TeaChat

For a long time I want to try Rishi's Organic Silver Needle Premium but I never ordered from Rishi because they charge $22 for shipping a bag of 100gr to the middle east. For the time being I drink Adagio Silver Needle and I am quite happy with it.

By the end of the month a friend of mine is going to the USA for two weeks; I was thinking to order a few bags of Rishi's Silver Needle Premium that he could collect from the address he is going to and save me the shipping charges. Do you think that Rishi's Sliver Needle Premium is so special ( itself and compared to Adagio's Silver Needle) or should I stick to Adagio?

I have had and quite like Rishi's Fuding Silver Needle Grand Cru 2009, Organic White Tea. I think it is very good and a very good value. Unfortunately this one is temporarily out of stock.

I have not had their Premium version.

Opinion;

I don't think Rishi is a step up from Adagio.

Opinion, that of course is subjective. I have had both, but not side by side unfortunately and seperated by many moons.

The Rishi is organic, however. It is the first organic white I have had, and it is outstanding. If you like to try new teas, you should try at least one of theirs.

The Rishi is organic, however.

That's the reason I think I am going to give it a try anyway.

Chip wrote:Opinion, that of course is subjective. I have had both, but not side by side unfortunately and seperated by many moons.

The Rishi is organic, however. It is the first organic white I have had, and it is outstanding. If you like to try new teas, you should try at least one of theirs.

I should have mentioned that I wasn't speaking from experience of this particular tea, but rather on a companywide level.

Zanaspus wrote:I should have mentioned that I wasn't speaking from experience of this particular tea, but rather on a companywide level.

Interesting, "companywide level?" Care to expound on that?

I had a few issues a number of years ago, but they have definitely righted the ship on the issues I communicated to them, and they were not just a problem with an order type of issues. They are small enough that they will listen.

The tea I have tried from them has been very good to outstanding. The new commitment to Japanese greens has certainly gotten my attention (The ones I tried were outstanding).

I'll admit, I haven't ordered from them in years. I may have to give them another try.

I review the tea on my blog, I gave it a great rating, Silver Needles is my favourite white tea.

As a result of reading each of your contributions to this topic,
I was inspired to order some whites from Rishi.
I ordered the silver needle and also the moonlight white.
I really like both a lot.
The moonlight white is like a white peony longevity brows - only Rishi's is 'greener' (or 'whiter'?) - seems a little less processed. The needle seems the same.
The moonlight is beautiful to look at - the various colors are vibrant, and sort of sing. And they taste somehow slightly more innocent and less handled (don't know if this is true, but just my intuitive energetic sense of the tea).
I have to say I'm really, really enjoying the moonlight white. Wonderful white tea.
If I get a chance, I'll post some photos.
Cheers.

If you want cheaper white teas this ebay seller is pretty good and also sells 100 gram "sample" size.
Most of his other teas other than cakes are 250 grams or 500 grams priced.
Ships from China,but shipping is pretty cheap.

looking through their ebay store Yunnan white hair silver needle is $16.50 for 250 grams.

from my previous orders with that sellers I got exactly what was pictured.
he has good ebay feedback so far.

I tried the silver thread green tea: it is stonger tasting very "green"
jasmine dragon pearl was good and very jasminy.

Edited by Moderator.

Well, there are many vendors in China selling through ebay. There are also many sellers of silver needle.

But this is a little like comparing apples to oranges since the Rishi Silver Needle is certified organic, and has already gone through proper importing into the USA.

This particular ebay seller does not categorize a seperate heading for white tea, and their SN is from Yunnan. Several of Rishi's are from Fujian.

Chip wrote:Well, there are many vendors in China selling through ebay. There are also many sellers of silver needle.

But this is a little like comparing apples to oranges since the Rishi Silver Needle is certified organic, and has already gone through proper importing into the USA.

This particular ebay seller does not categorize a seperate heading for white tea, and their SN is from Yunnan. Several of Rishi's are from Fujian.

Ok,
I guess that is true.
This seller as far as I know only sells Yunnan teas.

I guess now I will have to try Fujian white tea to compare.
Actually for this seller if you go to their actual website they have white and green teas together, pu erh in another section and black tea in another.

I'm not too worried about the seller going through the correct export whatever for Canada.
I buy my tea, pay online and it is sent to me packaged (in silver foil pouches w cardboard box).
Also the seller declares the actual postage value and labels package so I could be charged tax or duty one day...haven't yet.

I don't really know how much differenr Rishi tea is exept that they have nicer packaging.

There are also a few US sellers selling some of that company's tea and even in a few local stores here,so I'm not too worried.
Just because they are a small company with what seems like 2 people is not a big deal for me.

FWIW: Keep in mind that "organic" can mean a list of different things. In the US alone there are many different organizations that certify food as organic. In China, there are even more.

IMHO: Don't base your purchased based on the organic label. It means nothing.

jackdaniel wrote:FWIW: Keep in mind that "organic" can mean a list of different things. In the US alone there are many different organizations that certify food as organic. In China, there are even more.

IMHO: Don't base your purchased based on the organic label. It means nothing.

IMHO, I would perhaps say, do not base one's decision based solely upon an Organic label, and do not take it for granted. In the case of Rishi, I am sure the cert is legit, but you can always contact a vendor and ask about the certs. The vendor response should be crisp and confident.