Tea Time!

This month's tea from my tea tasting club is a 'white', 'Silver Tips' tea called 'Chakra Silver Tips'. I've never had white tea before so this was a new experience for me!

The tea, which you can see in my blip, is made just from the unopened shoots at the very tip of the tea plant (the 'Tips'). The 'Silver' comes from the fine, downy silver hairs on the unopened shoots.

So here is today's interesting tea fact..

Black tea, green tea and white tea, all come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis) the colour refers to the the amount of oxidation that has occurred to the tea leaves.

For black tea, after plucking, the leaves are allowed to wither to remove some of the moisture. They are then rolled to break down the plant cell walls and release the oxidizing enzymes that cause the leaves to turn black. When the required levels of oxidation have occurred, the leaves are fired to stop the oxidation process and dry the leaves out ready for packing.

For green tea, the leaves are fired (or steamed) as soon as they are plucked so they are not allowed to oxidise.

White teas are made with leaves left in their natural state. The buds are allowed to wither in the sun to reduce the moisture in the leaves and then dried ready for packaging.

I think that's right anyway.. as always - this is a journey of discovery for me so I may not have everything right.. corrections welcome!

Anyway, the Silver Tips tea was lovely. Delicate like green tea but with a very fruity taste (my tasting notes said 'peach and rose' but I thought I was doing pretty well to get 'fruit'!)