Darjeeling White Tea
By Peter Keen
The demand for teas labeled as “white” is growing fast. Just a decade ago, the market was well defined: pedigree regional Chinese and a very few individual varieties from Sri Lanka and Kenya, with a narrow and distinctive growing, harvesting, and processing profile. Silver Needle, White Peony, and Shou Mein essentially comprised the market. They were defined by the bud, not the leaf. The somewhat misleading category name comes from the original and still-major producing regions: Shenghe and Fuding, in China’s Fujian Province. The “white” is not a color along the spectrum of green to black but refers to key characteristics of the Fujian tea buds: the downy white hairs on the bottom that evolved to protect against bugs.
The ultra-deluxe Silver Needle dates from the 10th century and has always been noted as a Tribute Tea reserved for the Emperor. It was and still is a bud tea – no opened leaf. In the 1920s, the economics of production began to put pressure on growers and merchants. Bai Mudan – White Peony – added two tender leaves from below the bud. Shou Mei, also known as Longevity Eyebrow, was introduced in the late 1960s; this is a little less delicate and mostly composed of mature leaves.
Global supply is expanding with distinctive and widely varied teas from Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi in Africa; India’s Nilgiris and Assam; the Himalayan Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Nepal regions; Vietnam; Thailand; Colombia; and even Hawaii. It’s a complex market characterized by lots of definite maybes, buts, howevers, and well-not-exactlys as they move beyond the Fuding profile. They now include near-green teas; ones grown from the Indian-centered Assamica varietal mainly used to produce full blacks versus the China Sinsensis, the mainstay of greens – and pedigree China whites; steaming and pan-frying instead of or added to withering; light Darjeelings and fuller flavors versus the target delicacy of classic whites; and blends and mature leaf varying in quality and characteristics.
The American Tea Masters Association described the lack of any common definition across the global industry as leading to “continued confusion.” It failed to obtain a clear consensus from its members.
The common essence of white teas as a label is the combination of highly selective buds, whose concentrated nutrients significantly determine their biochemistry, and an equally selective handling of them. The plump Fuding buds come from five or so main varietals, notably the unique Da Bei and larger leaf Bai Hao – “Big White.” These provide an extra jolt of glucose that makes them sweeter than maturing leaves. They are high in the antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, and l-theanine that characteristics the best of teas in general. They have given whites a double cachet in claims of health benefits: first, the chemistry and second the association of white with light and purity. Ads build on the reputation of green tea in positioning whites as even more beneficial.
No tea can be purer, more natural than the best Fuding buds. They are gathered a few days before they begin to expand into leaves. The key to their processing is that they are not in fact processed but left to wither so that they barely oxidize. You see oxidation in action when you cut open an apple; it quickly begins to turn brown and dry.
Fuding is the model for white teas. However, it in no way establishes anything standard, consistent, or generic. Now, there is really no such category as white tea: nothing is standard or predictable. The bud-plus-withering imperative is more honored in spirit than letter. One obvious byproduct of the white tea craft and context is that the most common adjective in discussions and reviews is “rare.” Rare of course is a soothing word for very expensive.
Here are a few snippets that give a flavor of just how refined, exact and labor-intensive top end white making is.
Harvesting. The tender care starts in the field. Whites are handled to preserve the delicate leaf with no bruising – even the baskets are kept small to minimize pressure. Only tender, uniformly shaped, and unbroken buds are picked and won’t be harvested on rainy days or when the morning dew has not dried. Fuding Grade A buds will be less than a day old and Grade 4, four days. After that, the bud begins to unfold as a leaf and is no longer acceptable as Silver Needle but makes a fine Bai Mudan.
One garden reports that a skilled plucker picks 200-500 grams of buds for Silver Needle in a day. compared with 16-20 kilograms (kg) of two leaves and a bud – 9 ounces versus 35-44 pounds. Around 70,000 plump, unopened buds are required to produce a pound of harvested tea.
Harvesting times are early in the spring for the best whites and may last only a few weeks or even days. Republic of Tea’s Emperor white is picked just two days a year. Summer teas are inferior and often bland with Autumn harvesting good enough. Spring accounts for half of annual production.
Supply. The volumes produced are tiny and white teas a sideline for most growers. Dilmah reports that Sri Lanka’s whites amount to 1,700 metric tons out of a total of 325 million. Assam’s Meghalaya makes just 20-30kg with its other teas adding up to 2,200. Adam’s Peak produces 30kg a week and Castleton, one of the most outstanding Darjeeling gardens, which makes 30,000 kilograms of mostly black teas, offers a total of 10kg a year of its Moonlight Imperial White, made from the clonal AV2 variety of seed.
Even in Fuding, there’s a wide variation. A New Craft white has emerged that uses a less tender leaf than Classic whites, which contain about 5% moisture. New Craft teas are 30%. They are rolled and shaped – the very opposite of Silver Needle. It was introduced in Fuding in the late 1960s, explicitly to increase production and meet growing demand. The initial output of 80 tons has grown to over 400.
Prices: Not surprisingly, the price of the Castleton Moonlight Imperial white is high: $48 an ounce, around double that for its noted first flush black tea. That’s typical. Among greens, blacks and oolongs, the $6-8 an ounce range covers the very good to the premium. Double or even quadruple that for whites. One indicator of the price premium is that they are typically sold in small units of 30-50 grams (an ounce) versus the more common 100 or 125 grams (3.5-4.5 ounces.) That reduces sticker shock and encourages occasional purchase of a luxury treat.
