Silver needle, Chinese name bai hao yinzhen, is a white tea made exclusively from the tips or leaf buds of the tea plant. Silver needle is a very delicate tea, producing a very light liquor, a gentle aroma, and a mellow, slightly sweet flavor. This article explores the question of how much caffeine is in this particular variety of tea, and it also provides some general information about what influences the caffeine content of various teas.

Myths about white tea and caffeine:

It is a widespread myth that white tea is lower in caffeine than other types of tea. I am not quite sure how or where this myth got started, but if you search the internet, you will find it all over the place, including on the websites of quite a few fairly reputable tea companies. If you look carefully, however, you will see that most of the websites making the claim that white tea is low in caffeine do not cite any sources, and if you scour the scientific literature as I have, you will fail to find any studies that actually measure the caffeine content of various teas and conclude that white tea is lower in caffeine. That is because, as a general rule, this statement is not true.

Most of the companies that claim that silver needle is low in caffeine use the rationale or explanation that all white tea is low in caffeine, a statement that is patently false.

Other factors influencing caffeine:

Many different factors, including geography and weather, cultivar of tea plant used, and tea processing, influence the caffeine content of the finished tea. One additional key factor is the part of the tea plant used. Tips or leaf buds tend to be highest in caffeine, whereas larger, more mature leaves tend to be lower in caffeine. This difference in caffeine content can be explained by the fact that, for a plant, caffeine serves the primary purpose of being a chemical defense against insect pests. Because the tender leaf buds and tips are the most vulnerable part of the plant, these parts are where.

So, silver needle can be high in caffeine:

Silver needle is not necessarily lower in caffeine than other teas, and because it is made exclusively of leaf buds, which are higher in caffeine, it can even be more caffeinated than some black teas. It is also worth noting that because this variety of tea is so smooth and delicate in flavor, it is possible to brew it more strongly, thus further increasing the caffeine content of the brewed cup.