White Tea

White tea (白茶)is made from either Camellia sinensis (small-leaf) or Camellia sinensis var. assam (large-leaf) leaves and buds, it is made after being picked and withered under the sun without baking or steaming, very lightly rolling or not at all, then dried, hence they mostly show pekoe (fuzz). The white tea is normally partially fermented, and the fermentation process can slowly continue through the years. White tea is one of the oldest kinds of tea in China. It is widely believed the process existed before Tang Dynasty (618-907 BC) or Song Dynasty (960-1279 BC) as it was mentioned in some important document back then. White tea is good for drinking when new and is also suitable for aging up to more than 10 years. It is generally believed when properly stored, the older the white tea, the better the tastes and the benefits. The older the tea, the darker the color will turn to. There is a saying in China about white tea aging ‘One year is tea, three years turn to medicine, seven years it becomes treasure’. In south-east China, it is a common practice people simply have some white tea when they feel mildly unwell.