Exploring the Elegance of White Tea

White tea, with its delicate aroma and subtle flavor, stands as a testament to the artistry of tea-making. Crafted from young tea leaves adorned with silvery-white fur, it undergoes a gentle fermentation process, typically ranging from 20% to 30%, preserving its natural essence.

Among the myriad varieties, Longevity Eyebrow emerges with its slender, twisted leaves resembling delicate eyebrows, offering a nuanced taste profile. White Peony, characterized by its blend of buds and leaves, exudes a mellower flavor, complemented by a floral undertone.

Silver Needle White Fur, the epitome of refinement, features exclusively young buds enveloped in a silvery coat, delivering a subtle yet complex taste reminiscent of fresh flowers.

Each sip of white tea transcends mere refreshment, offering a sensory journey into the intricate world of tea cultivation and craftsmanship. Its understated elegance captivates connoisseurs and novices alike, making it a timeless indulgence for tea enthusiasts worldwide.
Exploring the Elegance of White Tea

What does white tea mean?

Tea is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. Tea has been used as medicine for centuries. It can be categorized into three major types, depending on the level of fermentation, i.e., green and white (unfermented), oolong (partially fermented) and black (fermented) tea. Each type of tea has a distinct composition, dependent on how the leaves are processed, as well as maturation, geographical location and agricultural practices.

White tea is the least processed tea and has the highest antioxidant levels. Originating from and predominantly produced in southern China, it was virtually unknown to the western world until the late 1800s. White tea is gradually emerging in the global scenario including Indian market. White tea is derived from Camellia sinensis (fam. Theaceae) plant. White tea is not really of white color. In fact, it is a very pale-yellow type of tea and its leaves are long and pointed.

White tea is often described as 'minimally processed' and 'unoxidized' tea among all type of teas. White tea is prepared from very young tea leaves or buds covered with tiny, silvery hairs, which are harvested only once a year in the early spring. The buds may be shielded from sunlight during growth to reduce the formation of chlorophyll, giving the young leaves a white appearance.

The leaves and buds are allowed to wither in natural sunlight before they are lightly processed to prevent oxidation or further tea processing. It is steam dried quickly after the leaves are picked- there is no oxidation at all. Because there is no oxidation, it contains the most anti-oxidants and catechins, the least caffeine, and has a pale colour with a delicate, sweet taste.

The minimal processing of white tea, plus the higher overall proportion of buds to leaf, gives a pale beverage with a slightly sweet, subtle flavor compared with other teas. The basic process for manufacturing white tea is as follows: Fresh tea leaf → Withering → Drying (air drying, solar drying or mechanical drying) → White tea.
What does white tea mean?

Health benefits and antioxidant activity of white tea

White tea is an unfermented tea derived from Camellia sinensis (fam. Theaceae) plant protected from sunlight to avoid polyphenol degradation. This tea is prepared from very young tea leaves or buds covered with tiny, silvery hairs, which are harvested only once a year in the early spring.

White tea is a type of tea with a fruity, delicate flavor and an exceptional aroma with low caffeine content while rich in antioxidants. The most important antioxidant in white tea is Epigallocatechingallate (EGCG). White tea is ascribed to have the highest content of phenolic compounds.

Tea polyphenols, especially catechin derivatives, are potent antioxidant agents, with positive effects on human health. Antioxidant components have aroused great interest because of their ability to scavenge free radicals, thereby inhibiting oxidative stress.

During the past years, oxidative damage induced by reactive species has been linked to the development of several human diseases such as diabetes mellitus and neurode-generative disorders.

Tea catechins effectively reduce cholesterol absorption from the intestine, lowering the solubility of cholesterol and enhancing the faecal excretion of cholesterol and total lipids.

White tea protects against certain type of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke, the leading causes of death in the industrial world, as well as numerous other conditions. It prevents heart strokes mainly due to the elimination free radicals due to its antioxidant property.The symptoms of illness reduce and it promotes recovery.

Flavonoids, another group of antioxidants found in white tea, are known to block the formation of carcinogenic cells and as such it prevents the cancerous growth in prostate, colon, intestine and stomach.

White tea strengthens the circulatory, immune systems as well as bones and teeth, and builds healthy skin. It also lowers the symptoms of type II diabetes and is beneficial for other conditions including halitosis (bad breath) and skin rejuvenation.White tea also reduces stress and increases energy.

There are four main varieties of white tea which includes Silver Needle, White Peony, Long Life Eyebrow, and Tribute Eyebrow.

Health benefits and antioxidant activity of white tea

Silver needle tea from Fujian province

It is the earliest harvest, comprised of young tea buds & leaves, very lightly oxidized, these teas have a low caffeine level. White tea is a slightly fermented tea. It is made from green tea leaves with white tiny villi and has its own unique processing method. During processing, the tea buds and leaves are withered and left to dry naturally without any further heating or oxidation that would produce other tea varieties.

Based on varieties or picking standards, there are two kinds of white tea: sprout tea (such as white fur silver needle) and leaf tea (such as Gong Mei).

White fur silver needles tea is one of the top ten most renowned teas in China. It gets its name from the shape and colour of the tea leaves. Silver Needle is the most sought after white tea and is only harvested for a few days each year. Lightly golden with a unique savory aroma creates a long balanced sweetness. Elegant, slender buds coated in silver down. Infuses to a pale gold color with a delicious, subtle honey-like sweetness that lingers after drinking.

