White tea is the simplest type of tea. It doesn't require any fixation or stir-frying, it only needs to be naturally air-dried. Even for storage, white tea has low requirements; it just needs to be kept at a constant temperature in a dry and odorless environment.
Without complex processes and minimal human intervention, white tea presents a taste that is closest to nature, a fresh and sweet flavor. Coupled with the full-bodied “sunny taste” produced by sun-drying, white tea embodies minimalism in Chinese teas.
White tea, one of the six major types of tea, is renowned for its fresh and unprocessed character.
If we compare tea-making to cooking, some green teas would be stir-fried dishes, black teas would be braised dishes, while this white tea would be like blanched vegetables, preserving the most basic flavors of the tea leaves. Just like relationships between people, it doesn't need to be dramatic, as long as there is consistent warmth and sincerity.
White tea is cool in nature and has effects similar to those of rhinoceros horn.
The reputation of white tea dates back a long time, with early records found in “Compendium of Materia Medica” and “The Classic of Tea.”
“Compendium of Materia Medica” states: “White tea is cold and cool in nature, and its effects are akin to those of rhinoceros horn.” Traditional Chinese medicine confirms that white tea has a warm taste and a cool nature, and it possesses heat-clearing, fire-reducing, dampness-dispersing, and detoxifying properties.
Old white tea, heat-clearing and fire-reducing, comes from folk traditions.
It's said that in Fuding, when children have fevers or adults suffer from swollen gums, they will brew a pot of aged white tea to alleviate the pain.
In the humid southern climate, if someone develops a rash during summer, they usually treat it by drinking and applying half of the white tea, and the results are reportedly immediate.
One-year-old tea, three-year-old medicine, seven-year-old treasure.
White tea is often referred to by the folk saying, “one-year-old tea, three-year-old medicine, seven-year-old treasure,” because compared to other types of tea, white tea contains the highest levels of flavonoids.
As the storage time increases, the components in white tea also change, making the taste gradually more mellow and the tea's nature gentler, thus being favored by many tea enthusiasts.
“One-year-old tea” refers to the fact that white tea is a slightly fermented tea, so the white tea made in the first year has a taste close to that of green tea.
“Three-year-old medicine” means that after storing white tea for two to three years, the internal components slowly change. The aroma turns into a mature scent, and the color of the infusion gradually changes from light green to light yellow or even deeper. When tasting, the aroma is mellow, and the flavor becomes softer. The nature of the tea also changes from cool to warm.
“Seven-year-old treasure” refers to white tea that has been stored for five to six years. As time passes, the internal components of the white tea become richer and more mellow, coexisting with the aged aroma is still the unique downy fragrance of white tea.
The taste is rich and fragrant, and the infusion color is amber, bright and transparent. After drinking a few cups of hot aged white tea, you will feel much more relaxed.
Some people say that white tea cannot be brewed using a purple clay teapot.
They believe: White tea is delicate and can easily be oversteeped by a purple clay teapot; its fragrant aroma can be partially absorbed by the dual-pore structure of the purple clay teapot, affecting the overall taste.
Is this really the case? Can white tea be brewed using a purple clay teapot?
Of course, it can!
One reason why the purple clay teapot is known as a “powerful tea brewing tool” is due to its special material, which has strong adsorption properties. It can absorb impurities in the tea leaves, making the tea soup taste smoother.
The characteristic of the aroma in white tea is fresh and high-spirited. If you use a purple clay teapot to brew white tea, as long as you choose the right clay material, the resulting flavor will be even more fragrant.
What type of purple clay teapot should be used to brew white tea?
For new white tea harvested in spring and not stored for a long time to undergo transformation, its internal substances are active and abundant, with a fresh and refreshing aroma. A variety of grassy, fresh bamboo shoot, and floral aromas blend together, and this sweet and mellow flavor is the most commendable feature of new white tea. This kind of aroma is very suitable for being infused with a red clay teapot.
Red clay teapots generally have higher mesh numbers and high density, quickly forcing out the aroma and strongly enhancing the fragrance. They have little loss of the aroma of highly fragrant tea, perfectly preserving and enhancing the tea's aroma, presenting an excellent taste.
For aged white tea that has undergone transformation, the aroma transforms from freshness to a low-key, reserved, and gentle temperament, changing from intense to subtle, and from strong to light. This warm and nourishing aroma is an indispensable part of aged white tea.
The infusion color of aged white tea is Orange-yellow, and it can be brewed at high temperatures. Its aroma is stable and there is no need to worry about it being absorbed by the purple clay teapot. Purple clay, red clay, and green clay teapots can all handle it effortlessly.
How to brew white tea with a purple clay teapot?
Brewing white tea with a purple clay teapot does not lose the original flavor, and the aroma does not dissipate. Purple clay is a material with a dual-pore structure and fine pores, with high density, allowing the true flavor of the tea to be fully appreciated.
Due to the production process of white tea, where the fresh leaves are spread out after picking, also called withering, allowing natural evaporation of water to form their natural shape, then dried and stored, it belongs to slightly fermented tea.
White tea differs from green tea, Black Tea, and Pu'er tea. Its brewing process requires longer steeping times in the teapot and a relatively larger amount of tea, so a purple clay teapot with a higher body and larger capacity should be selected.
With 85-degree Celsius water, patiently wait for one minute. The spacious purple clay teapot allows the buds and leaves to fully expand, releasing the taste of the white hairs on the leaf surfaces and buds.
Lifting the lid of the teapot, a fragrant aroma wafts up, that fresh and pleasant honey-like aroma is naturally sweet and pure, the essential aroma of tea, invigorating the spirit.
A faint tea mist rises from the teapot spout, giving a vibrant vitality. Like being in a primeval forest, smelling the fresh scent of the forest, the mood naturally becomes leisurely and peaceful.
Pour a cup to Drink, first smell its aroma, the fresh scent of white tea carried by the steam gently rises, taking a small sip reveals a fresh, sweet, and unadulterated taste, neither bitter nor astringent, leaving one refreshed and clear-minded. Further savoring, a sweet aftertaste lingers on the lips and teeth, endless and continuous.
White tea and purple clay teapots complement each other in collection.
White tea can be collected, with the current trend of collecting aged white tea. Collecting purple clay teapots is a hobby among literati and refined scholars. The longer a purple clay teapot is used