I've just sampled a beautiful batch of Guangxi Ling Yun Bai Hao "White Downy" tea. Highly aromatic and a very sweet taste. Some sources on the net refer to this tea as a "green tea" whilst others mention it as a "white tea". HELP, I'm puzzled.
Guangxi White Downy: white or green?
Aug 29, 2006
17 Replies
It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao. It is also a YinZhen but they use Ling Yun to identify the county in Guangxi. The links I saw talked about a green infusion which is typical. I've seen arguments white tea is from a particular plant in Fujian.
Jim
al> I've just sampled a beautiful batch of Guangxi Ling Yun Bai Hao "White
Sorry, that doesn't follow. Bai Hao is a term that's used for lots of different Chinese teas, including the heavily oxidized oolong also known as Oriental Beauty.
/Lew
Technically you are right. BaiHao is used incorrectly where BaiYe is nornally used for oolongs with a smattering of white tip or leaf.
Jim
Lewis Per> >
Sorry, but Bai Hao has so little meaning that saying it's used incorrectly seems quixotic. There are also Bai Haos that are green (scented and unscented), white, and red/black teas. But wait! Here's an eBay seller who mentions Bai Hao Pu'er:
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(Please believe me: no connection with the above!)
The root meaning of Bai Hao, as I understand it, is the white down characteristic of young tea leaves. It doesn't really discriminate among manufacturing processes.
/Lew
So we're back to square one: the Guangxi Bai Hao could be either green or white, unless someone can point out the exact processing method.
The only oolong I know that uses BaiHao is Oriental Beauty. You will see BaiYe and BaiMao to describe teas with white tips. Kuri in an earlier post said she was told by a Taiwan shop keeper to use BaiYe because the Hao character is rare in Japanese. Maybe Mydnight can mention if BaiHao is used synonymously with white teas or just a generic term to mean white tip that can be present in white,green,red levels of oxidation.
Jim
Lewis Per>
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No. Guangxi Ling Yun is also referred to as Yinzhen or silver needles which makes it a white tea. Some people might takes exception Yinzhen only applies to white tea from Fujian ie besides little or no oxidation it applies to a particular cultivar.
Jim
al>
I would reserve judgment on this, until someone can find some testimony on how the Lingyun tea is actually made. You could tell something from visual inspection of the dry leaves, but sometimes a real white tea looks a lot like a stale green tea!
/Lew
More correctly would be YinHao to mean silver tips to make puer. Also it is used for green teas with little oxidation. For many years I thought it meant a superior version of Jasmine but it relates to the style of the leaf and not the taste perse which is the only Jasmine quality I can stand. I throw out the Bai and Yin terms as I understand them from my purchases and research heretofore.
Jim
PS I buy regularly from Ch> "Space Cowboy" writes:
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I am surprised that you cannot tell a green tea from a white tea, aloninna. The two tea types taste very different from each other.
Who's talking about Guangxi Bai Hao here? Please be specific here. Guangxi Bai Hao is any tea from Guangxi with white down tips, be it green, black, red, white or yellow. Guangxi Lingyun Bai Hao is a green tea made from Lingyun Bai Mao varietal.
Guangxi Lingyun Bai Hao is also known as Gunagxi Lingyun Bai Mao - the Hao and Mao are inter-useable here. It is a green tea.
I'll explain the processing method in another post.
Danny
No, Jim, no.
Bai Hao in its technical term or otherwise indicates White Hairs - Hao is small fine hairs.
Bai Ye is White Leaf, which indicates a genetic mutation of chlorophyll and amino acids in the young leaves of some plants, including tea plants.
Whoever the Taiwanese tea shop person is, is definitely not clear on the definitions.
Yin Hao is also Bai Hao, as in some plants the find hairs turn a silvery colour, it is also the colour of down found on buds and young about to unfold shoots.
