It does not matter whether you are in lockdown; reading books is something everyone likes to do. So come on. Let’s imagine a bit. Suppose you are reading a book, and it is raining heavily outside. You stare out of the window and see the raindrops falling with an uneven sound creating a tune that seems to be music to your ears.

Don’t you think having tea in this beautiful weather would make the time even more memorable and make you feel more relaxed? I would think that it would make you feel better.

These are the five popular types of delicious tea available in the world from which you can choose from. They are-

• White Tea
• Green Teas
• Oolong Tea
• Black Tea
• Pu’erh Tea

Although many love black teas¹, we will focus on famous white teas in this article. We will discuss what it is, the types of white teas that are available in the market, where you can buy it, how you can store it, how you need to make it, its benefits, and facts. These are just the regular things that you should be aware of before deciding to go out and buy it. It is always advisable to know everything about a particular food item before starting it so that you know what to expect and what not to.

1. White Tea

One of the most exquisite varieties of tea is white tea². This is because white tea goes through minimal processing from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. White tea leaves are harvested before the leaves of the tea plant get to be opened fully.

The name ‘white tea’ comes when the time when the tea plants are not fully open, and there is white hair covering the young bud. When it comes to white tea processing, white tea is minimally processed and that it is oxidized at a lower rate it shows how delicate and freshly available the tea is.

If you want to know more about white teas, you can also visit this other available guide: https://www.whiteteaguide.com/index.htm 

2. Types of White Tea

White tea was produced for the first time in the Fujian province of China in the 1700s—Da Bai and Da Hao. The young tea buds (young tea leaves) of white teas were tough to store as well as transport without allowing them to be spoiled because they were very delicate, and being made from young buds just added to that fact.

As a result, it became infrequent for them to be available outside of the region where it grew (tea growing regions), which is the province of Fujian. As time passed and new inventions took place, science brought into our lives many changes that helped us in our daily lives. Similarly, as science progressed, loose-leaf tea production became more and more frequent in other places and did not remain constrained to only Fujian.

Thus, at the present moment, many countries are creating their type of white teas from the different varieties of tea plants that are available. Four main varieties of white teas are available. They are the most known type that is generally available.

2.1. Silver Needle (Baihao Yinzhen)

It is not surprising to see that a right Silver Needle³ comes from China’s Fujian province, where it has been cultivated from the different varieties of the original white tea plant of China. This is one of the most expensive and prized types of white tea, which is made of silvery white buds. It is one of the finest white teas as it has a delicate and sweet flavor, which in turn makes it a favorite among many.

Previously white tea was grown only in certain places; that is, it was restricted. However, as time passed by, most areas where tea is grown especially in the higher regions, for example, Darjeeling and Nilgiris, have started producing this type of tea.

2.2. White Peony (Bai Mudan)

It is a new type of white tea that can be found in China as well as other countries in the world. White tea is known to consist of both buds and tea leaves and is the second high-quality type of white teas that is available. The way by which you can determine whether this type of tea is the best or not is if both the buds and tea leaves of Peony is covered with silvery fine white hairs.

White Peony can be grown from a Chinese white tea bush, which is required to be an original or from some other variety. Compared to Silver Needle, the flavor of this is slightly more pungent in taste and has a darker color as well. This is because the leaves of this type of white teas are partially oxidized. It is seen that the demand for white tea is increasing due to which it is being cultivated along with White Needle in all the major tea growing areas, especially in Darjeeling, Nepal, and Nilgiris.

2.3. Long Life Eyebrow (Shou Mei)

Long Life Eyebrow is a type of white tea that ranks lower in the list of this type of tea. This is because this tea is made from the leaves that are left from the harvest of the first two types of white teas, that is, Silver Needle and White Peony. It is made from the first few leaves and buds of the above-mentioned two types of tea. The flavor of this type of tea is intense, as well as fruity, and it is known to taste mostly like oolong tea.

2.4. Darjeeling White Tea

Darjeeling White Tea⁴ is a type of tea that is harvested in Darjeeling from tea types varieties that are native to the tea estates of Darjeeling, India. It is a particular type of white teas where both the leaves and the buds are dried as well as steamed. The tea has a pale yellow or a light translucent color look while the flavor of this type of tea is sweet and many times related to the taste of green tea leaves.

Even though the method of processing young leaves of Darjeeling White Tea is very similar to Fujian white tea, the flavor of it is entirely different from the latter. It is quite natural that there are other types of white tea. They are generally named after the region from where they have originated or the unique ingredients that were used to make that particular type of tea. Different varieties of tea have different kinds of things that are special only to them. So it is entirely up to you to like whatever kind of white tea you want according to their specialties.

