Snow sprout green tea anyone try it?

[Tea and coffee]

I just bought some tea that was sold to me as "yunnan white tea".
But looking online I could not find much with that name.

And finally today I was looking at a local (or canadian) tea website and they were selling "ancient snow sprout" green tea from yunnan and in the listing it as:

"From the old growth tea forests of Yunnan, China, comes this superior grade of sun-dried green tea (Saiqing). The unique aroma and flavor can only be captured during one brief harvest, during the snows of spring, and consists of large, silvery-white bud tips from broad-leaf tea trees. Discover a rich honey-like flavor and fresh floral finish unlike any other green tea."

I emailed the place I bought it from, so should hear back sometime.

But has anyone tried this tea?
any comments/info would be helpful Thanks

[Seeker]

Hi Tea and co...,
I haven't tried exactly what you're describing, but I wonder if it's similar or even the same tea as one Rishi sells that they call "Snow Buds".
Here's there description:
Snow Buds (Xue Ya), Organic White Tea
Organic Snow Buds (Xue Ya) is considered a new type of white tea that was developed in the 1980’s using authentic Fujian white tea bushes according to a special process that involves nuances of white tea and green tea production. Its clear infusion offers a fresh green flavor and aroma of roasted chestnut.
Water: 185°F / Leaves: 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces / Infusion Time: 5–6 minutes / Ingredients: Organic white tea. / Origin: Fujian, China.
I really like it - but TOTALLY disagree with their brewing instructions. At 185, the tea is way overbrewed - and is lost in a very stemmy, astringent quality that is the same as almost any Camelia Sinensis when subjected to temperature too high for the style.
I find nice buttery and maybe chestnut aromas when I use a water temp of 140-150 and steep only 30 or 40 sec. I can typically only get 2 good infusions out of it before the stemminess shows up and takes over. Also, this is a subtle tea, IMHO. (Knowing that all our palates are different).
Cheers.

[Victoria]

I'm rather fond of this from Rishi:
https://www.rishi-tea.com/store/ancient ... n-tea.html
Not sure if it is the same as yours. I have seen the name in both green and white categories. Yu Xue Ya & Xue Ya

[Tea and coffee]

Hi,
thanks for the reply.
The place that sold it to me their website just said it was "Yunnan white tea and only recently known" or something liek that.
It looks like silver needle, but bigger buds and much lighter colored.

I will have to try brewing 30 seconds as I have been doing 2 minutes and the tea is still quite light and almost sweet and slightly green.

I didn't get my tea from Davids tea, but their description and pic is exactly what I have here.
I have only seen this tea on a few websites online and on ebay with a couple sellers.
It is not really worth the $60 for 100 grams though.
I bought some silver needle and the only main difference is the silver needle is smaller leaves and darker and the the snowsprout much bigger fuzzier buds.

http://www.davidstea.com/green-tea/orga ... prout.html

----------------
I took a look at the Rishi Tea website and it is the same tea as well!
Wow, I had no idea it was that costly everywhere.
I have not seen this tea at any local shops and I live in a very big city.

[verus]

I have snow bud green tea - I wouldn't really know the difference between bud and sprout to be honest.

It's fantastic. The leaves are large, curled, with that furry look like a Bai Hao Yin Zhen. It's a very light, tender, vegetal green tea. I wouldn't use that high a temperature - 70" celsius at the most (that's 158 fahrenheit) - maybe a little higher after the third infusion.

[chicagopotter]

The Rishi and David's Tea descriptions/prices are oddly similar...

[Seeker]

Hey verus,
Where'd you get yours?
Also, I'm curious how you'd describe the flavor and aroma experience?

[Tea and coffee]

I can say that for me the tea was very light tasting and refreshing.
A bit too light for my taste I think.

I got my tea from Awazon tea
they have an ebay store,but not sure if it is still listed there.
Their price for 100 grams was$7 plus shipping
their ebay store only has 250 and 500 gram sizes though...their website sells 100gram "samples".

[verus]

Hey verus,
Where'd you get yours?
Also, I'm curious how you'd describe the flavor and aroma experience?

I have it from a shop here in the Netherlands where I live, called "simon levelt." It's not that expensive, € 4,50 for 50 grams. They do have a website but I don't know if they ship to foreign countries.

The brew was very light, almost like Silver Needles, so there wasn't any overpowering taste, it was all very subtle. I thought it was a vegetable-like taste, with hints of cucumber and lettuce - I don't know whether that sounds appealing to you

I also got the impression that there was some sweetness in the taste, and I can also recognize the "buttery" aspect that you describe.