Most of the white tea that I see for sale seems to fit into the mold of Silver Needle, White Peony, and Shou Mei, with most companies seeming to focus on the higher two grades.
But I have seen a lot of other high-grade white teas for sale.
Does anyone know what the major types or varieties of high-grade white teas are, ones that are not classified as silver needle?
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
I see this is an old post. Hopefully you get this!
I don't drink many white teas but off the top of my head I can think of two non-silver-needle whites: [1] Darjeeling [2] Pu'er.
White Darjeeling seems to be universally expensive and is highly regarded as a "high-quality" white tea. I've had this white Darjeeling from Upton. I find most of Upton's teas to be "meh" however I really liked this particular tea. It appears Adagio also offers a white Darjeeling however it is constantly sold out. Upton's site lists 2 other whites that are not silver-needle but I've never had them.
I've only ever heard of white pu'er. Yunnan Sourcing's lists a few as well as others. In case you don't know about these guys, they specialize in pu'er cakes and such. However I've had good luck with other teas from these guys. For example their Wuyi rock tea is the best bang for the buck I've found yet.
PS. It seems that Chinese BiLuoChun shows up in white, green and black tea lists. This is probably because the brew tends to be like that of a white tea, though the leaves are technically processed as a green tea but the taste can range from light and sweet like a white tea to smokey and heavy like that of a black! Looking at Yunnan Sourcing's list, it seems they actually have something that looks like a white tea and is called biluochun so who knows.
I don't drink many white teas but off the top of my head I can think of two non-silver-needle whites: [1] Darjeeling [2] Pu'er.
White Darjeeling seems to be universally expensive and is highly regarded as a "high-quality" white tea. I've had this white Darjeeling from Upton. I find most of Upton's teas to be "meh" however I really liked this particular tea. It appears Adagio also offers a white Darjeeling however it is constantly sold out. Upton's site lists 2 other whites that are not silver-needle but I've never had them.
I've only ever heard of white pu'er. Yunnan Sourcing's lists a few as well as others. In case you don't know about these guys, they specialize in pu'er cakes and such. However I've had good luck with other teas from these guys. For example their Wuyi rock tea is the best bang for the buck I've found yet.
PS. It seems that Chinese BiLuoChun shows up in white, green and black tea lists. This is probably because the brew tends to be like that of a white tea, though the leaves are technically processed as a green tea but the taste can range from light and sweet like a white tea to smokey and heavy like that of a black! Looking at Yunnan Sourcing's list, it seems they actually have something that looks like a white tea and is called biluochun so who knows.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
White assam is my favourite white tea. Maybe even my favourite tea.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
Ahh yes, I did finally get this reply!
It makes sense that Upton comes through with something different...I love the weird things they locate and carry in their catalogue.
Is "White Pu-erh" similar to Moonlight White, or Yue Guang Bai Ya? I've tried that type of tea and I really liked it...I see some Yue Guang Bai on Yunnan Sourcing's site...and I actually have seen ones for sale that were compressed into cakes. But I haven't really seen it classified as Pu-erh. I think it's a tricky tea to classify.
I also would like to taste more batches of it. I tried it when it was a wet year, and I've heard it has a much lower oxidation in a dry year, because the large leaves get more oxidized if they have more moisture.
It makes sense that Upton comes through with something different...I love the weird things they locate and carry in their catalogue.
Is "White Pu-erh" similar to Moonlight White, or Yue Guang Bai Ya? I've tried that type of tea and I really liked it...I see some Yue Guang Bai on Yunnan Sourcing's site...and I actually have seen ones for sale that were compressed into cakes. But I haven't really seen it classified as Pu-erh. I think it's a tricky tea to classify.
I also would like to taste more batches of it. I tried it when it was a wet year, and I've heard it has a much lower oxidation in a dry year, because the large leaves get more oxidized if they have more moisture.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
Yue Guang Bai means Moon Light White. It's a white tea made of Yunnan leaves..this one I think as a White than Puerh (correction welcomed)AlexZorach wrote:Ahh yes, I did finally get this reply!
It makes sense that Upton comes through with something different...I love the weird things they locate and carry in their catalogue.
Is "White Pu-erh" similar to Moonlight White, or Yue Guang Bai Ya? I've tried that type of tea and I really liked it...I see some Yue Guang Bai on Yunnan Sourcing's site...and I actually have seen ones for sale that were compressed into cakes. But I haven't really seen it classified as Pu-erh. I think it's a tricky tea to classify.
I also would like to taste more batches of it. I tried it when it was a wet year, and I've heard it has a much lower oxidation in a dry year, because the large leaves get more oxidized if they have more moisture.
If you want other than Fujian White (Silver Needle as high grade), I'd recommend Moon Light White or An Ji Bai Cha (green tea made of white leaves) which is the closest to the original Song dynasty's white.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
Not sure that's right Chris.chrl42 wrote:AlexZorach wrote: White than Puerh (correction welcomed)
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
The term white tea is coming from the process of making, not tea tree species, from what I know, Yue Guang Bai is made in white tea processing, not normal Puerh making....aren't I right?TIM wrote:Not sure that's right Chris.chrl42 wrote:AlexZorach wrote: White than Puerh (correction welcomed)
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
There are hundreds types of white, green and other tea. The types are based on the processing and the names are based on the processing method and region. Different batch qualities can be vastly different.
Recently, I received from some reliable source some wild white tea from Yunnan and they are extremely good, but there is no brand or name associated to it. Some of these are artisan and very localized tea.
Like fruits or vegetables, if you are in the region you can find some local exotic species that are not known commercially.
It is good to keep hunting for the good ones because the same type or brand qualities can be different quite a lot from time to time. I enjoy Sri Lankan Silver tip and Darjeeling white but have to work very hard to go through samples by samples.
Recently, I received from some reliable source some wild white tea from Yunnan and they are extremely good, but there is no brand or name associated to it. Some of these are artisan and very localized tea.
Like fruits or vegetables, if you are in the region you can find some local exotic species that are not known commercially.
It is good to keep hunting for the good ones because the same type or brand qualities can be different quite a lot from time to time. I enjoy Sri Lankan Silver tip and Darjeeling white but have to work very hard to go through samples by samples.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
Just bought some Darjeeling Goomtee online. See how it goes. I never tried this tea before. I am just hoping it's a decent tea. Nothing more, nothing less.
Re: High grades of white tea other than Silver Needle
Nowadays you are seeing white teas showing up in other areas and countries. Traditionally white tea is from Fujian province in China. White needles is generally considered the top of the line. It and White peony (also called Pai Mu Tan/Bai Mu Dan) are made in specific areas of Fujian province. Shou Mei is generally considered lower down and can be made all over Fujian province, not just limited to the areas where White Needles or White Peony located. Another white tea I've started seeing more of is Moonlight White tea. Although it's from Yunnan province in China. It differes from the white teas of Fujian because it's actually made from the assamica variety of tea not the sinesis variety. It has bigger leaves and produces a darker looking tea compared to the white teas of Fujian. But as white teas become more popular you're seeing them pop up in other countries as well.