Here are representative prices, not exceptions, for Silver Needle class teas from leading brands and online sellers, per ounce: Dilmah Assam Silver Tips $44, Darjeeling Mim Estate $45, Kenya Silverback $18, Vietnam Fairy White $27, Harney Ceylon Vintage Silver Tips $15, Nepal Shangri-La $30, Nilgiri White $19. Adam’s Peak sells at anywhere between $25 and $35 an ounce.
Prices are lower for Shou Mein teas but still around double that of equivalent blacks and greens, generally around $9. The addition of two leaves obviously reduces unit costs, as does the growing addition of botanicals such as jasmine petals and pomegranate and hibiscus. The growth in demand for white teas is encouraging the use of mature leaves and ones that do not match the freshness, shape and wholeness and withering of the best. Withering can take up to 72 hours of constant nurturing. There’s plenty of room for corner-cutting and adulteration through blending.
One of the attractions of the new and more affordable range of mid-level whites of is that they offer a style of what is really a green tea that is at the same time free of the vegetal overtones that put some drinkers off greens and also a little fuller in taste. Kenya’s Silverback and White Rhino, Malawi’s Antler and the growing offers from elite Darjeeling gardens emphasize their being slightly fuller in flavor than the reference tea for whites in general, Fudong’s Silver Needle, with a slight woodiness or floral and fruity zip. Castleton’s web site admits that it Moonlight is close to being an oolong.
The chemistry of whites is surprisingly complex given its minimalist handling. They are high in antioxidants, widely regarded as the core of tea health benefits and in enzymes that improve skin care and condition. (White tea extract is a major market for cosmetic products.) The special medical claims for whites are unproven but a number of studies show suggestive results in a range of areas.
The bud is key here. It is the antioxidants are most concentrated and stored. And so too is the caffeine. Many whites are marketed as low in caffeine, especially blends made from older leaf and accelerated withering. This often exploits the association of white with light with delicate and hence at the opposite extreme from heavy, full black tea – and ergo caffeine-low. Yes, but… White tea is both lowest or among the highest of all teas. That’s the bud-leaf ratio. again. Young, fresh and nutrient-packed ones are caffeine-packed and varied seed, season, terroir, withering and brewing account for the span from 6-55 milligrams a cup versus 30-70 for greens and 47-90 for blacks. A few are as high as 90 mg.
So, Fuding, varietals, really harvesting, bud, withering,. Well, not exactly, except and however. But many whites are processed as greens; the leaves and buds are steamed or then dried, like Ceylon Silver Needles, an outstanding and well-established white. Pedigree China classics are made entirely of unopened full buds (Silver Needle), a bud and a leaf (White Peony), and a bud and two leaves (Shou Mei).
They are made from cultivars – seed varieties – of the Chinese Sinsensis bush, except for the many that are produced from the heavier Assamica. They are noted for their extreme delicacy and light subtlety of flavor and aroma or their fuller boldness and woody, malty and “jammy” overtones.
All this has created a situation comparable to puehrs, where buyers need education and experience in finding their way around the offers and options, prices are high and misrepresentation and even fraud hard to prevent.
For growers and sellers of specialty tea, the attraction of white tea is the margins. For buyers, it’s the exquisite subtlety and delicacy of the best and, to a lesser extent, the extra intensity the newer varieties provide.
The confusion and lack of standard definition is both opportunity and challenge. All this has created a situation comparable to puehrs, where buyers need education and experience in finding their way around the offers and options, prices are high and misrepresentation and even fraud hard to prevent. Equally, though, it is producing some unusual and interesting teas. Here are examples that differ from the Fuding blueprint and stand out in their own identity:
English tea store: The China White Peony blend produces an amber brew, and has “a jammy/malty taste that is closer to medium black tea than green tea.” So it’s a sort of Assam white. One of the better teabags.
Satemwa, Malawi Antlers is a fine tea attracting very positive reviews, made out of the twigs and leaf of the bush. It’s closer to a Japanese kukicha twig tea than a Fuding white. It’s the very opposite of Fudings: stems and a few tips instead of buds and young leaves. The flavor is smooth, light, and fruity, with little astringency. $8 an ounce.
Assam, Mothola Estate: “with the rich maltiness that is exclusive to Assam.” $14 an ounce. Rwanda’s Rukeri cultivar produces a silvery dark green bud, instead of the traditional silver white buds of China. “The wet leaf and bright liquor smell of timothy hay and honey. The viscous brew is extremely smooth and creamy with notes of whole wheat and sun-ripened tomato skin.”
Darjeeling and Himalayan whites: Vahdam, one of the best online Indian specialty tea sellers markets a Himalayan white that it describes on the label as an “SFTGOP oolong.”
This brief review ends where it began: confusion. Especially confusion for the buyer. There are wide gaps in education and experience. The cost of exploration of teas sold at high process for small mounts is disproportionate. There are well over 300 teas on the market with derivatives that include jasmine flavored Silver Needle – often a delight –white tea cakes comparable to puehrs, and bags and flavored blends. The solution to the confusion profusion, as so often with specialty tea, is to shop the seller rather than the product. The elite brands are well-positioned in sourcing white teas that produce enough volume to justify distribution rather than “out of stock” notices. Harney, Tao of Tea and Republic of Tea are higher end examples, with ones like Tealyra, Republic of Tea, and Rishi filling their own niches. These are examples only that point to a general obvious: the best tea merchants sell the best white teas. The best online sellers also sell the best whites. The small volumes of pedigree whites rely on close relationship with growers for effective marketing and distribution.
A final dispassionate and objective comment. If there is a Paradise, regular of its religion, it serves Adam’s Peak.