White Tea is a delicate tea with a light, sweet flavor. Like black, green and oolong teas, white tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant, but the leaves are much less processed than for other teas.
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There are many varieties of white tea, mostly grown and produced in China and Japan, but the Darjeeling region of India also produces some fine white teas. You will find varieties with poetic names such as white peony, golden moon, silver needle and white cloud. Fine white tea can be expensive because of its scarcity.
White tea leaves are picked once a year in the bud stage, before the leaves fully open. The leaves are covered with a fine white hair, which gives the tea its name. Because only the buds are used, white tea is scarce, and more expensive than other teas. White teas are gaining in popularity and are now beginning to appear in supermarkets as well as specialty stores.
Brewing White Tea
Water for brewing white tea should not be boiling but rather at 180 degrees F. Heat the water until a small string of bubbles rise from the bottom of the pan, not to a full rolling boil The tea should steep for 4-6 minutes.
