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History of White Tea
White tea is technically the oldest form of tea because it is really the first tea ever consumed and, the least processed. Other processing techniques later led to the production of other teas.
Once the preferred tea of Chinese royalty, White tea was virtually unknown outside of China where it was first produced during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D). At that time, White tea was produced quite differently than it is today. Leaves were compressed into cakes and boiled in kettles. Like they are today, white teas came from leaves plucked in early spring. By 1200 A.D. the immature silver white leaves were immediately steamed, dried and ground into a powder, used to make the delicate tea. As ruling dynasties changed, so did the production of white teas.
The process by which today's White teas are made can be traced to the late 1700s when loose teas from a mixed-variety tea bush were steeped for tea production. By 1885, specific types of tea bushes were being used to create various types of White teas. In 1891, Chinese exportation of White teas began.
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How is White Tea Different from Green Tea