A Beginner's Guide to White Tea: Understanding White Tea in One Article

Is there a method for learning about tea?

Yes

Read more tea books

Taste more famous teas

Discuss tea more

Visit more tea-producing regions

Now that white tea has become popular, many people are getting involved, and all kinds of questions follow. If you don't know enough about white tea, it's easy to be misled and just follow what others say.

How to counter this? Only by building your own solid foundation. The following method for learning about tea is a relatively objective summary the editor has come across. Sharing it with you:

I. Understanding White Tea: The Basics

You need to understand what white tea is.

Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle), Bai Mudan (White Peony), and Shoumei - their leaf forms, liquor colors, and flavors each differ, and you need to taste and understand them one by one in comparison;

You should be able to judge which category a tea belongs to by looking at the dry leaves, smelling the aroma, tasting the flavor, and observing the brewed leaves.

At this point you are only at the basic entry level; in fact, you haven't truly begun learning white tea yet.

II. Read Related Professional Books to Build a Theoretical Framework

There are many tea books, but their quality varies greatly, so you must learn to read selectively. Taking white tea as an example, you can look at the following related books to enter the "knowledge" level of learning about tea.

Recommended books and publications:

"Fuding White Tea" - by Chen Xinghua

"Chinese White Tea" - by Wu Xiduan and Zhou Bin

"Tea Manufacturing Science" Third Edition - edited by Xia Tao

Some tea friends may not understand why they should read "Tea Manufacturing Science"?

This is a classic book. Understanding the manufacturing principles of the six major tea categories will give you a deeper understanding of white tea. You will become able tocomprehend by analogy and draw inferences from one instance, such as knowing the differences in craft between green tea from Jiangsu and Zhejiang and green tea from Anhui;

the differences between Guangdong oolong and Fujian oolong;

why floral-scented black tea and fruity-scented black tea are different;

how to quickly distinguish Shuixian from Rougui?

why new-process white tea exists?

Of course, while reading books, you also need to drink tea continuously. At this stage, reflecting on the common points among the six major tea categories will give you different insights for understanding white tea. You will gradually get better, consciously distinguishing the different tea liquors presented by tea leaves due to differences in variety, origin, and craft. At this point, do not rush to pursue a high or low rank in tea.

III. Among Any Three People Walking, One Can Surely Be My Teacher: Discuss and Exchange with Others More

Everyone has their own unique views on white tea!

Among any three people walking, one can surely be my teacher.

In the process of learning about tea, you can exchange and discuss with others more, listen to their level of understanding of white tea and their perspective on issues.

IV. Travel Is the Best Classroom

After gaining a certain theoretical understanding, don't forget to walk around the tea mountains of Fuding and visit tea enterprises, so that theory and practice can be combined. Before going, first understand: what should you look at in the place of origin?

The mountain environment of the tea trees and the growth state of the tea leaves (to understand the ecology);

During the tea-making season, you can observe the complete white tea processing craft in a tea factory (you can carefully compare the similarities and differences between practical craft and book theory);

Carry out practical learning and exchange more with tea-making masters. At this point, if you find differences between theory and practice, by no means should you hastily judge that the theory is wrong or that the actual practice is wrong; instead, think more about the reasons for these differences.

V. Learn to Brew This Cup of White Tea in Your Hands Well

Only by knowing tea can you brew tea better!

Through the study of theory and practice, you will be clear about every aspect of white tea, making it easier to brew a good cup of white tea. Because you know what kind of taste indicates it was not brewed well and where the problem lies;

what kind of tea liquor performance comes from which step of the craft;

If you understand all of this, it is related to all the accumulation from the previous stages.

You will understand even more clearly that this is only the study of white tea; there are also the other five major tea categories.

Learn slowly - learning about tea is a lifelong matter.

(Images and text adapted from the internet)

Tea is not as mysterious as you might imagine!

Facing science directly, let's have a good online chat about tea.

To better and more positively promote Fuding white tea,

for this reason we have establishedthe "2018 White Tea Association Tea Friends Exchange General Group"；

In the group, everyone can discuss the yesterday, today, and tomorrow of white tea,

and can also explore the most practical white tea drinking and collection,

as well asfrom time to timeinvite senior tea people in the white tea world to, within the group,share and exchange as a public serviceprofessional white tea knowledge.

Take a look at the atmosphere of the discussion topics in the group normally

(1) An in-depth discussion on the problem of heart-burning in white tea cakes;

(2) A craft analysis of white tea blending;

(3) Last week's public-service sharing session, we invited a senior Fuding tea person to speak about the charcoal-baking craft of white tea.

About white tea, we do not tell tea stories; we face the truth of white tea directly!