A Trip to a Superior Tea Region
There is way more to white tea flavors than you may think.
Recently I went to Guan Yang in search of tea. Guan Yang is a well known town within the white tea world and is second only to the famous Pan Xi. I had been years ago by mere chance. In 2019 I got on a random bus and took it to a random town not knowing I had arrived in such a well known spot for tea. I went to a few shops before landing in a shop run by a woman who had a fantastic a Silver Needle. Years later, once again by mere chance, I found myself living in the town directly next to Guan Yang. I realized this when on a random scooter ride into the mountains I recognized the main street of Guan Yang as I passed through. Despite living next to Guan Yang, it took me four months to go there and taste teas.
In those four months I went to a number of local shops in Zhe Rong. I went to these shops usually more than once, and had a number of teas. While most of the teas were decent, very few really caught my attention especially for silver needles. The Vanilla Aroma Silver Needle being one of the few that really stood out. I didn’t think much of this since it takes a while to find good tea no matter the category and I figured eventually I would find more unique teas. After four months of tasting Zhe Rong teas and getting a general idea of the quality and flavor profile, I decided it was finally time to branch out to Guan Yang.
Zhe Rong is a pretty good place to grow tea. Its located at 700m above sea level which is a good height for white tea. That being said Guan Yang teas are generally known to be better, even by Zhe Rong local sellers. Zhe Rong used to grow many teas and only recently started focusing on white tea, while Guan Yang has focused on whites for much longer. Becuase of this Guan Yang’s making is better. I have asked numerous people what the difference is in making, since white tea is just drying and baking, but I have yet to get a clear answer. The only thing I gathered is that Guan Yang uses better equipment and that their making is “better”. I assume that they just have a better sense of the tea. They know when to pick it and where and for how long to dry it. Drying can be tricky since it's not always sunny, so you have to decide between drying outside on a cloudy day or taking it inside to dry on an air bed.
So I took a taxi over too Guan Yang and went looking for the Lady’s shop from years before. As I searched I decided to pop into a shop and taste a few teas. I won’t go into the details of this interaction but I walked out with 50g (a chinese sample) of a silver needle that I am drinking as I write this. To put it plainly compared to most of the Silver Needles I had in Zhe Rong, it’s better. Many of the teas in Zhe Rong have a simpler flavor profile with a smooth round vegetal note. It’s nice and great for easy drinkng but not very complex. Guan Yang Silver Needle’s though offer much more complexity. There are notes of nuts and homecomb with a sunshine like brightness. The flavor profile of the tea from the random sho is just like the flavor profile of the woman’s shop years ago, which leads me to believe this is a common flavor in Guan Yang Silver Needles.
As I sit here drinking the random shop’s tea I can tell this isn’t the shop's best tea. There is a general uncleanliness to the flavor and some dry notes. That being said, the flavor profile is much more desirable than most of what's found in Zhe Rong suggesting a clear difference in quality based on the location. Even when the making of the tea is inferior, the material makes up for it.
The quality difference in the two towns is not just personal opinion, it's stated by anyone I talk to. Zhe Rong makers will acknowledge the reputation of Guan yang, while people not from Zhe Rong will usually mention how Zhe Rong is good, but falls a little short.
It is important to note Zhe Rong makes great teas. The Vanilla Aroma Silver Needle is great and the Charcoal Roast Silver Needle is a steal. But there is a difference from town to town. On my trip to Guan Yang I picked up a 2018 Bai Mu Dan with a thick sugary sweetness that I don't think Zhe Rong can produce. In the future I’m planning more trips to Guan Yang as well as other tea producing places such as Pan Xi and Tai Mu Shan as it is becoming clear that the teas from town to town are very different.
Recently I went to Guan Yang in search of tea. Guan Yang is a well known town within the white tea world and is second only to the famous Pan Xi. I had been years ago by mere chance. In 2019 I got on a random bus and took it to a random town not knowing I had arrived in such a well known spot for tea. I went to a few shops before landing in a shop run by a woman who had a fantastic a Silver Needle. Years later, once again by mere chance, I found myself living in the town directly next to Guan Yang. I realized this when on a random scooter ride into the mountains I recognized the main street of Guan Yang as I passed through. Despite living next to Guan Yang, it took me four months to go there and taste teas.
In those four months I went to a number of local shops in Zhe Rong. I went to these shops usually more than once, and had a number of teas. While most of the teas were decent, very few really caught my attention especially for silver needles. The Vanilla Aroma Silver Needle being one of the few that really stood out. I didn’t think much of this since it takes a while to find good tea no matter the category and I figured eventually I would find more unique teas. After four months of tasting Zhe Rong teas and getting a general idea of the quality and flavor profile, I decided it was finally time to branch out to Guan Yang.
Zhe Rong is a pretty good place to grow tea. Its located at 700m above sea level which is a good height for white tea. That being said Guan Yang teas are generally known to be better, even by Zhe Rong local sellers. Zhe Rong used to grow many teas and only recently started focusing on white tea, while Guan Yang has focused on whites for much longer. Becuase of this Guan Yang’s making is better. I have asked numerous people what the difference is in making, since white tea is just drying and baking, but I have yet to get a clear answer. The only thing I gathered is that Guan Yang uses better equipment and that their making is “better”. I assume that they just have a better sense of the tea. They know when to pick it and where and for how long to dry it. Drying can be tricky since it's not always sunny, so you have to decide between drying outside on a cloudy day or taking it inside to dry on an air bed.
So I took a taxi over too Guan Yang and went looking for the Lady’s shop from years before. As I searched I decided to pop into a shop and taste a few teas. I won’t go into the details of this interaction but I walked out with 50g (a chinese sample) of a silver needle that I am drinking as I write this. To put it plainly compared to most of the Silver Needles I had in Zhe Rong, it’s better. Many of the teas in Zhe Rong have a simpler flavor profile with a smooth round vegetal note. It’s nice and great for easy drinkng but not very complex. Guan Yang Silver Needle’s though offer much more complexity. There are notes of nuts and homecomb with a sunshine like brightness. The flavor profile of the tea from the random sho is just like the flavor profile of the woman’s shop years ago, which leads me to believe this is a common flavor in Guan Yang Silver Needles.
As I sit here drinking the random shop’s tea I can tell this isn’t the shop's best tea. There is a general uncleanliness to the flavor and some dry notes. That being said, the flavor profile is much more desirable than most of what's found in Zhe Rong suggesting a clear difference in quality based on the location. Even when the making of the tea is inferior, the material makes up for it.
The quality difference in the two towns is not just personal opinion, it's stated by anyone I talk to. Zhe Rong makers will acknowledge the reputation of Guan yang, while people not from Zhe Rong will usually mention how Zhe Rong is good, but falls a little short.
It is important to note Zhe Rong makes great teas. The Vanilla Aroma Silver Needle is great and the Charcoal Roast Silver Needle is a steal. But there is a difference from town to town. On my trip to Guan Yang I picked up a 2018 Bai Mu Dan with a thick sugary sweetness that I don't think Zhe Rong can produce. In the future I’m planning more trips to Guan Yang as well as other tea producing places such as Pan Xi and Tai Mu Shan as it is becoming clear that the teas from town to town are very different.