White tea has caught the wide attention of tea lovers, nutritionists, and scientists. The numerous studies indicating that white teas are abundant with anti-oxidants, anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits, are leading more and more people to drink white tea. Combined with the increasing demand, more brands and also tea producing countries are now offering white tea. However it is crucial that you understand that you can find great variants quality among the many brands that provide white tea products. How can someone distinguish the quality and value from the white tea they are buying? Bill Lee, tea master of China Flair Tea Company and founder of the Institute of Masters of Tea Arts, explains how you can distinguish the quality of white tea by its most crucial aspect–taste.
Types of White Tea
White tea is a category of tea created in many regions of China, Taiwan and countries such as India and Nepal. White tea gets its name through the beautiful silvery white down that covers the young leaf buds. However, being classified as a white tea it should also be processed in accordance with the orthodox white tea method. That is why silvery young leaf buds can also be found in other tea categories such as green teas and black teas, but they’re not considered a white tea.
Probably the most traditional and prized white tea arises from Zhenghe and Fuding counties in China’s southeastern province of Fujian. Traditional white teas from China are broken into several grades, each having a different name. Each grade represents the volume of young leaf buds that are included and if the lower leaves under the bud are incorporated. White teas with additional silver leaf buds are usually considered a finer grade. The following are the regular grades of white tea by name:
o Bai Hao Yin Zhen (White Downy Silver Needles, or simply just Silver Needles) – made entirely of young silver leaf buds
o Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) – includes the young silver leaf bud as well as the two lower leaves
o Shou Mei (Longevity Brows) also known as Gong Mei (Tribute Brows) – almost entirely consisting of mature leaves, with few silver buds.
What they are Silver Needles, White Peony, and Shou Mei represent grades of white tea, but these names more specifically indicate the style of white tea, and not the actual quality of white tea. Each name only indicates the percentage of young silver buds and mature leaves which might be incorporated to generate that kind of tea. Types of white tea with an increase of silver leaf buds much less mature leaves can create a lighter flavour as well as a more delicate character. Incorporating more aged leaves will develop a warmer and nuttier style.
Precisely why these styles are termed as grades is really because producing white tea with additional silver leaf buds requires higher costs. White teas like Silver Needles, that happen to be consists of 100% silver leaf buds, are thus higher priced and regarded an increased grade.
Hence the issue of quality isn’t really regarding the grade that individuals choose, nevertheless the actual tea we buy within that particular grade. Organic beef opt to drink a White Peony because we love that type of white tea, but we need to distinguish its quality by comparing it with White Peony teas. Many brands now offer a white tea called White Peony, the quality of White Peony offered by brand X just isn’t necessarily precisely the same quality as brand Y. Factors that determine its quality for example the period of harvest, the age of the trees, their environment, as well as the proper processing of the leaves are not indicated by its name.
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