WHITE TEA
    
"One drinks tea to forget the sound of the world."
-- T'ien Yixeng
    
The summer is over and there is a new chill in the air – but this is no reason to feel sad! The fall has also its many charms. Whether casual strolls on bright, sunny mornings or searching the forest for wild mushrooms with friends, there are countless ways for you to enjoy fall to the fullest. And when the days are cold and grey, there is nothing better than getting together with friends or family for teatime to exchange the latest news and gossip. Tea drinking is not only back in vogue, but it is also very healthy. Whether black, green or fruit tea, the blends and aromas are so diverse that you are guaranteed to find something for everyone’s taste.

White Tea – The Queen of Teas
    
White tea – the rarest and most delicate type of tea – is a specialty of the Fujian Province in south-eastern China. Its name comes from the fine, silvery white hairs that cover the unopened buds. When freshly brewed, white tea is pale yellow in colour, with a mild, floral aroma and sweet, delicate flavour. This exquisite drink provides the perfect pick-me-up, because it does not create any acids and is gentler to the stomach than coffee. In addition, white tea contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and zinc.

Pai Mu Tan, or White Peony, is the most popular type of white tea and the second-highest in quality. It is readily available in good quality and tends to have a stronger taste and darker colour.
The highest quality white tea is called Yin Zhen, or silver needle, which stands apart from other white teas due to its special harvesting of only the silvery buds on the uppermost top of the plant.

What makes white tea so precious?
    
White tea is generally more expensive than other teas, largely due to its intricate harvest and processing. Unlike most teas the buds are steamed, not fermented. Only hand selected bushes, such as the “Big White” tea bush, have the precious, white-haired buds, which can only be picked for a short time each year. Generally the first picking (flush) in early spring is the highest-quality, whereas the second and third harvest yields significantly lower amounts of the tea. Only sturdy and healthy full-grown buds are picked as well as the first two leaves. Then the tea (ideally only ‘two leaves and a bud’) is sun-dried on large drying racks in weak daylight until the leaves lose about 90% of their moisture. Finally, the white tea is siphoned into bamboo baskets, baked slowly, and then air-dried once again. A final hand sorting rounds out this painstaking, three-day process.

Particularly choice teas are grown by family farms in small villages. There the teas are not only a luxury good but represent a national treasure, built upon long standing traditions. Myths and legends have been handed down over many generations, which are enriched by the knowledge and experience of their ancestors. In dynastic China, drinking tea was considered a pleasure reserved for the upper class — any breach of this rule meant severe punishment. Only after a financially strong middle class took root did this once-elite drink become accessible to the rest of the population.

Drink to your health!
    
Used as medicine in China for centuries, white tea has particularly curative powers. Although no definitive scientific studies have been carried out, numerous studies have indicated the positive influences on one’s health. Among the many health benefits attributed to drinking white tea: cancer prevention, healthy teeth and gums, improved concentration, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. To get the most of these health benefits, make sure to steep the tea in water that is below the boiling point.

With all these health benefits, one shouldn’t forget that tea is also relaxing and delicious, offering the perfect alternative to coffee. In the mood for tea and conversation? Then invite your friends over for teatime – and don’t forget the cookies!