Fozi Mountain in Zhenghe (政和佛子山)

The Fozi Mountain (佛子山) scenic area is located in Waitun Township (外屯乡) near Zhenghe (政和) County, Fujian Province (approximately 28 km from Zhenghe County), and is a national scenic area located to the south of Wuyi Mountain (武夷山) and north of Jiufeng Mountains (鹫峰山). This mountainous area is filled with unique and beautiful rock formations that are often surrounded by clouds and mist. The climate is warm and humid year-round with ample precipitation. The many peculiar rock formations were originally the product of a violent volcanic eruption. The mountains and canyons together with a diverse native plant community earned the Fozi Mountain Scenic Area a reputation as one of the best scenic areas in East China.  

Aged White Tea “Lao Bai Cha” (老白茶)

White tea can be aged similar to puer tea, in which case it will continue to oxidize in storage for up to ten or twenty years (or even longer). The taste of an aged white tea will develop over time and become more complex, mellow, and sweet. 

Like puer, some aged white teas can increase in value, sometimes substantially. In 2011, an auction was held in Shanghai at the Yuyuan International Tea Culture and Art Festival (豫园国际茶文化艺术节) and a cake of Fuding aged white tea (375 g) that was 20 years old was sold for 188,000 yuan (approximately $27K).

Aged white tea is treasured because the annual output of this type of tea is very low, high quality white teas come from pristine alpine environments, and although the processing has few steps and is relatively simple, it takes a high level of expertise to get it right.

The Legend of Bai Mu Dan’s Origin

During the Western Han Dynasty (西汉) in China, there was a prefect named Mao Yi (毛义) who was an honest man. Unable to bear the corruption in the officialdom, he gave up his job as an official and moved to the mountains with his mother to live in seclusion. On their way, they drove a horse-drawn carriage past a peculiar green hill and noticed a strong aroma. They asked an old woodcutter by the road where the smell was coming from. The old woodcutter told them that the fragrance came from the eighteen white peonies growing by the lotus pond. Mao Yi and his mother felt that this place was magical, so they decided to stay and tend to the flowers, grow tea, and practice Daoist cultivation.  Da Bai (大白)

One day, Mao Yi's mother fell seriously ill. Mao Yi searched for medicine to no avail. He was so anxious and fatigued that he fell asleep beside the road. In a dream, he saw the old woodcutter from before, with white hair and a silver beard, who told him: "To cure your mother's disease, you must use carp together with a new tea, both of these ingredients are indispensable." After Mao Yi woke up, he went to the pond and caught a carp as the old woodcutter had instructed. He needed to find tea, but it was the middle of a cold winter. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise and saw that the eighteen peonies had transformed into eighteen immortal 仙 teas trees. The trees were covered with green shoots. Mao Yi immediately picked tea leaves from these trees and dried them. What surprised him was that these tea leaves with white hairs looked like white peony flowers, and the aroma coming from them was wonderfully fragrant. Mao Yi took the new tea home and served it with carp to his mother, who then recovered from her illness. Mao Yi's mother instructed her son to take care of the 18 tea trees. After she finished speaking, she stepped out of the door and flew away, transforming into an immortal who would look after the tea plants among the green mountains in this area, helping locals to grow tea.

Later, in order to commemorate the story of Mao Yi who abandoned his life as an official to grow tea, the people built the Bai Mu Dan Temple, and called the famous tea produced in this area "Bai Mu Dan” (白牡丹) Tea.

Main Production Areas of Bai Mu Dan

Bai Mu Dan was first found in the Shuiji (水吉) Township of Jianyang (建阳) County, Fujian Province. Later in 1922, a small county town called Zhenghe became the main production area of this tea and eventually became famous. Afterwards, Songxi County (松溪县) began to learn the tea production process and also started to produce Bai Mu Dan tea, continuing production to the present day. Therefore, the main production areas of Bai Mu Dan tea include: Songxi (松溪) and Zhenghe (政和) counties, as well as Fuding (福鼎) and Jianyang (建阳) cities.

Production Process of Bai Mu Dan

The tea trees are picked in spring, summer, and autumn. The tea picked in spring is considered to be the best. Pickers know to pick “one bud and two leaves,” and also the requirement of “san bai” (三白) meaning “three whites,” referring to the practice of making sure that each of the three leaves – the bud, the first leaf, and the second leaf all have white hairs. 

White tea in general is some of the least processed of all types of teas, and Bai Mu Dan is no different. Unlike green tea, there is no frying process to fix the leaves and halt oxidation, nor is there kneading. The only two steps in the process are withering and drying, although it is not easy to master these two. 

