White Tea?...Sensational!...
Outstanding Nuance in the Cup, and a Long List of Healthy Reasons to Enjoy White Teas Regularly...
Looking for tea consumption pleasure? Maybe to add some high quality variety to your tea drinking pleasure? How about another tea option that will deliver abundant bioactive compounds to complement your quest for wellbeing through tea?
If any of that sounds like you, and you have not been enjoying enough white tea, definitely start and you will be rewarded in multiple ways
Why white tea?...
At some point, quite long ago, tea plants made their way to Eastern Fujian province, located on the coast of Southeast China.
Sometime during the early Qing Dynasty, probably around 1796, tea farmers local to Fuding in Fujian observed the emergence of large, down-covered buds on the tea plants in the spring of each year.
With the onset of colder months and shorter days, the energy of the tea plants in this region would retreat from what was becoming a dormant plant to the safety of the root ball.
While the tealeaves would remain on the plant, growth halted and a mode of plant maintenance and sustenance occurred through the winter months.
Mother Nature's Spring Tea Miracle...
As days got longer in the spring, and the sun climbed higher with the passing of each day, energy from the tea plant's root ball would emerge, pushing out large, plump buds.
The local tea people came to realize that there was something quite special about the emerging buds filled with Mother Nature's spring energy. They began to harvest these buds before they opened into leaves and before the development of chlorophyll in the buds.
Sun-drying the buds, thinly layered in baskets, before the opening of the buds and greening of the leaves captured the spring's abundance of high-value content in the buds, combining rich, flavorful ingredients with high levels of health-supporting compounds.
In the early days, this type of tea was known as Luxueya, and was famous from Taimu Mountain.
The Tai Mu Mother Watches Over Our Tea
So, what IS white tea?...
The combination of enjoyment and health make this tea type desirable to both tea consumers and tea companies wishing to cash-in on the virtues of white tea.
This has actually led to controversy in the industry, as larger tea companies prefer an expanded definition, making more available to the market.
They would like the definition to be less about the cultivar or terroir and more about the processing of the harvested leaves, where those more passionate about the mystique of true white teas have more specific requirements.
White Tea is MORE Than Just Sun-Dried Tea
Big companies want the definition to be all tealeaves that have been harvested and sun-dried only, regardless of cultivar or terroir.
Tea aficionados see the value in uniqueness of specific cultivars, growing regions, and processing techniques particularly associated with hand-crafted teas.
What is white tea to me?...
To me, what defines white tea are the techniques of propagating, harvesting and processing of the leaves.
I see the classic original white teas being from Fuding and nearby Zhenghe Fujain, and being produced from the Da Bai Hao cultivar. (Both Fuding and Zhenghe have their own adapted cultivar and processing style for the classic Silver Needles)
Bai Mu Dan (White Peony), Harvested After Silver Needles
Timing matters to me, too. While buds can be harvested from the plants during the entire growing season, it is the early Spring Harvest, the pre-Qing Ming, that have the highest value-adding content.
White teas beyond Fujian Province...
Other regions that have large-spring-bud producing cultivars and process with hand-crafted techniques are legit white tea producers, to me.
Yunnan Province in South China produces delightful white bud teas, as do countries like Nepal and India.
See our White Tea Selections here...
For me, the gating factors are the leaf material you begin with and the processing technique that is used.
The Original...Bai Hao Yin Zhen...White Hair Silver Needle...The Quality...
The famous Fuding bud tea we know as Bai Hao Yin Zhen...Silver Needles.
Teas are graded and judged primarily on appearance. Normally, taste is not considered. Surprising as it seems, teas are graded visually, and when it comes to Silver Needles, bud uniformity determines the quality.
Uniformity in size, shape, and color are correlated to the level of consistency that can be achieved when steeping the leaves.
It is highly important when harvesting Silver Needle buds that skill is used to select and pluck the buds...only the most perfect buds are selected.
What happens to the imperfect buds?...
Imperfect Silver Needle buds are passed over...but not wasted
Pre-Qing Ming Bai Hao Yin Zhen buds that have been passed over during the primary Silver Needle harvest are later taken, along with the next two leaves down the stem.
The leaves, since the bud has just emerged, are from the previous season and are completely mature tealeaves.
When selected along with the next two leaves down the stem, the tea is now called Bai Mu Dan, or White Peony.
Bai Mu Dan...The perfect introduction to white tea...
Imperfect Silver Needle Buds, plus the next two leaves
Imperfect Silver Needle buds may not be perfectly uniform in appearance, but they are loaded with high-value ingredient.
The next two leaves down the stem, being mature tea leaves, contribute to cup character beyond that of the silver needle buds, complementing the delicate character with a slightly deeper and more apparent cup experience.
Because of the delicate nature of Silver Needles, White Peony is the perfect bridge to the superb but delicate palate of Silver Needles.
White tea cup character...what to expect...
Before harvesting, the buds that make up these teas are plump, fleshy, and loaded with potent high-value ingredient.
Although a bit resistant to water absorption, once you soften the surface, the buds will yield cup after cup of tea nectar certain to bring a smile to any tea lover.
Descriptive characteristics are clean, viscous, sweet, and salty, with more herbaceous notes rather than vegetal, and aromas of fresh hay and wicker. Expect a pale yellow, crystalline cup that produces a light, pleasant astringency and a lasting, sweet aftertaste.
Beyond the joy of drinking white teas are the health benefits...
White teas share the plethora of the health benefits in Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, but its particular strengths are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, and anti-cancer benefits.
These teas contribute to wellbeing and longevity as a full-body tonic, supporting skin, brain, artery, and heart health, as well as improved body composition, sleep, and blood pressure/stress levels.
Enjoying white tea on a regular basis not only provides an immediate satisfaction, clarity and sensation, but initiates residual benefits we will experience in the hours and days to come.
More About the Health Benefits of Tea...
Shou Mei, Longevity Eyebrow...another white tea experience...
Longevity Eyebrow...Shou Mei
Another China white tea worthy of mention is Shou Mei. This tea is also related to Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Silver Needles, as it is harvested from the Da Bai Hao cultivar, but it is harvested later, after Bai Mu Dan or White Peony.
Shou Mei can include additional leaves down the stem and, as a result of the later harvest, may have some darker brownish and olive green leaves, but will still include some Silver Needle bud and produce a light, amber-tinted broth.