3. Buying White Tea & Storing it

White tea can be bought from both online vendors as well as your local vendors. Even though this tea can’t go wrong, it can become stale. You need to make sure and buy the freshest tea. To do so, you can sip and then buy the tea leaves if it tastes original.

Moreover, you should buy from only those places that can quickly tell you the place as well as the method in which the white tea was processed and packaged.

White tea should be stored just like you store green tea. It is seen that the teas that are oxidized at a lower rate can be kept for up to almost one year if it is cared for properly. Some of the storage steps that should be considered are as follows:

• White tea should be stored in a cold and dark place always.
• It should be kept away from heat, light, oxygen, and moisture.
• Never store it in the refrigerator.
• It is known to last a more extended period if it is stored in an opaque and airtight container.
• You should not store it with items such as coffee and spices as they can leach their flavor into the tea leaves.

4. How to Make White Tea?

The first thing you should do is ask the vendor from whom you are buying the white tea for the details of how to prepare that particular tea. This is because different white teas have other ways to prepare them as they might have different brewing temperatures and steeping times.

However, preparing white tea is easy. First, you need to boil water in a pan. Then, you have to steep some of the tea leaves into the hot water and wait for some time. In case you like having strong flavored tea, you should cover the pan for almost ten minutes so that the tea can steep for some time. In case you prefer a lightly flavored tea, you can let it steep for a shorter period. No addition of sweeteners or additives is recommended to achieve the best results.

Below are some tips that you should keep in mind while preparing white.

• Even though white tea can be over-steeped a little more than green or black tea, you still should not want to over-steep it more than required because your tea may start releasing some bitterness.
• You should always prepare this type of tea with fresh, pure, cold filtered water. Using spring water is the best option.
• The vessel in which the tea is being prepared should be covered while it is steeped to keep all the heat in the steeping container.
• Steeping multiple times can be done only when your tea has the most high-quality loose leaf.
• It is best to enjoy white teas without any form of additive (for example, milk or sugar) as they are so delicate and subtle, mainly so that the real flavor of the tea is appreciated in the right way.

5. Benefits of White Tea

Whether you know it or not, tea has been used as a type of medicine since ancient times. Whether green tea or black tea or white tea, they are known to be very healthy- something modern science is finding out now and China had found out many years back. Since white tea is processed the least and has very high antioxidant levels, it might also be named the supreme ‘Drink of Health’ since it also has many health benefits.

5.1. Antioxidant Level

White tea is rich in antioxidant levels. Antioxidants are nutrients that help in protecting the body from damage with the help of free radicals. Free radicals are nothing but nasty things that cause multiple problems and cause harmful effects to your body, including causing damage to DNA, chronic inflammation, and accelerating your age. Antioxidants help in gathering them and neutralizing them.

5.2. Protects Your Heart

White tea is known to help you by protecting your heart and saving it from heart diseases. It helps to thin the blood, lower blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol, and boost immunity, which in turn helps your entire circulatory system and protect the heart. Research shows that people who take tea more than two times a day are 50% less likely to die after suffering from a heart attack. This makes this tea a rather beneficial heart tonic.

5.3. Makes Bones Stronger

The researchers have found that people who drink white tea are known to have a more vital bone density as well as strength. Drinking this tea will also help those who have arthritis and osteoporosis.

5.4. Weight Loss

When you need to lose weight, you generally think of having green tea. But I am here to tell you that white tea can be as effective as green tea when it comes to weight loss. People who drink tea would love to hear the benefits of white tea. Research shows that this type of tea also boosting your metabolism rate by almost 4-5%, equivalent to burning almost 70-100 extra calories per day. Drinking this type of tea might also result in burning excess body fat.

5.5. Healthy Teeth and Gums

White tea contains little amount of nutrients such as fluoride, catechins, and tannins, which help keep your gums and teeth both healthy and robust. The combination of the nutrients, as mentioned earlier, helps in fighting the bacteria that can be the source of plaque on the teeth can cause the teeth to decay and also the ones that are the cause of bad breath, as well as sugar that might be attached to your teeth and gums.

5.6. Cancer

White tea is a type of drink that has anti-cancerous effects.⁵ It consists of a class of anti-oxidants, Flavonoids, that help in fighting off cancer or reducing the growth of cancer cells and preventing new cancer cells in the body. It has also been seen that it acted as a prescription drug but did not have the general side effects.

5.7. Helps in Keeping Your Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Level Low

White tea is known to have enabled in the thinning of blood and improve artery function as well. This results in lowering your high blood pressure and keeping it in check to maintain normal blood pressure. It is also known to consist of an abundance of a class of anti-oxidants named catechins, which helps reduce cholesterol levels. There are two types of cholesterol- the good one and the bad one. White tea is known to help to increase the good one while reducing the bad one. This, in turn, helps prevent the hardening of the arteries and some kind of blocking of blood flow.