You mentioned also that the only Bai Hao you know is Bai Hao oolong, that is true, because not many other oolongs uses buds and young shoots. Bai Hao oolong is a new term, indicating oolongs that are processed with heavy oxidation but without the bug bites, those with bug bites is technically referred to as Oriental Beauty. Bai Hao oolong, since they use the buds and shoots, tastes sweet, but Oriental Beauty has an underlying fruity tangy flavour due to the bite.
Danny
One has to understand the varietal and quality of this tea or else it is a case of fools rush in...
Lingyun, a county in Guangxi, produces this varietal known as C. sinensis var. pubilimba cv. Lingyun-baimaocha, large leaf varietal. Cultivated extensively between Guangxi Lingyun and Guizhou regions. In 1985 it was classified as state certified varietal, code GS13026-1985.
Lingyun Bai Mao aka Lingyun Bai Hao is also known as Lingle Bai Mao Cha.
This tea is a sturdy tea tree which has an astounding versatility: it can be processed as green, red, white, yellow and oolong teas. And this is probably where you guys are confused over.
As a green tea: Guangxi Lingyun Bai Mao (Hao) Cha Guangxi Lingle Bai Mao Cha Ling Luo Chun Bai Hao Wang Ling Chun Yin Hao Ling Chun Mao Jian
As an oolong: Ling Chun Wu Long Cha
As a white tea; Lingyun Bai Hao Yinzhen
As a yellow tea; Ling Chun Huang Da Cha
As a red tea: Jin Gou Hong Cha Ling Luo Hong Cha
Danny
Yo, heard you.
The picking of Lingyun Bai Hao Special Grade consists of 1 shoot and bud, or
1 shoot and 1 young leaf The picking of Lingyun Bai Hao Grade 1 consists of 1 shoot and 1 leaf The picking of Lingyun Bai Hao Grade 2 consists of 1 shoot and 2 leaves The process includes: Airing the leaves after they are picked to remove the green leafy-ness odour, then fixing the leaves through a high heat medium to halt the chlorophyll and enzymes from attacking the leaves, then rolling the leaves, and then panfrying the leaves through 2 -3 steps. The fixing of High grade Lingyun Bai Hao is panfried by hand, the others through a drum machine on high heat. The pan is set on high heat, with a fan blowing to cool the leaves at the same time. The leaves are tossed about in the pan from a low level at the start and as the leaves becomes softer, the toss is higher. The fan blowing nearby helps to cool the tossed leaves in the air before it lands onto the heat in the pan. Tossing the leaves high up ensures that the leaves are not smoldered at the bottom as about 1000gm of leaves are thrown to the pan each time. The fan helps tp cool to leaves so that the leaves will not get burnt or turn yellow, keeping the fresh greeness. After the leaves are fixed they are rolled to shape. Then comes another high tossing in the pan. This time the pan is set at 80-85 degrees celsius, and the leaves are tossed high about the pan till the moisture level is reduced to about 20%. Lastly is the low heat panfrying, set at about 60 degrees. The leaves are stirred around the pan in a leisurely motion and shaped further to ensure a nice and uniform shapefor each leaf. When the moisture is reduced to about 7%, the work is done. Tea is set aside to cool and then packed.Danny
Danny, thanks for your educated reply. Case is closed - Guangxi Lingyun Bai Hao is GREEN after all...
Alon
The Internet basically just says Yinzhen is produced in Fujian and Guangxi provinces. I've seen the varietal case made for Fujian but not Guangxi. Thanks. If you say BaiHao means white tip(give me that at least) in "green, black, red, white or yellow" teas I rest my case. I usually knock down the door when I rush in. I'm usually the first person the bargain hunters trip over.
Jim
samarkand wrote:
Hey Jim,
May I remove 'black tea' category from your post above? :")
Danny
Hey Danny,
Sure. I just quoted the someone who threw me a liferaft. There are YinHao puers but YinYa might be more appropriate. If I look at my HuangCha in the sun it might be YinHao. BaiHao YinZhen will never look the same again.
Jim
samarkand wrote:
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