White tea

The flavors of Chinese teas range from extremely mild white teas to astringent green teas to heavy, black, strong-flavored varieties. 

Table 1 lists Chinese names of teas and, when possible, their English translations, as well as the provinces in China where these teas are grown. Table 2 shows the many varieties of black, green, Oolong, Pu-erh, and white teas. 

White Tea Baihao Cha Drum Mountain White Cloud Fujian White Tea Gold Tip Silver Needle Green Leaf Silver Needle Silver Needle White Peony Fujian Fujian Northern Fujian Northern Fujian Zhejiang Fujian Fujian... 

White tea is produced in a manner different from all other teas. The leaves come from special varietal bushes and are not processed but are dried in the sun. Only special leaves are selected the ideal is two leaves wrapped around a new shoot. After drying the leaves are again selected and sorted by hand. 

White tea is especially potent in that it is has three times as much antioxidant polyphenols as green or black tea and has been shown to be 100% more effective in mopping up free radicals that cause skin to sag. Some of the world s top cosmetic companies are becoming very interested in white tea for skin creams, and the result is that high-grade white tea is becoming even more rare than before. 

Santana-Rios, G., Omer, G.A., Amantana, A., Provost C., Wu, S.Y., and Dashwood, R.H. Potent antimutagenic activity of white tea in comparison with green tea in the salmonella assay. Mutat. Res., 495, 61-74, 2001. 

White tea Fresh tea leaves — Withered —> Air dried or baked — Re-fired (with more fine hairs/flosses)... 

There is much recent awareness about white tea in the United States and Europe. 

White tea is considered a new tea having a wide range of health benefits, such as... 

White tea is named from its unique characteristics, covered with white hair. The unique quality is obtained as a result of a special processing procedure of no frying and no crushing. The annual production of white tea is relatively small, just... 

Although white tea is only produced in a very small quantity in China, it is consumed in many countries. Today, Chinese white tea is mainly exported to countries and areas such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macao. ... 

White tea is harvested when the buds on the trees are still covered with fine white hair and the leaves have not yet fully opened. After plucked, fresh tea leaves are sunshine withered and dried, and the leaves are kept relatively fresher than those of green or black tea. With a lighter and sweeter taste after processing, white tea is closer to fresh tea leaves than green tea, and is far different from the other varieties of tea. 

The details of the processing technologies for white tea manufacture are introduced below according to their grades. 

Silver Needle with White Hair is named after the color quality and shape of this type of tea. Its color is white like silver, and its shape is long and like small needles. The material for Silver Needle is new bulky bud. Some are made from the separated bud from the aired material, which have the bud and one or two leaves plucked from Dabaicha and Shuixianzhong. There are two dominant processing methods for this grade of white tea originating from Fuding and Zhenghe. 

Dried white tea, covered with white hair and silver shining, has a bulky shape and vivid color and luster. The quality of white tea produced in different areas is different due to the existing differences in the processing methods practiced. Fuding Silver Needle appears silver white and tastes clear and delicious, whereas Zhenghe Silver Needle appears silver gray and tastes fresh, brisk, and luscious. ... 

White Peony can be processed with the two simple steps of withering and basket drying. Withering is the key step that determines the final quality of white tea. There are usually three withering methods for White Peony sunshine withering, airing, and low-temperature withering. 

Tea polyphenols, amino acids, and water are the key components in tea. They affect the flavor and taste of tea liquor and determine intrinsic quality of white tea. Tea quality is dependent on its processing. The key processing step for white tea production is withering, which induces much of the metabolic reactions of water, enzymes, polyphenols, and other chemical constituents. 

Water content in white tea is very important, because it can affect the activities of enzymes and chemical reactions involved. During withering, water vaporizes, and the rate of water evaporation is related to the humidity and temperature. Table 3.1 shows that 50% of water can be lost after 30 hours of withering, while only 10% water is lost after 10 hours of withering. ... 

Withering is the key process for the formation of white tea color, and PPO and POD are needed for color development of white tea. However, the best condition for white tea is the slight and slow oxidation of polyphenols under a temperature of less than 30°C. 

Source Cheng, Z. 1984. Brief introduction of the catalyzation of enzymes during white tea manufacturing. Brief Rep. Tea Sci. 3 9—10. Widi permission. 

Source Liu, Y., Guo, Y., and Zheng, Z. 2003. Investigations on the variation of main chemical substances and the formation of white tea during manufacturing. J. Fujian Tea, 13—14. With permission. 

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