Some of the best teas are white teas. A highly sought-after and uncommon tea from the Camellia Sinensis plant, white tea was originally named for the tiny silvery-white hairs that covered the leaf bud as it developed. Both black and green tea are made from the same plant. The careful and distinct harvesting and drying process is what makes white tea a global favorite among tea fans.
How to Make White Tea?
To produce a sweet, dewy flavor, only the youngest leaves and silvery buds are chosen from a hand-harvested spring harvest for all white teas. After being carefully chosen, the tea leaves are dried and left to wither. To create a truly nuanced and balanced tea, however, requires a tea master of great skill and subtlety.
Although the leaves of white tea are often nuanced with fresh green and silver tones, the tea itself is not truly white. The ‘white’ in the tea actually refers to the fine silvery-white ‘fluff’ that is primarily present on the underside of the youngest buds on the tea plant. The brewed tea has a subtle creamy yellow color.
The Reasons We Adore White Tea
White tea can be brewed multiple times and has a delicious, refreshingly sweet flavor, which is why we adore it. Naturally, the brewing times for each infusion vary, but you can enjoy some of the most beautiful teas out there if you use a tea timer and water that is approximately 70 degrees.
With the same processing as loose leaf green tea but without being destroyed, white tea has the least amount of caffeine. To bring out the flavor and aroma, the very young leaves are steamed. As a general rule, the amount of caffeine in a tea increases with the processing the tea leaves go through. Consequently, white tea has the least amount of caffeine by nature because it is the least processed tea. There is another ‘rule’ that states the stronger the brewing process, the stronger the tea’s caffeine content. Keep in mind that black teas are brewed at 100 degrees, green teas at about 80 degrees, and white teas at about 70 degrees.
Advantages of White Tea
While antioxidants found in all teas aid in the immune system’s support and the battle against free radicals, organic white tea has the highest concentration. It loses the least amount of its advantageous qualities during production since it experiences the least amount of interference. The purest tea you can drink is white tea, which is rich in polyphenols, which function as antioxidants in the body to combat free radicals. White tea may be able to reverse skin damage brought on by stress, sun exposure, and diet, according to some experts. Furthermore, research is showing that white tea can improve dental hygiene, lower bad cholesterol, help with weight loss, and lower the risk of heart disease.
How White Tea Should Be Tasted?
White tea is subtle, light, and delicate. It tastes and smells sweet, almost honeyed. Other subtleties include grassy, floral, fruity, or aromatic notes.
Try to identify the appearance, aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel of white tea as the primary tea tasting characteristics if you want to enjoy it. How does the cup appear? Is it a pale yellow or slightly green in tone? Which smells are circulating? Are they grassy or floral? Which flavors are you tasting? Are they sweet or herbaceous? And lastly, how does the tea taste in your mouth? Mouthfeel has the power to produce an amazing tea-drinking experience, much like wine or chocolate.
