What is white tea? In the life of people who love tea, they are always used to drinking a good cup of tea in the afternoon or after meals. Taste the light tea fragrance not only to soothe the whole body, but also to feel a sense of life’s rituals. Among teas, white tea is a very popular option for tea tasting, but many people do not know much about white tea, nor do they know its benefits and effects of drinking white tea.
In fact, white tea is a naturally fermented tea, but unlike other tea leaves which require many processes, white tea can be directly exposed to the sun and roasted on a small fire after the tea is picked. Additionally, white tea has a saying “one-year tea, three years medicine, seven years treasure”. Today, let us tell you in 3 minutes, what kind of tea white tea is, and why it is so popular.
What is white tea?
What is white tea??
The so-called white tea refers to a kind of tea that can be made once picked, and it can be made by drying in the sun and by baking on a small fire without blanching and kneaking. White tea is a micro-fermented tea, a traditional Chinese tea, and one of the six major teas in China. The appearance of white tea is complete, full of pekoe, fragrant and fresh, much like the existence of silver snow. That’s how it adopted the name of white tea. The tea brew colour is a combination of yellow, green and cyan. It can be said that it is a very special treasure among Chinese tea, as the taste is light, and always makes people feel the unparalleled sweet taste.
At present, the more popular white tea variants come from the northeastern regions of Fujian, such as: Fujian Fuding, Zhenghe, Songxi, Jianyang, Yunnan Jinggu, along with other nearby regions, which produce well-known white tea such as Haoyinzhen, White Peony, Gongmei, Shoumei, etc. .
“I got nasty habits – I take tea at three.” – Mick Jagger
What is the origin of white tea?
When it comes to white tea, we have to mention the origin of white tea. In the beginning, it appeared in Lu Yu’s “Book of Tea” in the Tang Dynasty, which mentioned that “there is a white tea mountain three hundred miles east of Yongjia County”. This is the earliest record of the name ‘white’ tea being referenced in history. Then, “General History of Tea” was written by a professor – Chen Yun mentioned that “300 miles east of Yongjia is the sea, and 300 miles south is the origin of white tea in Fujian Province.” From this, we can find that during the Tang Dynasty, Changxi County had cultivated varieties of “white tea”. However, this is just the record of the name. As for whether it can be used as the basis for the origin, further confirmation is needed.
In addition, there are also some scholars who believe that white tea already existed when Shennong tasted all kinds of herbs. For instance, Mr. Yang Wenhui from Hunan Agricultural College mentioned that white tea appeared earlier than green tea in the book – “Discussion on the Origin of White Tea.”
Tea Classroom – White Tea
What are the benefits of white tea?
In recent years, many scholars have conducted in-depth research on the benefits of drinking white tea. According to statistics, the efficacy of drinking white tea is mainly reflected in the following major points:
Diagnosis and treatment of measles – White tea benefits1
White tea is rich in many nutritional properties, well-known for detoxification, treating measles, and preventing cancer, as well as heatstroke. Particularly, white tea that has been stored for a long time can be used as an antipyretic for children with measles. The effect of such white tea in reducing fever is even better than that of antibiotics. Therefore, in northern China and Fujian, it is often regarded as the origin of the best medicine for the treatment of measles.
According to what Zhou Lianggong, a famous person in the Qing Dynasty, mentioned in “Min Xiaoji”,”The silver needle of Baihao, produced in the Hongxue Cave of Taimu Mountain, is cold in nature and has the same effect as a Rhino horn. It is the medicine for measles”. This tells us that the application of white tea has been widespread since ancient times.
Improve blood sugar balance – White tea benefits2
Various studies have shown that in addition to the established nutrients of other teas, white tea also contains the active enzymes needed by the human body. Drinking white tea for a long time can effectively increase the activity of lipoproteinlipase in the body, promote fat catabolism, control insulin secretion, and delay the long-term absorption of glucose, which means it can decompose excess sugar in the blood and achieve blood sugar balance.
Vision Care – White tea benefits3
The medicinal value of aged white tea is high, and because it’s stored for long, white tea contains a lot of vitamin A. When the nutrients of white tea are absorbed by the human body, it will be converted into vitamin A and synthesised into rhodopsin. Such substances can act on the human body to make people’s eyes see clearly in dark places, and effectively prevent dry eye and night blindness. In addition, white tea also contains anti-radiation substances, which have a protective effect on the human hematopoietic function and can effectively reduce the harm of radiation. It can be said to be a natural product for vision care.
Liver protection – White tea benefits4
White tea is rich in dihydromyricetin, a natural flavonoid that can protect the liver, accelerate ethanol metabolism and acetaldehyde decomposition process, and reduce the damage caused to liver cells by other substances. White tea has detoxification and fatigue elimination effects including hangover relief, healing of the liver, moistening of lungs, and reducing blood pressure, fat, as well as inflammation. Particularly, when you drink too much or eat too much oily food, it may cause physical discomfort, resulting in digestive dysfunction. At this time, drinking white tea has the effect of protecting the liver.
Anti-tumor – White tea benefits5
After years of research by the American Cancer Research Centre and other research institutions, white tea was found to have a newly discovered type of anti-cancer substance, which can inhibit and reduce liver cancer lumps, and can also improve immunity. White tea has more anti-mutation effects than other teas, and its anti-cancer strength has more potential than black tea and green tea.
Beauty – White tea benefits6
White tea is quite suitable for people who want to lose weight, because white tea is rich in a lot of theophylline and caffeine, which can effectively reduce accumulated fat. Long-term drinking can achieve the effect of weight loss. In addition, white tea is rich in tea polyphenols, which can protect the protein structure of the skin, eliminate oil on the face, maintain skin elasticity, and achieve the effects of self-cultivation, beauty, and anti-aging from the inside out. Therefore, many people also call white tea “women’s tea”.
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“Afternoon tea should be provided, fresh supplies, with thin bread-and-butter, fancy pastries, cakes, etc., being brought in as other guests arrive.” – Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
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Although white tea is not common, it is a must-have product for beauty. It has also occupied an unshakable position among many people who love beauty and pay attention to self-cultivation. Especially in this era of attention to body and beauty, you can be involved naturally, and this is why more and more people like white tea.
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