White tea

White tea is a category of tea made from young or lightly processed leaves of the *Camellia sinensis* plant. Most definitions agree that it is not rolled or oxidized, giving it a lighter flavor than most green or black teas. Despite its name, the brewed tea is pale yellow; the name comes from the fine silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds, which give the plant a whitish look. There is no widely accepted definition of white tea, and international agreement on the term is limited. Some sources define it as tea that is merely dried with no further processing, making it very close to the plant’s natural state. Others describe it as tea made from buds and immature leaves picked just before the buds open, traditionally withered and dried in the sun. Still others include buds and very young leaves that are steamed or fired before drying. White tea is mainly produced in China, especially in Fujian province, and more recently in Taiwan, Eastern Nepal, Thailand, Galle (Southern Sri Lanka), and northeast India.

The history of what is now called white tea may date back only two centuries, though scholars and tea merchants disagree on when production began. It may have first appeared in English writing in 1876, where it was classified as a black tea because the leaves are not steamed first to stop oxidation. White tea is often sold as Silvery Tip Pekoe in the leaf grading system, or under the names China White and Fujian White. Some tea from the wild *Camellia taliensis* in Yunnan is also made using white tea processing methods.

Like black and green tea, white tea comes from *Camellia sinensis* and contains polyphenols, phytonutrients linked to health effects. Different white teas have varying amounts of catechins, a type of polyphenol, and their concentration range overlaps with that of green tea. This means some white teas have the same polyphenol levels as some green teas, depending on the plant variety, cultivation method, and processing.

Caffeine content in white tea varies widely, from less than 10 mg to over 50 mg per cup, depending on the tea type and brewing method. Some studies suggest white tea tends to have less caffeine than green tea. For comparison, an 8 oz cup of black tea has about 47 mg of caffeine, green tea about 29 mg, and oolong about 38 mg. Because caffeine levels vary so much, some studies have not found a clear link between tea variety and caffeine content.

The basic manufacturing process for white tea is: fresh tea leaf → withering → drying (air, solar, or mechanical) → white tea. It does not require panning, rolling, or shaking. However, raw material selection is strict; only young tea leaves with fine hairs produce high-quality white tea with a high pekoe grade.

Chinese white teas are traditionally graded into four quality levels. The highest, Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle), uses only the bud. Bai Mudan (White Peony) typically has one bud and two leaves. Gongmei is similar but includes three to four leaves. The lowest grade, Shoumei (Longevity Eyebrow), has many leaves and few buds.

The three main classes of Chinese white tea are: Shoumei (Longevity Eyebrow), which has no buds; Bai Mudan (White Peony), which mixes buds with leaves; and Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle), which uses only buds. Other white teas include Ya Bao, made entirely of buds from Yunnan, and Yue guan bai (moonlight white), supposedly dried under moonlight rather than sun. White teas also come from other regions, such as the Himalayan area, including White Darjeeling teas.