What is White Tea?

White teas are slightly fermented and there are only a handful of different varieties. The leaves are paler than other teas and the brewed tea is also paler in color. Some plants appear to have white, hairy fur on their leaves, while other look as though they are covered with ash.

The fragrance of white teas is much weaker than that of other teas, and in order to enjoy it, people usually hold the cup in their hands and bring it close to their mouth before they drink. Instead of having a solid, dominant aroma like other types of tea, white teas tend to have a much more subtle, lingering fragrance: it is like in autumn when you take a deep breath and you can still sense a touch of summer in the air; or when you play a musical instrument, suddenly stop, and for a long moment feel the music continuing, as if it were haunting the space.

Similarly, a white tea brew does not have a distinct color tone, although it may have a touch of yellow, green, or red. When you drink white tea it seems quite tasteless--as if you were drinking hot water with a slightly milder and more subtle taste than normal. However, after a while you will become aware of a subtle change in your breath and at the back of your mouth. You will taste a soft, nourishing sweetness and eventually experi­ence a similar sensation down your throat. Afterwards, try taking a sip of hot water and you will notice that white tea is not tasteless but is actually quite sweet with its own individual personality.

What white tea offers is a bittersweet aftertaste that persists on your tongue, throat, and mouth. In Chinese this is called ''fragrance preserved between your teeth.”

Brewing Instructions

White tea may be prepared in a regular teapot or in individual cups. Use about 2 tsp per cup (8 oz.) of water heated to 80-90°C (176-194°F). Infuse for 2-3 minutes and pour off. The leaves may be resteeped 2-3 times.

The white tea story

There is a fairy tale about a white tea called Pai Hao Yin Chin. In Fujian China there was once a drought and nothing grew for many seasons. A plague started in the villages and settlements and lots of people died.

As the situation got worse the elders told the story of a holy plant that grew beside a dragon well on a nearby mountain and how the juice extracted from the plant would restore the land to fertility and cure the sick. Many young, brave men from Fujian went up the mountain to find the holy plant but none came back as the well was guarded by a fierce black dragon. A family of two brothers and their sister eventually decided they would try and fetch the plant. The eldest brother went first but after 36 days had still not returned. The second brother set off to try and bring back the holy plant, but after another 49 days he too had not returned. Finally, the younger sister resolved to find the plant and her brothers and set off to the dragon well.

When she arrived she saw that the dragon had turned all the men to stone. Using her cunning she avoided the dragon's black magic, reached the well, and slew the dragon with an arrow. She then picked the shoots of the holy plant and watered them with water from the well. They immediately grew into full plants, so she took all the seeds and searched for the rocks that the men had become. She squeezed a drop of juice from the seeds onto each rock until the men came back to life. The two brothers and their sister returned home and sowed the seeds on the slope of a hill. Immediately, the seeds sprang into full blossom. The brothers put the leaves into hot water and asked everyone to drink it. Everyone who was sick was nurtured back to health. Together, the family restored the fertility of the land. From that day on, all the plants of Fujian became tea plants and the people of Fujian and their descendants drank the tea.

The tale of the white peony

There is another fairy tale about a white tea called Pai Mu Tan, which means white peony flowers. There was a young official who could not stand the corruption in the government so he retired and left with his mother. As he traveled, he suddenly became aware of a pleasant fragrance and stopped to ask an old man what it was. The old man told him of the 18 peony flowers growing nearby, in the middle of a pond. The man and his mother visited the lake, saw the flowers, and decided to settle there.

One day his mother fell ill. He searched in vain for healing herbs until he was tired out. He fell asleep by a tree. In a dream, an old man told him that to cure his mother’s illness, he had to cook a carp with a new tea. He told his mother the dream and was astonished to hear that she had had the same dream. He found a carp and was wondering about the new tea when suddenly there was a clap of thunder and the 18 peony flowers became 18 tea plants.

Because the plants had been peonies the tea leaves had a white hairy surface. He took the leaves and cooked them with the carp. His mother got better and told him to care for the tea plants. When he agreed, she became immortal and flew off, and is now a local patron of tea.

White Angle

Light and smooth with a delicate aroma. Once in your month, the flavors dance between your teeth.

White Peony

Beautiful long, full, twisted leaves (resembling the large petals of the auspicious peony blossom) and abundant downy silver buds make up this classic white tea (known in Chinese as "Bai Mu Da"). The flavor is sweet, full, smooth and savory. An exotic, distinctive cup of Chinese tea.