A mini guide to tea (VI)
Its name doesn't have so much to do with the brewing colour, but more with the appereance of tea leaves and buds, which range from -depending on tea quality- beautiful silvery white to green with little white "hair", like for example the one in the photo below.
The first (and so far the only) white tea I tried was Bai mu dan (sometimes spelled Pai mu tan) which means "white peony". Brewed at around 80 degrees Celsius and steeped for a few minutes, this white tea gives us a pleasant drink of pale green to golden colour. You can steep it for the 2nd and 3rd time as well, each time for a few minutes longer in order for tea to develop its taste.
If you like green tea, there's no way you wouldn't like the white one. With its delicate and slightly sweet flavour,
it can easily conquer you.
If you are drinking white tea for health benefits, you are definitely encouraged to do so every day, with or after every meal. It pays off!
Given that white tea contains even less caffeine than green tea, it makes a perfect drink for those sensitive to it. Regarding the scientific studies about white tea; very few researches have been done so far, yet they sound quite promising: white tea is loaded with antioxidants, can help lowering blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol and it protects the skin against free radicals, which makes it more and more popular in cosmetic world , too.
If you are interested in white tea, you can find more information in the following links: White tea guide and White tea in Wikipedia.
