What is White Tea?

White tea is a kind of tea with hardly any caffeine, and it comes with a very mild flavor. It’s picked right at the beginning of the season, and is made up of new leaves and buds. This tea is named for white fuzz appearing on the new leaves which assists in protecting the tea from bugs when it’s first starting to grow. It costs more due to the fact it has a short harvest timeframe. Here’s the Guide to Purchasing, Consumption, and Storage of White Tea.

Kinds of White Tea

There’s several main kinds of white tea you can buy on the Internet and in stores. The most looked for and pure white tea is called Silver Needle. It has a flowery taste and aroma, as well as is golden in color. Another well-loved white tea is called White peony. It tastes nutty and sweet and is commonly put into blends. Once it’s steeped, this one is a darker shade than the Silver Needle tea. A strange white tea is called Monkey-picked white tea, which was thought to be actually picked by monkeys, however, its name really just stands for top quality tea that was harvest while young and at the peak of freshness.

You can find other kinds of white tea, like Darjeeling (India) that has quite varied features, along with what’s called eyebrow white tea, that’s picked later in the season and so the quality isn’t as high.

White Tea Uses

Normally, you drink white tea hot and freshly brewed. Since it has a light taste, you usually don’t add anything to it and drink it straight. It’s great with a small snack. A great way to enjoy this white tea is as a break in the morning or early afternoon.

How to Consume White Tea

You need to brew white tea at a slightly lower temperature so it stays fresh. Pure, clean water (never use distilled) that is barely at the boiling point is best, at around 175 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, so you should take it off the stove right before it simmers. The majority of white tea should be steeped about 60 seconds to right at 5 minutes. If you steep it over that, ort used too hot water, it will likely get bitter and astringent.   

How much tea leaves are required per cup is dependent on the kind of leaves. If your leaves are mixed with small buds, likely you merely need about a teaspoon of leaves per cup. But if it’s more open and lightweight kind of leaves, you probably need one tablespoon for a cup.  You should taste it prior to putting anything in it, as usually it is best drunk plain.

Amount of Caffeine for White Tea

White tea caffeine content varies dependent on where it was grown. The majority of these teas have very little caffeine. If you brew it for only a minute or so, it may have a mere six milligrams caffeine whereas most coffee has between 80 and 200 mg of caffeine.  Since white tea isn’t oxidized, you brew it for short periods of time, and it has little caffeine, it’s additionally low in acid in comparison of coffee and black tea. Read More Does white tea have caffeine?

These days, some of the white tea grows and is picked in Darjeeling, India as well as additional tea producing places worldwide. White tea can be very different if it’s grown other than in China, and sometimes those kinds of it have more caffeine that the others. Sometimes the amount of caffeine is the same as black or green tea and could be as high as 75mg a cup.

Purchasing and Storage

White tea is sold as tea bags, loose leaf, or you can find it in bottled iced tea flavors. You can get blends as well as single origin white teas. The top level of white tea is sold in loose leaf format. White tea should be stored in a dry, cool place and kept from light. It also should be in an airtight container.  The unflavored kinds can stay good for one to two years if stored properly. The flavored kinds (i.e. if you add something like vanilla or citrus) stay good for between six months and a year. After these timeframes, it will be safe to drink, but will not taste as good.

What kind of tea is it?

White tea is made from undeveloped spring leaves and is customarily grown in the Chinese province of Fujian. Dried white tea is famous due to its fuzzy, small, withered buds and leaves. When you brew it normally it is a light golden hue and smells like flowers. Dependent of the kind, the taste of white tea ranges from sweet to woody to flowery and having a slight fruity flavor. If  you brew it correctly, it’s not as strong or bitter as some black teas are.

Almost all kinds of tea are made from the exact same kind of plant, which is called camellia sinensis, or a tea plant. Teas have a large assortment of characteristics, which occur dependent on it’s place of origin, as well as where it’s picked, how they treat it, and how it’s dried. Normally, white tea is picked from the middle of March to the beginning of April in the Fujian province.

After they pick white tea leaves, its leaves get withered, then they dry it right after picking it via natural light, drying rooms or heat vents. That assists in stopping it from oxidizing, as well as provides the light color and taste, thus it also preserves the great advantages that tea has, like antioxidants.  It’s features are dependent on where it’s grown.