Everything you need to know about white tea

By Isabelle Wilkinson

The purest and most highly prized of tea types, White Tea comes from the same plant as Green, Oolong and Black teas, Camellia Sinensis.

Typically produced in the Fujian province in China, White Tea is the least processed of the tea types, celebrated for both its delicate flavour profiles, as well as its many health benefits.

What is white tea?

Harvested once a year, usually in Spring, only the youngest, finest leaves and buds are painstakingly plucked, before being gently dried in the sun. The result is a pale, golden liquor with a fresh, delicate flavour. Of all the tea types, white tea is the least processed.

What does white tea taste like?

Perhaps the most refreshing of tea types, white tea can be drunk throughout the day. Expect sweet honey notes and lightly vegetal flavours, from a delicate Silver Needle to a more full-bodied White Peony.

How does white tea differ from green tea?

The main difference between white tea and green tea is the processing. Whilst green tea is steamed or fired after picking to prevent oxidation, the young leaves and buds of a white tea are simply left to dry naturally. As white teas tend to be harvested earlier in the year, they tend to be sweeter and more delicate in flavour than green teas. Both tea types, however, have high nutritional values and are typically drunk without milk.

How much caffeine is there in white tea?

In its dry leaf form, white tea is said to contain the most caffeine of all the tea types. However, the most important factor in caffeine content is down to the brewing of the tea. The longer the leaf is brewed and the hotter the water, the more caffeine is released. That's why overall a cup of black tea will have a higher caffeine content than a cup of white tea, which has been brewed in cooler water for less time.

What are the benefits of drinking white tea?

Many of the customers at our Leather Lane Tea Bar ask to know more about why white tea is good for them. Just like green tea, white tea has many qualities that improve overall health.

Fit & Healthy: Thanks to minimal processing, white tea has the most antioxidants of all. These help protect the body from free radicals, fight disease and keep you and your immune system healthy.

Anti-ageing: White teas have been shown to help reverse skin damage caused by stress, diet and sun, and can even help the skin to rebuild resistance to stress.

A couple of our most popular white teas

White teas are the perfect choice for someone who favours a more delicate cup: 

Silver Needle

The most highly prized white tea in the world, these juicy, unopened buds, with their characteristic downy hairs, are bursting with delicate flavour. The infusion is silky-smooth, combining lightly vegetal notes with honeysuckle and a lingering honey sweetness.

White Peony

Grown and crafted in Fuding, the home of white tea, these unopened silver buds and emerald green leaves produce a delicate, pale gold infusion with notes of honey and melon. Well-rounded, yet light and distinctly sweet, this is the perfect introduction to white tea.