White tea
7 teas in this category
White tea is the most under-processed thing you'll find on a tea shelf: pluck the bud, let it wither, dry it, done. No fixation, no roll, no roast. That sounds simple and it isn't — bad white tea tastes like wet hay, and the difference between Bai Hao Yin Zhen worth drinking and Bai Hao Yin Zhen that wasted your money is whether the wither was managed for fragrance or just abandoned to time. Brew temperatures are forgiving (85–95°C is fine), and most whites tolerate longer steeps than greens without going bitter. Aged white tea is its own subculture: a five-year Shou Mei drinks like a different beverage than the fresh version — honey, dried apricot, a faint medicinal warmth — and the cake-pressed forms hold value the way puerh does. The category below covers the classic Fujian whites (Yin Zhen, Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei, Gong Mei) plus the wild-bud outliers from Yunnan that are sometimes filed here and sometimes filed under their own category. Drink them slowly. They reward patience more than precision.
Teas in this category
- Silver NeedleFuding, Fujian, China
Delicate and refined with a silky mouthfeel.
- White PeonyFuding, Fujian, China
Fuller and more assertive than Silver Needle, with a noticeable fruity sweetness — apricot, melon, and orange blossom come through clearly.
- Tribute EyebrowFuding, Fujian, China
A robust, full-bodied white tea with noticeable sweetness.
- Longevity EyebrowFuding, Fujian, China
The most rustic of the Fujian whites.
- Wild BudDehong / Lincang, Yunnan, China
Barely recognizable as tea — more like a wild herbal infusion.
- Wild Purple SproutDehong / Lincang, Yunnan, China
A striking wild tea with a faintly purple liquor from its anthocyanin-rich buds.
- Moonlight WhiteJinggu, Yunnan, China
Distinctly Yunnan — richer and more complex than Fujian whites.