What is white tea?

Information on White Tea

White tea originates from China and it has been used there ever since the times of Ming dynasty. Outside of Asia it was almost completely unknown until recently. In the past couple of decades all the tea lovers have gone completely crazy over white tea and its numerous health benefits. White tea has become available on the market of North America only in the last couple of years. White tea is characterized by a large number of health benefits and a rather delicate flavor. It had become the hottest trend among a large number of people from medical researchers to chefs. All different types of tea are derived from the same source and that is the plant known by the name of Camilla sinensis. It produces different types of tea such as oolong tea, black tea, green tea and white tea. After the leaves get plucked from the tea bush, different processes determine what the final products will be.

Production

The production of black tea involves a rather complex fermentation process in which the crushed tea leaves get exposed to the air for a very precisely defined amount of time in order to provide the consumer with the full flavor and its characteristic dark color. The production of green tea does not involve fermentation at all. The leaves only need to wither in hot air and then they get pan-fried or steamed for a short amount of time. The tea’s flavor gets stabilized by final heating and gentle rolling. Oolong tea is somewhere in the middle between the green tea and the black tea because it gets fermented only partially and it is characterized by a flowery flavor and a deep reddish color. The production of white tea involves immature tea leaves which need to be picked before the buds get to open fully. The silver fuzz covers the buds and it turns white once the tea dries completely so that is how white tea got its name. There are different types of white tea with different proportions of buds to leaves. White tea production involves even loss processing than the production of green tea. The leaves are only steamed mildly. White tea is characterized by a pale color and a sweet, almost silky flavor.

Features

White tea is one of the best sources of polyphenols. These substances are very potent antioxidants, which means that they are very efficient in fighting off the free radicals and reducing the amount and severity of damage they cause inside the body. White tea is also very efficient in boosting the immune system and preventing tooth decay.