White Tea

What is all the fuss about GREEN tea, you would think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Personally I don’t care for the robust flavor of chlorophyll when I drink a beverage. Oh but it is GOOD for you. However did you know that White tea is actually higher in good stuff than Green tea?

FYI: Black, green, white and oolong tea come from the same plant, the camellia sinensis. The leaves are infused with Hot water, and produce a beverage referred to as ‘tea”.  The Primary difference is in the fermenting. As applied to camellia sinesis, "fermented” does not mean it has been turned to an alcoholic beverage. Rather the fermentation process instead refers to the enzymatic changes occurring during the process. White and Green Teas are not fermented

What about a little white tea fuss?

What Is White Tea?

White tea is tea made from leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. The leaves are harvested while very young, and the buds are still covered in very fine, white hairs. These hairs are what give white tea its name.

While black tea is harvested and dried leaves that are fermented before being cut up, white tea is only very gently dried. Because of this careful handling, white tea buds still have the same high concentration of antioxidants as fresh tea leaves.



White tea is cultivated primarily in China, mainly in the mountainous and fertile Fujian province, where white tea has a long history. The bushes on which the white tea leaves are to be grown are the ones that are best placed with respect to sunshine and rain.

Harvesting

The best quality white tea is harvested first. The finest qualities of white tea, often called «Silver Needle», consists exclusively of the buds of tea leaves. These buds are handpicked during certain days in the spring, usually between March 15th and April 10th. By that time, the buds have reached the perfect balance between youth and maturity that gives the best-tasting tea. Only undamaged and unopened buds are used for Silver Needle. Other qualities of white tea may incorporate leaves that are no longer buds, but are still young, with the white fuzz still on them.

Processing

The leaves and buds are withered over a few hours, and then air dried. The temperature and even the air moisture are taken into consideration during the production, and the art is to get a perfect balance between solar withering and indoor withering. Like green tea, the leaves are not fermented at all. The extremely gentle and quick processing means that the buds and leaves are very close to their natural state. This allows the antioxidants in the leaves to survive intact, making white tea the best alternative for health-conscious aficionados. White tea is very rare, and can be much more expensive than other teas.

The tea

Properly brewed white tea has a pale, slightly golden color, not unlike white wine. The scent is light and fresh, and the taste is mild and silky with a subtle, sweet aftertaste. The «grassy» aftertaste of green tea is quite absent in white tea, which can be drunk until it is cold without any noticeable deterioration in taste or quality.1