White Tea: Minimal Processing, Surprising Range
Withered and dried, with nothing else done to it. Everything in the cup was already in the leaf.
White tea is the least processed of the categories: picked, withered, dried. There is no fixing step and no rolling, which means whatever character it has comes almost entirely from the leaf material and the withering conditions.
The Main Grades
| Grade | Material | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Silver needle | Unopened buds only | Sweet, delicate, hay and melon |
| White peony | Bud plus one or two leaves | Fuller, floral, more body |
| Longevity eyebrow | Larger leaves | Robust, fruity, inexpensive |
| Tribute eyebrow | Mixed leaf and bud | Everyday, honeyed |
| Moonlight white | Yunnan material, darker withering | Deeper, honeyed, closer to a light black |
Silver needle is the most expensive because it requires picking only unopened buds, which is labour intensive and yields little. It is not necessarily the most interesting to drink — white peony has more body and complexity for many palates, at a fraction of the price.
Withering Is Everything
With no fixing step, enzymatic activity continues throughout the withering, which means white tea undergoes a slow partial oxidation. The duration, temperature and humidity of that withering determine the finished character.
This is why white teas vary far more than the category's reputation for uniform delicacy suggests. A quickly withered white tea is light and floral; a slowly withered one in humid conditions is deeper, fruitier and closer to a light oolong.
Brewing white tea
- Water at 80 to 90 degrees; hotter than green tea, cooler than black.
- Generous leaf, because it is light and voluminous — 3 to 4 grams per 200 ml Western.
- Two to four minutes for a first Western infusion.
- Gongfu style works very well: 5 to 6 grams per 100 ml, short infusions.
- Give it several infusions; white tea is more durable than it looks.
White tea is frequently described as subtle, which people hear as weak. Brewed with enough leaf it has real presence, and the sweetness is unlike anything else.Lian Ashworth
Ageing White Tea
Aged white tea has become sought after over the past two decades, particularly aged white peony and the larger-leaf grades. Over years, the fresh hay and floral notes give way to honey, dried fruit, and eventually a warm medicinal depth.
Because there was no fixing step, the leaf retains some enzymatic capacity, and the transformation is genuine rather than mere staleness. Compressed white tea cakes have become common specifically to facilitate this.
| Age | Character |
|---|---|
| Fresh, under 1 year | Hay, melon, floral, light |
| 1-3 years | Settling; the fresh notes fade |
| 3-7 years | Honey, dried apricot, more body |
| 7-15 years | Deep honey, dates, warming |
| 15 years and beyond | Medicinal, camphor, very smooth |
Storage
- For fresh drinking, seal airtight and use within a year; the delicacy fades.
- For ageing, allow limited air exchange in stable, moderate humidity.
- Keep away from light, heat and any source of odour.
- Compressed cakes age more slowly and more evenly than loose leaf.
- Once ageing has begun, avoid moving the tea between very different climates.
The Caffeine Myth
White tea is frequently marketed as low in caffeine. This is not reliably true — silver needle, being entirely composed of buds, can contain more caffeine than many black teas, since caffeine concentrates in the youngest growth.
Brewing method affects the extracted caffeine far more than category does. A short, cool infusion extracts less caffeine than a long hot one, regardless of the tea.
Try white peony rather than silver needle first
It costs considerably less, has more body and complexity, and gives a clearer sense of what the category offers. Silver needle is exquisite and delicate, and a poor introduction because its subtlety is easy to miss.
Cold Brewing
White tea cold brews exceptionally well. Several hours in cold water produces a sweet, floral infusion with essentially no astringency, and it is among the most refreshing ways to drink tea in warm weather.
Use roughly 1.5 grams per hundred millilitres, leave overnight in the fridge, and strain. It requires no attention and consistently produces a good result, which makes it an excellent introduction for anyone uncertain about the category.