Rishi's Silver Needle

[Tea and coffee]

Is there such a big difference between white tea from Fujian, Yunnan and somewhere else in China lets say?

The seller I bought from his website says the teas are "organic because the poor farmers can not afford chemicals" and have not been using them for thousands of years of making tea.
I don't really know about that argument though-can't really be proven that easily.

But I do know the one w hite tea I bought a local store is selling it (it is from the same place),same forest region ect...
Their website is saying it is yunnan snowsprout white tea,organic,fair trade and asking more than my budget can handle at the moment.

I am curious to try white teas from other regions though.
I'll have to go through my 1200 grams of tea before buying any more....

[jackdaniel]

"Fair Trade" is not fair at all. Google it and you'll find lots of arguments against it. Large corporations use it as a cover to mkae them look more legitimate.

Chemicals are often cheaper and more efficient than good old-school methods of fertilization.

[inspectoring]

Is there such a big difference between white tea from Fujian, Yunnan and somewhere else in China lets say?

The seller I bought from his website says the teas are "organic because the poor farmers can not afford chemicals" and have not been using them for thousands of years of making tea.
I don't really know about that argument though-can't really be proven that easily.

But I do know the one w hite tea I bought a local store is selling it (it is from the same place),same forest region ect...
Their website is saying it is yunnan snowsprout white tea,organic,fair trade and asking more than my budget can handle at the moment.

I am curious to try white teas from other regions though.
I'll have to go through my 1200 grams of tea before buying any more....

I think Fujian tea is much sweeter than yunan. From my understanding - Rishi used to sell yunnan silver needle untill 2-3 years ago - and at that time they switched to Fujian.

[Poohblah]

"Fair Trade" is not fair at all. Google it and you'll find lots of arguments against it. Large corporations use it as a cover to mkae them look more legitimate.

Chemicals are often cheaper and more efficient than good old-school methods of fertilization.

Rishi has built a reputation for direct interaction with the communities that produce the tea that they sell. Rishi is not a big corporate machine looking to make money off its own image.

http://anotherteablog.blogspot.com/2007 ... olong.html

Second, fertilizers do not equal a good tea plant. Trees, which naturally get their nutrients through biological mechanisms, benefit the most from growing in their original habitat. Plus, fertilizers have huge ecological consequences due to runoff, removal of original groundcover and ecosystems to make way for tree plantations, shipping, and processing/production etc etc. My point being that tea trees that grow wildly are the "best" (highly subjective, but definitely arguable) trees to harvest for tea. Rishi at least partially sources tea from these trees.

I know I sound like a corporate fanboy, but I'm not. I don't like Rishi's teas all that much, to be honest. It simply seems that Rishi is as honest as corporations get.

[LuYuApostle]

I can't wait for Rishi to come out with their Fuding Silver Needle Gran Cru 2010. The 2009 version was truly awesome! I don't think I have ever had better white tea, even compared to the best Bai Hao Yin Zhen from other vendors. Its flavor was so amazingly rich and elegant, while retaining the subtleties that classic style Chinese white teas are famous for.

[Chip]

Yes, the 2009 version was exceptional in every respect. It seems everyone was pretty impressed with it. I liked the fruity/floral character.

[LuYuApostle]

Yes, the 2009 version was exceptional in every respect. It seems everyone was pretty impressed with it. I liked the fruity/floral character.

Unfortunately, Rishi said that they won't be getting most of their Pre-Qing Ming teas until May/June because of some poor weather conditions that the tea gardens experienced this year . I guess I'll just have to wait until then lol...

[Poohblah]

Yes, the 2009 version was exceptional in every respect. It seems everyone was pretty impressed with it. I liked the fruity/floral character.

Unfortunately, Rishi said that they won't be getting most of their Pre-Qing Ming teas until May/June because of some poor weather conditions that the tea gardens experienced this year . I guess I'll just have to wait until then lol...

Yunnan Sourcing has Spring '10 Silver Needle in, so I ordered some to compare.

[Poohblah]

Yes, the 2009 version was exceptional in every respect. It seems everyone was pretty impressed with it. I liked the fruity/floral character.

Unfortunately, Rishi said that they won't be getting most of their Pre-Qing Ming teas until May/June because of some poor weather conditions that the tea gardens experienced this year . I guess I'll just have to wait until then lol...

Yunnan Sourcing has Spring '10 Silver Needle in, so I ordered some to compare.

YS's Silver Needle is much better than Rishi's Fujian SN. YS's is bodly fruity and has a savory hint in the aroma, and the taste brings out the savory without repressing the fruity. Rishi's is more floral than fruity and the savory note is dimmer. Overall Rishi's is milder, more reserved, and more vegetal. The dry leaves smell was the biggest difference; YS was really bold while Rishi's was mild.

I never had Rishi's 2009 Fuding Silver Needle Gran Cru though, only their "Premium;" I don't see the Gran Cru on their website

[chittychat]

I am just awaiting my spring 20210 order of Yunnan Silver Needle. Hopefully it arrives tomorrow 3 weeks after shipping by air. Mail is soooo low here. Well this is my 3rd order from the same source. The 2008/9 were excellent. They have a distinct longan flavor and I can make normally at least 6 infusions. My Chinese tea buddy at first would not believe it. It could be that the 2010 crop is even better due to the past drought. I understand production quantity of tea is down in Yunnan for this reason which could make a difference in taste. Slow growing produces normally tastier crops.