What is White Tea?

The Basics

White tea, sometimes called "raw" tea, is grown all over the world. This tea is delicate, known for being sweet and refreshing whether brewed hot or cold. There are not many varieties of white tea due to the fact that it is mostly unprocessed, although there are different grades of the tea based off of the way they are harvested rather than processed.

Grades

  • Yin Zhen / Silver Needle

    • Made from only fresh buds at the peak of the season
    • Considered the highest grade

  • Bai Mu Dan / White Peony

    • Harvested later in the spring
    • 2 leaves to one bud

  • Gong Mei / Tribute Eyebrow

    • Both buds and leaves, like Bai Mu Dan
    • Picked outside of the spring harvest season, giving it slightly thinner leaves

  • Shou Mei / Longevity Eyebrow

    • Harvested later in the spring
    • Mostly if not all fully sprouted leaves
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Learn

Oxidation

White tea is not oxidized during its processing, so it usually stays around or below the levels of oxidation in green tea. As time goes on, they will continue to oxidize slowly, changing in profile. This leads some to age their white tea similar to Pu-erh.

Processing

Unlike other types of tea, White tea is only left to dry out after being picked and not sent to be heated. They can be sun dried or shade dried, and often a cloudy day is ideal. After this, then the tea is ready to be stored away. This earns it the nickname of raw tea, since it is mostly unprocessed.