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d.manuk
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Location: Dallas

Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:01 am

I'm looking to sample some high quality Silver Needle offerings. Do you have any recommendations?

Vendors I've been considering so far: Song Tea, Shang Tea
I'm sure there's other options out there that I haven't come across.
TeaZero
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Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:44 pm

Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:07 pm

Teasenz has a good value offering:
https://www.teasenz.com/silver-needle-white-tea
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Victoria
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Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:03 pm

Salvador Sosa can source you high quality Silver Needles from India. I’m waiting for him to provide link or contact info.
Janice
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Location: New Jersey

Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:31 am

Rishi has some small batch silver needle teas that sound very interesting. I said I wouldn’t buy any Chinese greens this year because I’ve been disappointed the last two years, but this is white tea so I might try it.


https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/wild- ... loose-leaf

https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fudin ... /white-tea
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d.manuk
Posts: 655
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Location: Dallas

Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:26 pm

Janice wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:31 am
Rishi has some small batch silver needle teas that sound very interesting. I said I wouldn’t buy any Chinese greens this year because I’ve been disappointed the last two years, but this is white tea so I might try it.


https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/wild- ... loose-leaf

https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fudin ... /white-tea
The price for the second one seems about right... I may try it.

Since my OP, I've ordered a silver needle from Song Tea and Wuyi Origin (my first order with them)
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d.manuk
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Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:26 am

The silver needle from wuyi origins was the better of the two but still not as multi dimensional as I had wanted and have had in the past. I’ll give the rishi one a go in the future.
chofmann
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Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:58 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:26 am
The silver needle from wuyi origins was the better of the two but still not as multi dimensional as I had wanted and have had in the past. I’ll give the rishi one a go in the future.
Keep us updated with your journey!
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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Tue Jan 01, 2019 12:20 pm

I've had very fine Silver Needle from Norbu, and Jing Tea Shop, but Norbu does not have any offerings at this time. Jasmine silver needle from Rishi has been very fine as well.
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pedant
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Thu Jan 03, 2019 11:05 pm

hojo might be worth trying. i haven't tried his higher end one, but i enjoyed the 'gushu yinzhen'
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d.manuk
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Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:48 am

pedant wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 11:05 pm
hojo might be worth trying. i haven't tried his higher end one, but i enjoyed the 'gushu yinzhen'
I've tried the more expensive one, did not find it to be amazing. I bought it this year and the batch he was selling was from 2013 though and I prefer fresh silver needle.
Sweetestdew
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Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:35 am

Dont do Shang, i was disapointed by them.
I am going to Fu Ding in a few weeks, if you send me some money I can pick you up some stuff.
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d.manuk
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Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:11 pm

Sweetestdew wrote:
Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:35 am
Dont do Shang, i was disapointed by them.
I am going to Fu Ding in a few weeks, if you send me some money I can pick you up some stuff.
Yes I was disappointed by Shang too. If the silver needle is of similar quality to the one you sent Roy L & me a few years ago then yes I want to get some.
Ethan Kurland
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Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:59 pm

What is white tea supposed to be?

That's a mystery to me. I believe it is poor in quality if it tastes awful (by almost everyone's palate) or has no flavor. I believe quality is good if flavor(s) are pleasant to wonderful, tea is durable, & the brew is light-bodied. (This last quality is what differentiates white from green for me.)

What flavor(s) people expect, is something that seems quite unclear.

This Spring I got excited about the white tea that I have from Nepal. It was what I serve to visitors & the tea that I take when visiting. Everyone likes it; no one tells me what they taste (flavors). No one who has bought it has been unhappy with it nor told me why they like it.

So, what is white tea supposed to be?
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aet
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Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:40 pm

We don't call this silver needles ( Ying Zheng ) but Wild Ya Bao or Tea Buds ( Ye Sheng Ya Bao ) ..as vendor states in description later ( I thing the title is misleading )
https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/wild- ... loose-leaf

Also this one, in Yunnan we call it Bai Hao ( white hair ) not a Ying Zhen ( silver needles ) , but of course some vendors adjusting the names in China as well ( I wrote about that in other thread before ) so I guess that one could be within a tolerance. If the buds are hard.
https://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fudin ... /white-tea

Zhen - needle, the tea also contains tips but usually involves many leafs which are rolled in spiky and skinny needle shape like and they are hard ( like needle ). Typical example would be black/ red tea - Song Zhen.
Hao - hair , tea contains only tips ( lower grades might have some leafs ..but then it's disputable if can call "hao" ) and their are soft ( like a hair ) .

But anyway, both are the least processed teas / buds so need to be careful with brewing temp. ( I wouldn't use more than 90C ) . White tea also can age , so if you buy older stuff , need to consider where it was stored before ( not only the vendor's shop ) . Professional vendor if purchased aged tea , would state where tea was previously stored.
If GZ, Fujian .. or other places with higher humidity , the tea tent to turn mushroom "based" flavor and original tea leaf notes are changed to sweet touch ( reaction like when making fermentation ( oxidation ..for those who are for proper terminology ) of shu puerh ) ..basically getting the same affect, but slower ( since no piling in very hot place, as shu is produced )

if KM or similar dry place....tea tends to turn woody "based" flavor and original notes of the leaf are more preserved . In this case it's fruity with sweet&sour taste.

this is just generally speaking because both can be manipulated / adjusted with amount of humidity and air circulation.

In any case , both products are not in group of intensive taste ( if can say like that ) of tea. The taste of Ya Bao is kinda wild forest aroma ( also appears as taste in mouth ) with touch of pine trees. Some of them remind me the scent of melting snow in spring. It's gentle sweet , but not much.

The bai hao is more sweet but also not thick. Wet stored white teas might taste more intensive coz soaked with moister ( it works like boost for the leaf's aroma and taste ) .

So only problem I could see is that the tea was in open air too long and lost the taste. That could happen , but I believe not from the vendors side , it would be more than likely from the supplier's side.

But with all respect to community , as Ethan noted here already : it would be beneficial to be more precise with disappointment rather than expression : " I didn't like it" - that creates vendor's bad feedback which might be just based on not understanding the particular tea rather than low quality of the product.
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debunix
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Wed Jul 24, 2019 4:08 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:59 pm
So, what is white tea supposed to be?
I think of white tea as more delicate and lighter in flavor than a roasted or steamed green, oxidized oolong, or fermented puerh. I think of floral, fruity, spicy, and vegetal notes, if present, are more muted/subtle.
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