Hopefully, within the next couple of days, I will have some fresh blooming teas arriving from China! These are made with either a green or white tea and they are simply gorgeous, taste great and are beautiful to watch unfurl as well. I wrote previously about flowering tea choices and included a video at the end which shows one of these delicate teas unfurling. The article also included tips on brewing and serving these teas — so if you haven’t read it, you should catch up on the tips and ideas given.
White Tea Blooming Teas
- Fairy Flowers Spreading (Jasmine, Lily blooms)
- Jasmine with Love (Jasmine blooms)
- Love at first sight (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
- Love Story By Tea (Marigold, Amaranth blooms)
- Tea Flower Attaching (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
- Two Dragons Playing Pearls (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
- Whispered tea and flowers (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
Green Tea Blooming Teas
- Ruby (Amaranth blooms)
- Peacock outspread (Marigold blooms)
White Tea
As mentioned in this article about green tea there are quite a few health benefits gained from drinking green tea and few, if any, side effects. What about white tea though?
White tea, just like green, oolong and black tea, comes from the Chinese Camellia sinensis plant. The difference with this tea, which is rumored to have been available only to Chinese Royalty, is that it is made from the buds and youngest leaves of the plants. These buds and leaves are then left to wither in the sun, then are dried either naturally via sunlight or by other methods. In fact, the actual production of white tea is much simpler than the processes involved in green, oolong or black tea however the actual process of harvesting the tea itself — remember only the sensitive buds and young leaves are picked — is quite time consuming and great care needs to be taken not to damage the tender buds or leaves. For this reason, white tea is usually a little more expensive and up until recently less readily available than other types of common loose leaf tea.
Being from the same plant as green and oolong tea, it naturally contains most of the same health benefits. Some claim that it contains even more antioxidants than regular teas because of the little actual processing of the leaves. The tea is light in colour and has a very mild, somewhat sweet taste. There are different types of white tea, with each type having a slightly different taste. The earthy or green taste of green teas is not present.
Silver Needle white tea is perhaps the most popular and the best quality of all of the white teas. There is a very short time frame within which the tea can be harvested — it must be harvested before the buds turn into leaves. Thus, this tea is made only from the tea buds. Buds are hand picked and the flavour is the most delicate of all of the white teas.
Next is the White Peony. Tender buds and two leaves are harvested and made into this fine tea. As the leaves are a little more mature, the tea is a little darker and slightly stronger tasting than Silver Needle white tea — but still retains the freshness and delicate flavor that white teas are known for.
Finally you will find other types of white tea, such as Snowbud and Tribute Eyebrow (don’t you just love the translations of the tea names!) white teas. The blooming teas made with white tea that I will have on sale are all made with Silver Needle white tea.
I hope your journey into the fascinating world of tea is as rewarding for you as it has been for me. I have lived in Asian countries for almost thirty years-spending twenty five in Thailand, and almost five years in Taiwan. I recently relocated to Australia, where I hope to continue to promote and sell Chinese and herbal teas.