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.

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

aloninna wrote:
> 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.

"Space Cowboy" > writes:
>
> aloninna wrote:
> > 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.
>
> It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao.

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
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

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 Perin wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > writes:
> >
> > aloninna wrote:
> > > 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.
> >
> > It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao.
>
> 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
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Space Cowboy" > writes:

> Jim
>
> Lewis Perin wrote:
> > "Space Cowboy" > writes:
> > >
> > > aloninna wrote:
> > > > 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.
> > >
> > > It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao.
> >
> > 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.
>
> Technically you are right. BaiHao is used incorrectly where BaiYe is
> nornally used for oolongs with a smattering of white tip or leaf.

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:

http://cgi.tw.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI....m=9532708 644

(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
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcar...rase=pong+fong

> > Lewis Perin wrote:

> 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.

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 Perin wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > writes:
>
> > Jim
> >
> > Lewis Perin wrote:
> > > "Space Cowboy" > writes:
> > > >
> > > > aloninna wrote:
> > > > > 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.
> > > >
> > > > It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao.
> > >
> > > 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.
> >
> > Technically you are right. BaiHao is used incorrectly where BaiYe is
> > nornally used for oolongs with a smattering of white tip or leaf.
>
> 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:
>
> http://cgi.tw.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI....m=9532708 644
>
> (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
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcar...rase=pong+fong

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

aloninna wrote:
> > > Lewis Perin wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> 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.

"aloninna" > writes:

> > > Lewis Perin wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> 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.

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
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

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 Chinatown something called spring bud. It
looks like the same level of oxidation as my yummy Yunnan YinHao. Also
puer often uses Ya(Bud) in the place of Hao(Tip).

Lewis Perin wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > writes:
>
> > Jim
> >
> > Lewis Perin wrote:
> > > "Space Cowboy" > writes:
> > > >
> > > > aloninna wrote:
> > > > > 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.
> > > >
> > > > It's a white tea from the name Bai Hao.
> > >
> > > 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.
> >
> > Technically you are right. BaiHao is used incorrectly where BaiYe is
> > nornally used for oolongs with a smattering of white tip or leaf.
>
> 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:
>
> http://cgi.tw.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI....m=9532708 644
>
> (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
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcar...rase=pong+fong

"aloninna" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> 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.
>
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

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Technically you are right. BaiHao is used incorrectly where BaiYe is
> nornally used for oolongs with a smattering of white tip or leaf.
>
> Jim
>
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

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 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
>
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

> 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
>

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

samarkand wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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:
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > 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
> >
> 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

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> 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
>
>
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:
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> > 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
> >
> >
> Hey Jim,
>
> May I remove 'black tea' category from your post above? :")
>
> Danny