Fuding Da Bai vs Fuyun 6
A widely planted white-tea cultivar and the higher-yielding cross bred to improve on it. Fuyun 6 produces larger and more downy buds and a thinner cup, which is why premium Silver Needle still specifies the older plant.
cultivar
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Fuding Da Bai | Fuyun 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Parentage | A Fuding selection. | A cross of Fuding Da Bai with a Yunnan large-leaf plant. |
| Bud size and down | Very large and heavily downy. | Larger and more downy again. |
| Flavour | Sweet and hay-like when withered and dried. | Thinner. |
| Yield | Vigorous enough to have been propagated well outside its home county. | Bred for heavy early yields. |
| Used for | White tea and bud-grade black tea. | White tea and bud-grade black tea, extensively in Fujian. |
| What a premium spec asks for | This one, by name. | Rarely specified at the top of the market. |
The short answer
Appearance and flavour came apart in this breeding line, which is unusual and instructive: the more impressive-looking bud is the thinner tea. Buying Silver Needle on visual down alone selects for the wrong plant.
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