White Tea: What is it?
As you already know white tea is from the camellia sinensis plant and is the purest and youngest form of the leaf with little to no altering once plucked, but what else is there to it? How do you prepare it? And why even bother with white tea when the tea game is so stacked against it? Let’s dive in and steep this leaf.
White tea may not be for the person who prefers a strong and bitter drink such as a fully oxidized and over steeped black tea or a cup of black coffee; white tea fits in the realm of someone with a sensitive palate that can enjoy the little things in life. There is no lack of flavor in white tea you just have to give it the chance to offer the gentle sweet earthiness the leaf possesses. A proper white tea is sought after by tea connoisseurs worldwide.
The majority of tea comes from China and that stands true for most white teas, however, there are some white’s that come from India (Darjeeling White) and Sri Lanka. There are a few varieties of white tea, but the tell tale sign of a quality leaf for picking is an unopened leaf that is still rolled up and with tiny white hairs on it (image below). Those two indicators inform the picker they’ve got the good stuff. Finding leaves like this is much more difficult than finding a quality adult leaf for other teas, making white tea often times more expensive than others.
Historically white tea is extremely new to the game compared to its more popular counterparts. White tea was not discovered or produced until 1885 during the 18th Century Qing Dynasty. The plucking season for rolled white tea happens in the early spring once a year. The main varieties for rolled leaves are Da Hao (Big Silver-Hairy), Da Bai (Big White) and Xiao Bi (Small White). The annual harvest had quite a low yield compared to other types of tea which forced them to find a way to make a new type of white tea that is a bit easier to come by, White Peony (or Pai Mu Tan). White Peony is a flat leaf white tea that is either the first or second opened leaf and does not require the leaf to be in its original rolled state. This allows for more variety of pickings for an easier production of white tea that is more affordable to the public.
As read in the previous post, white tea is extremely simple to produce once the right leaves are plucked. Once plucked they are spread out and set out to wither and completely dry, thats it. There is no fancy rolling, steaming, oxidizing or fermenting going on making for a very low caffeine level. Though the process is similar to a green tea, the leaf offers its own unique light, sweet and florally flavor. Some varieties like the White Peony will have a hay like flavor to it and still uphold the florally sweet characteristics, but I promise you it’s the best damn cup of hay you will ever have.
How to prepare white tea’s?
Its rather simple but it is important to know the necessity of steep time and temperatures for the perfect cup of tea. White tea, being the young un-oxidized leaf is extremely delicate and will ultimately burn if steeped with boiling water. I steep my white teas at 165–170° F, however they can go up to 180° F. The higher the temperature for white tea the shorter steep time, and the general time range is 3–5 minutes. It depends on the exact tea and no tea will be the exact same so feel free to play with different temps and times to see what works best for you! White tea is unique and beautiful and offers extremely high levels of antioxidants and so much more. So give it a try and see if it suites your taste buds and if it does your body will also thank you.
Benefits of White Tea
White tea is essentially a concentrated green tea, the health benefits are similar but heightened. Having the high levels of flavonoids and polyphenol, white tea is a common drink to have for cancer patients and people with cardiovascular health. Flavonoids and polyphenols will quite literally eat the free radicals in our bodies and help prevent cancer growth in ones body. White tea also aids in metabolism boost due to high antioxidants and is often used for weight loss. This is just the tip of the ice burg for white tea benefits but just a cup a day could do wonders for you and your health.
Thanks for tuning in! Next week we will dive into the every satisfying world of green teas.