Have You Tried White Tea Yet?
Posted by Dani Noto on
If you haven't tried white tea yet, you're missing out on one of the nicest varieties of tea.
The bud and top two leaves from the tea plant's newest growth are handpicked and become what we know as White Tea. It is harvested before the leaves of the tea plant fully open, when the young buds are still covered with fine white hair, hence the name "white" tea.
White tea is one of the most delicate tea varieties because it is processed so minimally. Once the buds are plucked, they are allowed to wither and air dry in the sun or in a carefully controlled outdoor or indoor environment.
The minimal processing and low oxidation result in some of the finest and most beautiful flavor profiles. The taste of white tea is much softer and more refined than its green or black tea cousins.
Blue Moon White or Organic Mutan White teas are great examples of excellent white teas.
White tea can be a little more forgiving than green or black tea when it comes to the steeping time. But you still don't want to over-steep your tea to avoid a bitter taste. Try your tea after the recommended steeping time, and then decide whether you'd like to steep it a little longer.
Most high-quality loose-leaf white teas can be steeped multiple times. Each subsequent brew gives you a different flavor profile. Silver Needle White Tea with Jasmine is an excellent example of a high-end white tea that offers exceptional flavor with multiple steepings.
White teas are best brewed at a lower water temperature (160° to 175°F) and enjoyed without milk or sweeteners to preserve the tea's authentic flavor.
White teas also taste fabulous as iced teas. My preferred method of preparing an iced white tea is to cold-brew it. Three of my cold-brew favorites are Organic Ginger Peach White, Peachy Keen White, and Organic Wild Blueberry White. Cold-brewing also allows multiple steepings from your leaves.
I hope you'll enjoy browsing through my white tea collection. I offer over 10 different white teas, of which 5 are certified organic.
I am sure you will fall in love with them just as much as I did.