White tea

White tea is a slightly fermented tea with its body covered with fluffy white hair. The general processing for Chinese white tea only includes two steps: withering and drying. White tea brews to a pale yellow/light red color, and has a slightly sweet flavor with no "grassy" undertones which sometimes associated with green tea.

Recent health research results have pointed to Chinese white tea as potentially having the largest amount of health benefits of any of the Chinese teas made from Camellia sinensis. The most popular Chinese white teas: silver tip white tea and white peony tea.

The varieties of tea plant for white tea: Fuding Big White Tea; Zhenghe Big White Tea; Narcissus; Vegetable Tea

History of white tea

According to different variety of tea plant and plucking standard,Chinese white tea were ever divide into three types:

* (1) Big white: the white tea made from fresh tea leaves plucked from "Big White Tea" variety.

* (2)Narcissus White: white tea made from fresh tea leaves plucked from "narcissus white" variety.

* (3)vegetable white:white tea made from fresh tea leaves plucked from "vegetable white" variety.

Silver tip white tea (or silver needle pekoe) made from single buds plucked from "Big White Tea" variety. White peony tea made from one bud with two/three leaves plucked from "Big White Tea" variety or Narcissus White.

The history of white tea manufacturing is shorter than other tea types. As recorded, white tea was firstly created in Fuding county in 1796. In that time, the farmers plucked the fresh tea leaves from "vegetable white" variety to make silver tip white tea. And, the "Big White Tea" variety was found in Fuding about in 1857. Since 1885, the farmers began to pluck fresh tea leaves from "Big White Tea" variety to make silver tip white tea, which called Big white in that time. And, the silver tip white tea from "vegetable white" variety then so called "unrefined neelde" or "small white".

The "Big white" variety was also found in Zhenghe in 1880. The tea farmes began to produce silver tip white tea in 1889. Till 1922, white peony tea was then produced there. White peony tea was firstly created in Shuijie( Jianyang county nowadays). While, it's not sured when white peony tea was created.

The white tea production began from Fuding, then spread to ShuiJie, then Zhenghe. As to white tea products, silver tip white tea was firstly creasted, then white poeny tea, then longevity eyebrow.

The export business for silver tip white tea began from 1891. Since 1910, Chinese white tea tend to be popular in Europe and America like Chinese congou black tea.