What is White Tea?

The least processed of all tea types are white teas. White teas consist merely of unopened leaf buds covered with down. Consequently, they are more rare and in many cases, more expensive. Although white tea has a long recorded history, it has only in recent years made its way onto the Western tea scene.

To produce white tea, only the buds are plucked from the tea plant, they are then left to wither and dry. Mild oxidation occurs during the withering phase, which is when the tea is air-dried after it is plucked. It is then baked, further dried, and though it may be lightly rolled, little is done to alter the buds after they have been plucked. As white teas are slightly oxidized, they do not require the same caution when being steeped as green teas.

Sloane Tea’s white teas are Bai Du Dan white teas sourced from the leading white tea producing region of Fujian Province, China.