Generally, withering indoors is better. The buds and leaves are spread evenly and thinly on bamboo sieves and left until 70% dry. Sieves are combined together and the leaves are withered further until 90% dry when they are then put in a drying cage to dry completely at 90-100℃. 

To refine the maocha (毛茶), stalks and other undesirable pieces are picked out of the tea leaves by hand. The leaves are roasted at a low temperature. The temperature must be just right: if too high, the aroma will not be fresh, if too low, the aroma will be dull. 

Origins of White Tea 

“Bai cha” (白茶) literally means “white tea”. Bai cha is one of the six traditional Chinese tea types in China and is a lightly oxidized tea with minimal processing. The finished tea is composed mostly of buds which are covered with white hairs and give the appearance of glistening silver and white snow – the tea is therefore called white tea or “bai cha” (白茶) in Chinese.

Records of “bai cha” go back over 800 years, and the details concerning its origin are debated. Some people think that bai cha originated in the Northern Song (北宋) Dynasty in China. The sources for this view are "Daguan Tea Theory"(大观茶论) and "Dongxi Tea Test Record” (东溪试茶录). It is recorded in these books that, "White Leaf Tea" (bai ye cha 白叶茶) ranks first among the seven tea tree varieties in Jian'an. Other experts contest that white tea has only existed since the Ming (明) or Qing (清) dynasties. Scholars favoring this view base their claim on analysis of historical tea making methods associated with white tea in addition to historical records.

In modern times, according to the article "Discussion on the Origin of White Tea" (关于白茶起源时期的商榷) published by Mr. Yang Wenhui (杨文辉) from Hunan Agricultural College (湖南农学院), it was proposed that white tea appeared earlier than green tea. When the Chinese first discovered the medicinal value of tea, in order to preserve it for future use, the fresh and tender tea buds were dried or roasted. This style of minimal processing was likely used earliest.

White Tea throughout the Chinese Dynasties

Tang Dynasty - Reference to “bai cha” (白茶) first appeared in Lu Yu’s (陆羽) "Tea Classic” (茶经) in the Tang Dynasty, which records: "There is a mountain of white tea three hundred miles east of Yongjia County (永嘉县)." Professor Chen Yun (陈橼) pointed out in "General History of Tea'' (茶叶通史): "Three hundred miles east of Yongjia County would be in the sea, so this was a mistake and meant to be three hundred miles to the south. Three hundred miles to the south is Fuding, Fujian Province (福建福鼎) (the jurisdiction of Changxi County(长溪) in the Tang Dynasty), which is the birthplace of white tea." It can be seen that Changxi County (Fuding, Fujian) has cultivated various "white tea" varieties since the Tang Dynasty.

Song Dynasty - Song Huizong 宋徽宗 (Zhao Ji 赵佶) devoted himself to white tea in the section of "Daguan Tea Theory” (大观茶论). Recorded in this book we find: “白茶，自为一种，与常茶不同。其条敷阐，其叶莹薄，林崖之间，偶然生出，虽非人力所可致.” This translates to: “White tea is its own type, different from regular tea. The lustrous and thin leaves give it a unique expression. It was born out of the places between the cliffs of mountain forests. It was not a product of human beings.” The royal tea garden in the Song Dynasty was located in Beiyuan, Jian'an County (建安县) (now Jianou County(建瓯县)) of Fujian Province.

Ming Dynasty - In the Ming Dynasty, writer Tian Yiheng’s (田艺衡) "Boiled Spring Water Shorts'' (煮泉小品) said: “茶者，以火作者为次，生晒者为上，亦近自然，且断烟火气耳.” This means that because white tea is a raw form of tea, it is not processed and twisted let alone roasted. This minimal processing makes white tea something that is closer to nature. It is full of natural aroma and refreshing. The section, “且断烟火气耳'' suggests that white tea is more in line with a life of mountain-dwelling and meditation as opposed to the hustle and bustle (“烟火气” literally “smoke and fire”) of daily life in the city. 

Qing Dynasty - In the early years of Qing Dynasty’s Jiaqing 嘉庆 period (1769) white tea was made by picking the buds from tea plants and making “silver needles.” In the 1880s, Fuding Da Bai Cha (福鼎大白茶), a cultivar native to Taimu Mountain in Fujian, was used to make Baihao Silver Needle (白毫银针). Da Bai Cha was discovered in Zhenghe County around 1880. Silver Needle white tea made from Da Bai Cha became more prominent by 1889, and White Peony (白牡丹) emerged later in 1922.

