The Subtle Difference of White Tea

To continue our exploration of the four basic types of tea (green, white, oolong and black tea): According to Wikipedia, when processing, white tea is allowed to wilt slightly and lose the "grassy" taste of green tea.

White tea is a specialty of the Chinese province of Fujian. It comes in a number of variants, including Large White, Small White, Narcissus and Chaicha. Other white teas originate in Sri Lanka, India, and Africa.

A study that took place in 2004 showed that white tea had more anti-viral and and anti-bacterial characteristics than green tea. It also has more relaxing and mood-enhancing qualities than green and black teas. The caffeine content of white and green tea is similar, although both depend on such factors as the variety of tea, the cut and length of the leaf and the method used to steep the tea. White tea is also believed to contain less fluoride than green tea.

When brewing white tea, around 2 to 2.5 grams of tea should be used per 200 ml (six ounces) of water, or 1.5 teaspoons per cup of water. White teas should be prepared with hot water (not boiling) and steeped for two to three minutes. Many connoisseurs, however, prefer the tea to be steeped for much longer (about ten minutes) so that the delicate aromas can develop. This is usually done with the finer white teas rather than with lower grade white teas. According to Wikipedia, the temperature of the water used to brew the tea is crucial; if the water is too hot, the brew will be bitter and the finer flavours will be overpowered.