Tea is the worlds most popular beverage, next to water. But, some people are still fairly new to tea drinking, and are still learning the popular varieties and deciding which ones are they like best.
One of the tea varieties thats most popular today is white tea. White tea comes from the same plant as black and green teas, the camellia sinensis. What makes white tea different is when it is harvested and how its processed. White tea is harvested much earlier than other teas, before the leaves are fully open.
At this point in the growing process, the tea buds are still covered by fine white hair, which is why its referred to as white tea. Unlike other types of tea, both buds and leaves are used in white tea. White tea undergoes very little processing, and is not fermented.
The leaves are simply steamed (or occasionally fired) and then dried. Sometimes, tea harvesters will even steam the leaves right in the field, and then let them dry in the sun.
Fewer people are familiar with white tea in part because over the years theres been far less white tea grown and processed than other teas. In fact, many years ago white tea was reserved for use at the...