajiv Lochan in 1998 and has established itself as the finest producer of white tea in India. This small family run garden is currently considered by many tea connoisseurs to be producing some of the finest white teas to be found anywhere on the planet. We certainly agree with this statement.

These silver needle buds are covered covered in soft white down and when brewed produce a very clean and fresh liquor that's simply bursting with bright white tea flavour. This really is a very special tea and one we're certain will prove extremely popular with all white tea lovers.

Key Flavours - soft and creamy with hints of sweet melon, dried apricot and a long lingering aftertaste.

Coming Soon - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Filled with complex sweet fruity flavours, a natural creaminess, and a long lasting aftertaste our handmade Dong Ding Oolong is an excellent example of one of Taiwan's most famous teas.

Grown on the slopes of Dong Ding Mountain in Taiwan's Nantou County, tea bushes here are protected from the strongest of the afternoon sun with a veil of cooling mountain mist. We believe there are few better teas than those of the high mountain Taiwanese variety that truly allow you to imagine and taste the land, or as the French say terroir, in which the tea was grown.

Key Flavours - lightly toasted caramelised nuts, sweet soft stone fruits and hints of cream.

Rated 9.9/10 on Teaviews.com | Rated 94/100 on Steepster.com

Dong Ding Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

2012 harvest now in stock

Silver Needle is renowned for being the finest, and sweetest, of all white teas. Carefully harvested at dawn, as soon as the first spring buds appear, good Silver Needles should be pale, plump and covered in soft white down. Once brewed quality Silver Needle teas produce a light, pale liquor, that's refreshing to drink and bursting with soft fruity flavours; ours is which is probably why this is our best selling tea!

Key Flavours - sweet fresh fruits and honeysuckle edges combined with subtle hints of fresh meadow grass.

Rated 96/100 on Steepster.com

Silver Needle White Tea - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Exclusive to driftwood tea No.7, The Ambassador's Choice is an example of small farm tea at its finest. Grown on a farm in China's Fujian Province, young leaves are lightly oxidized before being processed and rolled in a Taiwanese style. The resulting tea takes on some of the best characteristics of both China and Taiwan's famous teas. Its early infusions are are fruity and creamy - reminiscent of Taiwanese high mountain teas - later infusions begin to develop more floral tones, similar to modern Chinese Tie Guan Yins.

Sold directly to James, quantities of this tea are extremely limited. Due to its rarity and uniqueness this tea is James's personal preference to serve alongside afternoon tea.

Key Flavours – A subtle balance of tropical fruits, dried apples, floral tones and hints of cream.

Rated 84/100 on Steepster.com

Ambassador's Choice Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Translated as Yellow Mountain Fur Peak, Huang Shan Mao Feng grows on Anhui Province’s Huangshan Mountain and is one of China’s Ten Famous Teas. Our Pre Rain Huang Shan Mao Feng comes from the first picking in early spring, when the finest teas are selected, and provides a beautiful example of a higher mountain Chinese tea. Huang Shan Mao Feng is a real champagne tea and a tea that every Chinese and green tea lover should really experience.

Key Flavours – subtle green freshness, sweet florals and a hint of nuttiness.

Rated 9.5/10 & 9/10 on Teaviews.com

Huang Shan Mao Feng - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Our Cape Jasmine Pearls are carefully hand crafted by artisans using traditional tea making methods. Tender Silver Needle buds and young tea leaves are layered and allowed to naturally infuse, multiple times, with the sweet blossom of Cape Jasmine (Gardenia) before being finished and rolled by hand. Sweet, balanced and naturally flavoured this is one of the finest scented teas that we at driftwood have ever tried.

Key Flavours – Refreshing and rounded sweet oriental floral notes with fresh creamy hints.

Cape Jasmine - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Also known as Wuyi Rock, oolongs from the Wuyi Shan - a World Heritage Site - produce teas that are among China's most prized. Wuyi teas are renowned for their multifaceted flavours and thick, almost oily texture. Our Organic Wuyi Yancha is no exception as it delivers a supreme depth of flavour and long lasting aftertaste; a great example of a tea from this region.

Key flavours - caramelised fruit sugars, raisins, smooth chocolate, mineral notes & coconut highlights.

