Basic Introduction to Anji White Tea
Anji County is located in the northern part of Zhejiang Province, where the mountains are beautiful and the waters flow green. It is a famous bamboo land in China. Anji White Tea is a rising star among the famous teas of Zhejiang. Although white tea is one of the six major types of tea, Anji White Tea is processed using Green Tea production techniques, thus belonging to the green tea category. Its whiteness comes from the young leaves of a specific type of tea tree that are entirely white.
Nutritional Value
1. Protects nerve cells and may help with brain injuries and dementia: Anji White Tea contains a complex of various amino acids and dibenamine in its tea lipids, which can protect the liver and stomach, promote the synthesis of coagulation factors in the liver, and have anti-aging effects.
2. Regulates the concentration of neurotransmitters in the brain, helping to lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients: Anji White Tea is rich in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which can lower blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar.
3. Relieves nervous tension and has a calming effect;
4. Enhances learning ability and memory: Anji White Tea contains trace elements such as manganese, zinc, selenium, and tea polyphenols, which can improve memory and assist in protecting nerve cells from damage.
5. Improves symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in women;
6. Enhances the effectiveness of anticancer drugs: The tea polyphenols in Anji White Tea have anticancer properties.
7. Helps with weight loss and liver protection: Long-term consumption of Anji White Tea by women leads to slim figures, radiant skin, and overall health. Practical experience shows that drinking Anji White Tea for 15 consecutive days can result in a weight loss of two pounds.
8. Protection against radiation: The polysaccharides in Anji White Tea have radiation shielding effects. Additionally, it contains theaflavins, which can increase the resilience of blood vessels, making them less likely to rupture.
Product Characteristics
The shape of Anji White Tea is upright and slightly flat, resembling orchid leaves; the color is emerald green with visible white downy hairs. The leaves look like jade sheaths encasing silver arrows, very attractive. After brewing, it exudes a high and lingering fragrance. The taste is fresh and refreshing, leaving a lasting aroma on the lips and tongue, followed by a sweet aftertaste. The infused leaves are bright green and tender, with distinct buds clearly visible. Anji White Tea also has a unique flavor different from other green teas, featuring a subtle and fresh aroma akin to “faint bamboo snow.” The higher the grade of the tea, the purer this scent. This might be the “local character” of the tea-producing region of Anji. “Phoenix-shaped” Anji White Tea has straight and prominent buds, robust and evenly sized; the color is tender green, vibrant with a golden hue. “Dragon-shaped” Anji White Tea is flat, smooth, and pointed; the color is tender green with a jade-like appearance, evenly sized. Both teas have bright green and clear broth, fresh and lasting fragrances; their flavors are either fresh and mellow or fragrant, being clean, smooth, and sweet. Depending on the grade, the tea ranges from one bud and one leaf just unfurled to one bud with three leaves. High-grade teas have buds longer than the leaves. Furthermore, premium Anji White Tea has a golden-green color (especially those harvested before the Qingming Festival, a characteristic shared by some other green teas). Given the characteristics of the Anji White Tea's raw materials, using the production techniques of West Lake Longjing Tea to make “Anji White Tea Longjing” compromises the advantages of “Phoenix-shaped” Anji White Tea, while highlighting certain disadvantages (specifically referring to raw materials from the “Baiye No.1” variety). As a result, “Dragon-shaped” Anji White Tea is not yet on par with “Phoenix-shaped” Anji White Tea in terms of consumer recognition, market share, or tea prices.
History and Folklore
Technology personnel Liu Yimin collected a single plant of this White Tea King, developing a method of propagation through cuttings, which became the key to the proliferation of “Anji White Tea.” In the mist-shrouded Mount Beitianmu at an altitude of over 800 meters in Anji's Daxi Mountain, a rare white tea tree on the brink of extinction was discovered. After more than ten years of careful breeding experiments by agricultural and forestry technology personnel, this over-a-century-old wild species sprang back to life, giving rise to a new generation of premium tea – Anji White Tea.
Awards and Honors Received by Anji White Tea
In 1998, Anji White Tea was recognized by the Zhejiang Provincial Government as a “Zhejiang Agricultural Brand Product”; in May 1999, Anji White Tea won first place in the Zhejiang Famous Tea Evaluation; in June, it was awarded the Grand Prize at the Third “China Tea Cup” National Famous and Quality Tea Evaluation Conference; in July, it won the Gold Award at the China International Tea Expo; in September, it was recognized as a brand product at the Fourth China Agriculture Fair; in October 2000 and July 2001, it won the International Famous Tea Gold Award at the China International Tea Expo again.