White tea

White tea, as we know it today, gained popularity in China and the West only in the 2000s, although it is a raw and intuitive version of tea that saw light in the early days of tea in China over two thousand years ago. Its seemingly simple production, which includes various drying stages, can be deceiving, as genuine white tea is considered a meticulous and complex craft that relies very little on machinery and technology. The original Chinese white tea comes from the Fuding mountains at the eastern end of the Fujian province, but today you can find many equally interesting versions of it in Yunnan and other provinces in China, Taiwan, and other tea-growing regions around the world.

Chinese White Tea

With the demand comes also the supply, and today, white tea in China suffers from a relatively high price tag compared to its competitors, especially in the famous growing areas, and also from "over-plucking", a well-known issue with any tea that the West sets its eyes on. The tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, sprouts leaves throughout the year and is theoretically available for harvesting several times a year. However, one of the basic rules in the production of many Chinese teas is to harvest as little as possible and at the right time, in order to produce the highest quality tea. The decision between quantity and quality is a dilemma for many tea farmers, and actually creates a stark distinction between commercial tea and boutique tea. The consequences of over-plucking can be far-reaching, therefore the ability to classify and price such a popular tea accurately and reliably is important.

Growing Areas

Shouning

Fujian

Fuding

Fujian

Fengqing

Yunnan

Similarly to Pu-erh tea, white tea in most cases is intended for aging, meaning it improves through storage under specific conditions, with a subsequent reassessment of the tea's value accordingly. In comparison to young white tea, aged white tea is characterized by darker and drier leaves, a liquor of red and orange color, a longer and sweeter huigan (aftertaste), and a fuller body. The tea loses the freshness and rawness that characterizes light white tea, missing the grassy and floral notes that characterize young and fresh tea we call qing bai cha. The aging process occurs as a result of slow fermentation of the tea leaves, where not only the storage conditions are crucial, but also the finishing of the leaves and the way they are packaged. The common way for storing white tea is compressing the leaves into a round "tea cake" shape (cha bing 茶餅), a practice also borrowed from the world of Pu'er, originating from a history that dates back thousands of years.

Our White Tea

Due to high demand, fake tea incidents, and a high price tag, the purchase of white tea in China is a complex matter. Experienced growers often will not supply leaves that haven't aged at least 3-6 months in the factory, and sometimes they won't agree on a final price until this critical time period, essential for classifying white tea, has passed. Therefore, similar to Wulong tea, the classification and purchase process of white tea can take a considerable amount of time, mainly depending on the experience and expertise of the traders. To ensure the quality of the tea and a high value for money, we tend to age the products for one to three years and sample them multiple times before selling them.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus crisis in 2020, when we began exploring foreign fields and expanding our knowledge and tea offerings beyond China's borders, the tea that benefited the most is the one that, as mentioned, requires the least resources for production. Thus began fascinating experiments with cultivating and producing white tea at various locations across Asia. From that time until now, we have collaborated with dozens of growers outside China, aiming to discover and develop together rare versions of white tea in Thailand, Georgia, India, Taiwan, and even Japan. Thus, the tea that was initially on the periphery of our research has become one of the main focuses of our educational work, and a prominent feature in the taste and dynamic offering of our seasonal tea collection, including some treasures that belong to our private collection and are available exclusively in our studio.