In recent years, white tea has gained great popularity. Tea connoisseurs everywhere have come to appreciate white teas delicate, slightly sweet flavor. Though white tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant, just like black tea, green tea and oolong tea, there are several significant differences between white tea and other teas.
Processing – White tea is harvested before the leaves are fully open, when the buds have fine white hair covering them. This is much earlier than other teas are harvested. In addition, white tea leaves are not fermented. Rather their leaves are simply steamed and then dried, often right in the fields. This protects white teas delicate flavor.
Availability Less white tea is grown than other types of tea in the world. Most tea gardens designate just a few tea bushes for early harvest to create white tea. In addition, white tea is grown in far fewer areas of the world. Most of it is grown in China and Japan, and a little is grown in small areas of India and Sri Lanka. However, we may find more and more tea gardens concentrating on white tea as the demand for it grows.
Cost Because white tea is fairly rare, youll find that...