Modern - Since the 1950s, white tea has been commonly produced and purchased from tea farmers and is an important part of Fujian Province's foreign trade exports. Due to the location and climate, the amount of white tea produced is very low. In 1963, Bailin Tea Factory (白琳茶厂) in Fuding started using hot-air withering tank technology to produce white tea which helped to boost production quantity.

Varieties of White Tea

There are four main varieties of white tea: Bai Hao Silver Needle, White Peony, Gong mei (Tribute Eyebrow), and Shou mei (Longevity Eyebrow).

Bai Hao Silver Needle 白毫银针

Bai Hao Silver Needle “Bai Hao Yin Zhen” (白毫银针) is made from the single buds of the Da Bai Cha or Shuixian tea cultivars. Made with a single bud as raw material, the finished product looks like silver needles, hence the name. The tea is covered with thick white hair, and the tea soup is light yellow in color with a fresh, sweet taste. Many consider this the best white tea. The main producing areas are Fuding 福鼎 (North Road Silver Needle 北路银针), Zherong (柘荣), Zhenghe (政和) (South Road Silver Needle 南路银针), Songxi (松溪), and Jianyang (建阳) in Fujian Province.

Bai Mu Dan 白牡丹

White Peony “Bai Mu Dan” (白牡丹) is made by picking one bud and one/two leaves from the new shoots of either a “Big White” (Da Bai cultivar) or Shuixian cultivar tea tree. The green leaves have silver-white cores and are shaped like flowers, hence the name. The main production areas are Nanping City, Zhenghe County, Songxi County, Jianyang City, Fuding City, and Ningde City in Fujian Province.

Gong Mei 贡眉

Tribute Eyebrow “Gong mei” (贡眉) is a white tea made from one bud and two or three leaves. Gong mei tea has a distinct core, the leaves are slightly fat and tender, the buds and leaves are connected with branches, the leaves are slightly curled, and the color is gray-green or dark green. Gong mei has more buds than Shou mei, and its tenderness is relatively higher than that of Shou mei, as it is generally harvested younger. Due to the fact that it is covered with white fur that resembles the eyebrows of a “shou xing” (寿星) - in Chinese culture a person who is celebrated for their longevity, it was called "Shou mei." In the Qing Dynasty, the superior "Shou mei" teas were renamed to "Gong mei White Tea” (贡眉白茶), which became Tribute tea (“gong” 贡 means “tribute”) offered as a gift to the court, in honor of the Chinese Emperor.

Shou Mei 寿眉

Longevity Eyebrow “Shou mei” (寿眉) is generally made of one bud and three or four leaves, or even just thick old leaves without tea buds. It is the highest-yielding category of white tea. The taste of Shou mei is initially rough and considered subpar, so it is aged. After long-term storage, Shou mei has a mellow and sweet taste and a distinct jujube fragrance. Due to the complex mixture of mature leaves and buds, it is rich in minerals and polyphenols. The high polyphenol content in Shou mei and other white teas has been shown to have beneficial antioxidant effects, can reduce and improve blood sugar and blood lipids, and can also reduce the secretion of various inflammatory factors.

The Production Process of White Tea

The production process of white tea is the most minimal keeping the tea leaves closest to their natural state.

1. Picking 采摘

White tea is picked according to the temperature, and it is necessary to pick the tea leaves early, pick the most tender ones, pick them frequently, and choose the cleanest tea leaves. The leaves of the buds need to be formed into flowers, of uniform size, and the stalks should be short. Picking is done lightly. Finally, the leaves and buds are placed in bamboo baskets for storage and transportation.

2. Withering 萎凋

After picking, the fresh leaves of the tea are promptly spread out on bamboo trays with uniform thickness. After spreading, according to the climatic conditions and fresh leaf grade, it is determined whether to use sun drying, indoor withering, double withering, or heated withering. When the tea leaves are 70% or 80% dry they can be sieved.

3. Drying 烘干

White tea leaves are generally subjected to a light roast which further dries the leaves. Initial drying: temperature 212-248℉, time: 10 minutes; cooling: 15 minutes.  Re-baking: temperature 176-194℉, then low-temperature long drying at about 158℉.

4. Storage 存储

The moisture content of dry tea should be controlled to be around 5%. White tea can be placed in the refrigerator at a temperature of 33.8-41℉. Once the tea leaves are taken out of refrigeration they should be packed within three hours. White tea can also be aged in which case it is kept out of sunlight and away from extremes in temperature and humidity.