Premium Yunnan white tea cake - Silver Needle-357g

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Premium Yunnan white tea cake - Silver Needle-357g

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Yunnan Silver Needle White Tea Cake — Moonlight White

Also known as: Yunnan White Tea Cake, Silver Needle Cake, Yue Guang Bai, Moonlight White, Aged White Tea Cake

A white tea cake pressed entirely from Yunnan silver buds — and aged since 2018.

This is one of the more special cakes we carry:

Ancient-tree Silver Needle, made in Yunnan's own "Moonlight White" style, then pressed and left to mature.

What Is a White Tea Cake?

Most white tea is loose. But it's also pressed into cakes — and there's a good reason.

Pressed tight, a white tea cake takes up far less space, and it ages slowly and evenly — the leaves protect each other, so the whole cake matures as one. It's the traditional way to keep white tea for the long haul, and to build a little collection you can drink your way through over the years.

"Store new, drink old," as the saying goes — and a cake is made for exactly that.

This Cake: Ancient-Tree Moonlight White

What makes this one special comes down to the leaf.

Origin: Yunnan, south-west China — high, sun-soaked tea country famous for its ancient tea trees.
Leaf: tip silver buds only, from old Yunnan tea trees, made as Yue Guang Bai — "Moonlight White", Yunnan's own take on white tea.
Vintage: pressed and naturally aged since 2018.
Character: a light, honeyed sweetness — easy and smooth, with the gentle depth that only comes from years in cake form.
Weight:375g Full Cake

It's lovely to drink now, and it'll keep deepening if you'd rather cellar it a while longer.

The Four Types of White Tea

White tea is graded by how much bud and leaf goes into the pick. This cake is pressed from the very top grade — silver buds only:

Silver Needle is buds only; White Peony adds a leaf or two; Gong Mei and Shou Mei use more mature leaf. This cake sits right at the top — all silver buds — which is what gives it such a clean, sweet, refined character.

The Two Homes of White Tea: Fuding & Yunnan

White tea has two great homes, and they make quite different teas.

Fuding (Fujian) — the birthplace of white tea and the region regarded as the best in China for it. Small-leaf bushes, bright and delicately sweet.
Yunnan — big-leaf, ancient-tree country in the south-west. Fuller, deeper, honey-rich white teas with real body.

This cake is pure Yunnan — the bold, honeyed side of the white tea world.

Prefer the Exclusive Fuding Cake? Try our Fuding Silver Needle Cake.

White Tea, Antioxidants & Ageing

White tea is the least processed of all teas — just withered and dried — so it holds on to a lot of what's naturally in the fresh leaf, including its antioxidants. That light touch is a big part of white tea's appeal.

Ageing adds another layer. Over the years a white tea cake grows smoother, mellower and richer — the fresh notes softening into warm honey and gentle depth. It's long been treasured in China for exactly this. We'll leave the bigger health talk to others; we'd rather it earn its place by tasting wonderful, which — aged this well — it does.

Explore more in the white tea collection.

Brew this Yunnan Silver Needle Cake the right way

— check out our professional Brewing Guide, Storage Care and The Origins below 👇

🍵 Brewing Guide

How to Brew Yunnan Silver Needle Cake

An aged white tea cake rewards a little patience — first to break it open, then to let boiling water coax out its honeyed depth.

Breaking the Cake

Use a tea cake pin breaker to prise off a piece. Slide it in sideways along a natural layer and gently lever upward — you want flakes and whole buds, not crushed powder. About 5g per pot.

The Vessel: Gaiwan or Glass Infuser

The Gaiwan: the traditional choice, with close control over the pour.
Our Recommendation: our Glass Tea Infuser. All glass, so you can watch the buds unfurl and the amber liquor build.

Follow this for the perfect cup:

Temperature: 95–100°C. Aged, pressed buds want near-boiling water to open up and release their sweetness.
Leaf to water: about 5g to 110ml.
Step 1 – Warm the Vessel: Rinse with hot water and discard.
Step 2 – The Awakening: Give the pressed piece a 10–15 second rinse to loosen and wake it, then pour off.
Step 3 – The Infusion: Pour gently down the inner wall.
Step 4 – Timing:

1st and 2nd brews: 20–30 seconds — a pressed cake opens more slowly than loose leaf.
Each brew after: add about 10–15 seconds. It's beautifully long-lasting.

Master's Tip: The first couple of steeps from a cake are just waking up — the tea often hits its stride from the third pour, once the pressed buds have fully opened.

📦 Storage & Care

Storage Care for Yunnan Silver Needle Cake

A white tea cake is built for the long haul — store it simply and it just keeps getting better.

Room temperature is best. Somewhere cool, dry, dark and stable. No need to refrigerate.
Let it breathe. Keep it in its wrapper or a breathable container — don't seal a cake airtight or vacuum-pack it. White tea needs a little air to keep maturing.
Away from light, damp and smells. Moisture is the main enemy; a dry spot keeps it ageing cleanly. Keep it clear of coffee, spices and anything strongly scented.
Give it room. Store away from walls and floors, and it'll carry on deepening year after year.

Pressed cakes age more slowly and evenly than loose tea — which is exactly why they're the collector's choice. "Store new, drink old."

🌿 The Origins

The Origins of Yunnan Silver Needle Cake

Home — Yunnan: Grown in south-west China's Yunnan province — high, sun-soaked country famous for its ancient tea trees, and one of white tea's two great homes alongside Fuding.
The Leaf — Ancient-Tree Moonlight White: Made from tip silver buds off old Yunnan tea trees, in the local Yue Guang Bai ("Moonlight White") style — Yunnan's own distinctive take on white tea.
Pressed & Aged Since 2018: Pressed into cake form and left to mature naturally, growing smoother and honey-sweet with the years.
VGT Sourcing: For 18 years, Valley Green Tea has been a trusted place to buy authentic loose leaf Chinese tea online in Australia. Explore the rest of our white tea collection.

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