White tea arrived in North America. While Chinese tea drinkers were hip to the benefits of white tea since the Ming dynasty, until recently, it was virtually unknown outside of Asia. No more. Everyone counts for medical researchers now renting delicate flavour of white tea alleged benefits and health. Market researchers expect consumers will soon be sharing their enthusiasm as regards white tea in one of the hottest new food trends.
But what is white tea? Most tea lovers know that all the tea comes from the same source: Camilla Sinensis tea Bush. If a sheet of tea by wind in a cup of tea black, green or oolong depends entirely on what happens after it is harvested. Drift black tea colour dark and full of flavour of a complex fermentation process which includes exposing tea crushed leaves in the air for a strictly set number of minutes. Tea green tea leaves more mellow tasting are not fermented, but simply withered in hot air and steam quickly or pan-fried. A sweet ride and final heating stabilizes the natural flavours of tea. Oolong teas are found somewhere in the Middle: partial fermentation gives them a distinct reddish colour and flavour "flowery".
Then, where white tea fit image? White tea is made from immature tea leaves selected shortly before the buds were fully open. Tea takes its name from the fuzz of money still covers buds, which becomes white when the tea is dried. The exact proportion of leaf buds varies depending on the variety of white tea. For example, White Peony contains a bud for both leaves, while silver needles the crème de la crème of white teas, is entirely from fluffy buds selected in two days at the beginning of spring.
Of course, an exotic appearance alone does not explain sudden rush of white tea in popularity. The secret lies in what happens after the buds are plucked. Tea leaves to be sold as white tea suffer still less processing than leaves of green tea. Instead of drying, unwithered leaves are simply steamed.
The result? A pale tea with a taste soft and silky. People who have tried both note that white tea is not the "grass" aftertaste so often associated with green tea. Moreover, studies indicate that white tea is more advantageous to you. Leaving tealeaves so close to their natural state means that white tea contains more polyphenols, the powerful antioxidant that fights and kills the cells causing cancer, than any other type of tea.
Need another reason to drink white tea? A study of 2004 at Pace University found that white tea can help your immune system fight viruses and dangerous bacteria causing infections. The same study found that white tea rich in fluoride helps prevent the growth of dental plaque, the leading cause of tooth decay.
Of course, nothing in life is perfect. Expect to pay more for a white tea than other types of tea - up to $ 25 for a box of 2 oz (40 to 50 cups) of Silver Needle. And although many tea rooms are starting to carry the white tea, online shopping is still your best bet for highest range varieties.