Swelling popularity has brought white tea to the forefront of tea lovers' awareness, as well as supermarket shelves.
White tea has a milder taste compared to black tea. In fact, its taste is almost similar to that of green tea. However, recent research also has shown that white tea may hold more anti-oxidants than other varieties.
White tea has been produced in China, most notably in Fujian province, for thousands of years but crossed over to the Western consciousness only recently. Most white tea still comes from China, but other countries are starting to make their own versions.
To he buds of the camellia sinensis plant are plucked before they fully open and while they are still covered in white hairs, hence its name.
White tea is a rare tea as it is hand-processed and picked during a very limited time frame.
White tea is steamed immediately after it is picked and then dried, explains Jane Higdon, a researcher with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, on the institute's Web site.
"Consequently, white teas usually contain higher concentrations of catechins than other teas," she says.
Catechins are a main component of tea and are thought to fight cancer and boost the immune system.
Green tea has a high catechin level, too, but can wither before it is steamed, which releases some of the beneficial catechins. Oolong and black teas ferment and lose most of the benefits, Higdon says.
A study by LPI researchers showed white tea may help prevent DNA mutations, the first stage of cancer.
Pace University also studied the health effects of white tea and found it has a greater anti-viral and anti-bacterial effect than green tea.
The health benefit of white tea is the driving force behind its sales at the Whistling Kettle, Borowsky says.
"You have everything that green tea has and a little bit more," he says of white tea's antioxidant levels.
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