Rated 98/100 on Steepster.com

Wuyi Yancha - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Too often Yunnan teas are ignored in favour of their Keemun cousins however, to do so is to ignore one of China's most famous black teas. It is perhaps this current lack of vogue which has made quality Yunnan teas increasingly hard to find however our Golden Tips is a great example of why this tea was once a favourite of the aristocratic classes. Rich and slightly earthy, with a natural sweetness, this is a delightful black tea that is filled with body yet smooth enough to easily be drunk without the need for any additions.

Key Flavours – earthy with a light peppery bite and sweet maple syrup / caramel aftertaste.

Yunnan Golden Tips - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

After Taiwan’s 9/21 earthquake farmers were delayed in harvesting their crop. Once able to do so they discovered their tea bushes had been attacked by Leaf Hoppers who’d nibbled away at the leaves edges. Processing the tea anyway, the farmers discovered that the finished teas had developed a naturally sweet and beautiful rich, almost honey like quality. So fine was the resulting tea that it became named Gui Fei after the highest-ranking Imperial Concubine.

Key Flavours – sweet rich warming chocolate, perfumed almonds, honey.

Rated 97/100 on Steepster.com

Gui Fei Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Described by James as 'Afternoon tea in a glass' we can think of no better description for this relaxing organic oolong from Taiwan's Nantou County.

GABA or Gabalong teas are a speciality Taiwanese tea that has been processed to naturally increase - by up to 10x - its Gamma Aminobutyric Acid content. GABA oolongs are revered in Asian cultures for their benefitial, almost miraculous properties which include: improved memory, increased fat burning, lower blood pressure, aiding deeper sleep, and many more. While we make no guarantee to the efficaccy of any of these claims we will guarantee our Gabalong is a delicious tea to relax with any time of day.

Key Flavours - freshly baked scones, melted butter & summer fruits jam.

Rated 100/100 on Steepster.com | Rated 8/10 on Teaviews.com

GABA Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Quite simply an exceptional jasmine tea. Our Premium Jasmine Oolong has been crafted by skilled tea makers who artfully combine high quality tea, from Taiwan's Nantou County with fresh, locally grown, jasmine blossom. The two are delicately layered and left overnight in the cooling air while the jasmine naturally imparts its sweet floral scent onto the tea. This process is repeated several times before the tea is finished by hand. The resulting leaves when brewed produce a naturally sweet and deeply aromatic jasmine tea, a world apart from the bitter, artificially scented 'Chinese restaurant' jasmine tea so often served in the UK.

Key Flavours - Sweet aromatic jasmine with a rounded oriental flora note.

Rated 94/100 on Steepster.com

Jasmine Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Quality roasted Tie Guan Yins are increasingly hard to find however we were delighted when James discovered this beautiful organic version that is bursting with rich flavours, while remaining naturally sweet and supremely smooth. While modern trends are seeing Tie Guan Yins becoming lighter, greener and more floral in style, our roasted version shows why quality teas - when produced by artisans using skills passed down through generations - remain timeless in their appeal.

Key Flavours – Chocolate, toasted nuts and caramelised fruit sugars are followed by a sweet fruity note.

Tie Guan Yin - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Bao Zhong, or Pouchong, is a style of tea that was originally developed in China however has become better known as a Taiwanese tea following their perfection of its production over the last 200 years. Lightly oxidized - to around 10-20% - our Bao Zhong sits neatly between the traditional green and oolong classifications.

Of all our teas Bao Zhong seems to have the most universal appeal. With few of the grassy notes associated with green tea, and with a delicate depth of flavour, that is neither too sweet, nor too full bodied - apologies for becoming a little Goldilocks here - it has quickly become the most brewed tea by the driftwood team as almost everyone who tries it seems to love it!

Key Flavours – grilled peaches, Mediterranean herbs with hints of white lilac and orchid.

Rated 8.7/10 on Teaviews.com

Bao Zhong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide

Four Season oolongs are a semi-wild tea variety that gains its name from its regular growth throughout the year which allows for more frequent harvests. Springtime's harvest always produces the finest, sweetest tea, which is when this 2011 Four Season Oolong was picked.

Bright, fresh and wild; a delicious example of one of Taiwan's 'everyday' teas that exemplifies just how good an 'everyday' tea should be.

Key Flavours – lively floral notes, orchids & lilac, with hints of soft stone fruits.

Four Seasons Oolong - Tasting Notes and Brewing Guide