Generality
White tea is a drink obtained by infusion of dried tea leaves, a herbaceous plant belonging to the Theaceae Family, Genus Camelia and Specie sinensis ; the binomial nomenclature of tea is Camelia sinensis .
White tea is a drink that has no real definition; in fact, at international level, there are some differences that continue to hinder the minting of a single regulation.
Some sources claim that white tea is the result of minimal processing, consisting simply of the drying of the leaves, without any fermentation or other procedures. Others state that white tea must consist exclusively of young leaves and plant shoots, possibly steamed to inactivate the polyphenol-oxidase enzyme, and then dried.
The drying of white tea is often natural, ie in the open air, but the mechanical one (forced air or others) is also used. It is interesting to note that, while for the various types of naturally drying tea, the action of the sun's rays is exploited, in the finest white teas this occurs at night; obviously, it is a refinement that depends on the climate of the place of production.
The young shoots and leaves of white tea are picked mainly in China, mainly in the Fujian province; recently, production has also been successfully launched in eastern Nepal, Taiwan, northern Thailand, southern Sri Lanka and India.
The name of white tea derives from the very fine silvery white hair on the still closed buds of the plant. On the contrary, the drink is not white, but transparent, pale yellow almost colorless and very light both to the nose and to the taste.
Chemical composition
As anticipated, white tea is also a drink obtained from the Camellia sinensis plant
To a different extent compared to green tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, red tea, black tea etc., white tea also contains various polyphenols, a set of phytonutrients responsible for the various health benefits including the world famous antioxidant power.
Thanks to the reduced processing, white tea contains the largest number of phytotherapeutic molecules, otherwise easily perishable with heat. The quantity and ratio of the phenolic compounds in tea varies considerably from one type to another, since, as we have seen from the generalities of the drink, there is not a single production technique. Moreover, although all types of tea are derived from the same species, it is necessary to remember that there are many similar, but not identical, strains of the same plant. If we want to make a comparison, we could say that, from a nutritional point of view, the drink most similar to white tea is the green one.
processing
The basic process for the production of white tea is the following:
- Collection of fresh leaves
- Withering
- Drying (natural or mechanical)
- Finished product.
White tea belongs to a group of tea that does not need toasting, rolling or mixing and fermentation.
However, the choice of the raw material must be extremely rigorous; the choice of leaves, sometimes called "plucking", should prefer only the younger shoots with hair (also called flowery orange pekoe). The percentage of the latter in the product, possibly supplemented by the presence of orange pekoe, pekoe and pekoe souchong leaves, is responsible for the final quality of white tea.
Organoleptic properties
White tea is characterized by a sweet taste and rather developed hints of freshness; the Chinese use it to add dried rose or chrysanthemum petals.
The preparation is carried out by bringing the water to a temperature of 60-70C ° and dipping the dried leaves in infusion for 12-15 '.
It should be drunk, if possible, in a glass cup and without any correction with milk or lemon.
Background
Not all scholars and traders agree on the origins of white tea as we know it in contemporary times.
It is a fairly recent drink, no more than a couple of centuries old. It is conceivable that the first historical traces of white tea can be traced back to an English publication in 1876, where it was classified as black tea, because initially the shoots were treated with heat (to deactivate enzymes and micro-organisms).
It is often sold with the wording "Silvery Tip Pekoe", a variation of its traditional name, or with the designations of "China White" and "Fujian White".