It is only produced in the Fuding and Zhenghe areas of Fujian province. The colour of the brewed tea is apricot and taste is sweet.
Silver needle tea from Fujian province

Types of White Tea

Advances in understanding the chemical compositions of different varieties of tea have given rise to prevailing belief that the less the processing or oxidation the tea undergoes the more polyphenol antioxidants it retains.

The minimal processing of white tea yields a higher concentration of polyphenol phytochemicals, including the catechins.

White tea is one of the lesser known varieties of tea and it is created by being fast-dried. Before the leaves have had a chance to open fully they are picked and harvested. At this stage the buds are covered in white hair and that is where the tea gets its name. There are four main varieties of white tea:
*Silver Needle
*White Peony
*Long Life Eyebrow
*Tribute Eyebrow

Silver Needle White Tea

Silver Needle and White Peony teas are considered to be the two best White teas available.

Ivory colored when dried Silver Needle variety is made from exclusively from the buds coming from the Fujian province of China. Silver Needle represents the highest graded white tea and should consist of only the unopened bud of the Dai Bai cultivar.

White Peony is a popular tea that looks whitish to clear in the cup. The buds and the top leaves are picked before they open and are allowed to wither only slightly.
Types of White Tea

Fur tip tea

Mao Jian is produced among the misty mountains of Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan provinces and literally translates as ‘hairy tip’ or ‘fur tip’. It is regarded as the best variety in the white tea category.

It is usually grown at altitudes between 500 an 800 meters, benefitting from classic mountain mists. As it is situated relatively far north there is a distinctive seasonality and comparatively short growing season, with the best crop usually coming around the middle of April during the spring period.

This is from Zhejiang and has a bright fresh, clean and rounded character that is refreshing and suits any mood at any time of the day.

It is called Mao Jian or Fur Tip because it was picked while the leaves were still enclosed in their furry casings, before they unfurled and started manufacturing chlorophyll and caffeine.
Fur tip tea

Why white tea is good for you?

Perhaps first produced during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), white tea was the preferred tea of the Chinese royal court.

White tea is so named because the silver fuzz that’s till covers the immature buds and leaves after they are picked turns white when they are dried. The leaves are steamed quickly after harvesting to prevent oxidation of polyphenols and then dried.

White tea contains high level of antioxidants because the leaves and buds are steamed and dried immediately after harvesting, locking in their antioxidant qualities. Because of this kind of processing, white tea contains far less caffeine than other types of tea.

The health benefits of white tea include:
*The polyphenols in white tea can help fight fatigue and wrinkles due to aging
*Because of its high antioxidant content, white tea can help prevent various cancers better than other types of tea by destroying free radicals
*Lower cholesterol and blood pressure. White tea contains more catechins than green tea it has better chance of lowering cholesterol
*Keep the heart and the whole of circulatory system healthy
*Stronger bones
*White tea can effectively bolster the body’s immune system
*Fluoride in white tea can help prevent tooth decay

The main reason why white tea is so much better for the body than any other type of tea is because it is the least processed type of tea.
Why white tea is good for you?

White Tea

The leaves for all three teas, black, green and white come from one plant, Camellia sinensis. Those leaves meant for black and green teas are rolled and fermented before drying, whole those destined for white teas, which actually brew up pale yellow red – are not. White teas is the least processed of all teas.

There is a suggestion that white tea to be defined as a tea made from either the first flush bud and one leaf, either air dried or directly warm fired.

White tea is thought to be healthiest of all three types of tea.

The tea is harvested while the leaves are immature. The white tea is processed immediately without fermentation.

Fresh tea leaves are rich in flavonoids called catechins. Catechins appear to protect human body from a variety of cancers. They also keep the blood vessels healthy.

Because white tea leaves are neither rolled nor fermented, fewer of their catechins marry into polyphenols. According to researchers the plain catechins content of white tea is three times higher that of green tea.

Therefore they are the best dietary source of this compound.

A new research showed that white tea prevented the breakdown of elastin and collagen, by stopping the offending enzymes from doing the damage.

Catechins have an antioxidative and antiaging effects. The catechins found in tea are twenty-five to one hundred times as potent as vitamins C and E.
White Tea

Processing and Varieties of Tea

Processing and Varieties of Tea
Tea has more naturally occurring caffeine than does coffee. However, the brewing process typically dilutes tea more than coffee, resulting in one quarter to one third less caffeine per cup.

The processing of all teas begins with the Camellia sinensis plant.

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Camellia
Species: sinensis

Only the top two leaves and the unopened leaf bud form the plant are used. There are four principal methods for processing the plant, and they result in the major types of tea that are the most widely consumed.

These are white, green (or unfermented,) oolong (semi-fermented), and black (fermented) tea.

White tea is derived by the simplest of the four processing methods and in some classification schemes is grouped with green tea.

Only the youngest leavers are picked for white tea, and these leaves still contain short white “hair”.

The leaves are simply steamed and dried and their appearance is relatively unaltered.

Brewing then produces a pale yellow cup of tea with a fresh flavor.
Processing and Varieties of Tea