5.8. Lowers the Risk of Insulin Resistance

Insulin is known to be quite an essential hormone because it is the hormone that moves nutrients to the cell so that it is stored in the section and can be used later when required. Insulin resistance happens when people take high levels of sugar, which results in them not responding to insulin.

Insulin resistance can also result in many other diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, etc. Insulin resistance is also associated with chronic conditions, as well. The nutrients and vitamins like polyphenols that are present in White Tea help lower the risk of insulin resistance. It can increase the effects of insulin and might even help in preventing high blood sugar levels.

5.9. Helps in Controlling Skin Aging

It is quite natural that when people grow older, their skin will start to wrinkle and become loose. This is known as skin aging and happens mainly due to two reasons, such as internal aging and external aging. Internal aging occurs due to natural aging, while external aging occurs only when environmental factors affect and damage the skin, which in turn accelerates aging.

The components found in this type of tea is known to help protect your skin from both internal as well as external aging. It has also been found that if you apply white tea extracts on your skin helps protect it from harmful UV rays that come from the sun.

5.10. Not Hard to Prepare

Even though there are many health benefits, I feel that the most important use is that it is easy to prepare. In our busy schedule, everyone wants to find ways to cut back on the time that is required to do something. Everyone wants fast and easy processes that are completed in a short period. White tea falls under that category. All you need to do is boil water in a pot and add the leaves. After this, you need to allow it to be steep according to how strong you want the flavor of your tea to be.

But be sure not to over-boil your water because too much boiling can destroy the tea’s generally delicate flavor. Also, white tea is available both online as well as offline, that is, your regular local vendors. White tea is also known to have many other health benefits as well. It helps protect you against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, helps your skin by keeping it healthy, and acts as an anti-aging agent. It may also help in reducing blood sugar and help in preventing or alleviating the symptoms of diabetes. It is also known to reduce stress while increasing energy at the same time.

Thus, it can be considered to be something that all should take. It helps improve your body in a better fashion so that you remain fit and healthy. Everyone wants to stay healthy so that they can cope up with the hectic schedule of their daily life. Missing even one day’s work due to ill health can result in a bucket load of work waiting for you the next day. Thus, it is always advisable to keep up your good health, and this type of tea helps do just that.

6. Interesting Facts

• White tea is known to contain polyphenols⁶, the compound which makes white tea a healthy drink; as a result, everyone should have it.
• White tea is also known to contain many vitamins, a few of which are gallic acid, catechin, zinc, and potassium.
• White tea is not prepared by shaking and panning.
• This type of tea tastes very original because it is only fermented that too very slightly.
• White teas are also said to help improve your immune system because it has a high level of anti-oxidant content.
• White teas also help in the growth of hair and reduce any type of inflammation.
• The caffeine content in white tea is more significant than in green tea or black tea leaves, which can result in some side effects, unlike green tea with less caffeine.
• Fluoride content in white teas is also high, which too can have some adverse effects on people.

Other interesting facts regarding the tea can be found at https://readyfortea.com/interesting-facts-white-tea/

Many people cannot think of starting their day without a cup of tea first. Tea has helped many people in going on with their daily life. White tea has a long history and goes hand in hand with green and black tea regarding uses and benefits. It is a really beneficial tea and should be taken by all to improve one’s health and deal with other problems.

1. Li, Shiming, et al. “Black tea: chemical analysis and stability.” Food & function 4.1 (2013): 10-18. ↩︎
2. Hilal, Y., and U. Engelhardt. “Characterisation of white tea–Comparison to green and black tea.” Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit 2 (2007): 414-421. ↩︎
3. Kaur, Amandeep, Sumaya Farooq, and Amit Sehgal. “A comparative study of antioxidant potential and phenolic content in white (silver needle), green and black tea.” Current Nutrition & Food Science 15.4 (2019): 415-420. ↩︎
4. Gohain, Bornali, et al. “Understanding Darjeeling tea flavour on a molecular basis.” Plant Molecular Biology 78 (2012): 577-597. ↩︎
5. Gupta, J., et al. “A review on the beneficial effects of tea polyphenols on human health.” International Journal of Pharmacology 4.5 (2008): 314-338. ↩︎
6. Peiró, Sara, et al. “Modelling extraction of white tea polyphenols: The influence of temperature and ethanol concentration.” Antioxidants 3.4 (2014): 684-699. ↩︎

Last Updated on August 17, 2024 by Sathi