In April I visited a farm in Fuding, Fujian province where they grow a highly versatile tea cultivar called da bai, the buds and leaves of which are used to produce green, white and red teas. Another noteworthy feature is that the buds, or "needles", are covered in silvery white hair. The white and green teas produced from these buds are called " bai hao yin zhen" in Chinese and "silver needle" in English.