The White tea recipe
for your table
Fill the glass with hot water, let it stand for half a minute, and pour it out. White tea is brewed with water that is already not very hot, so a cold glass immediately draws out too much heat. Dry the outside before continuing.
Boil the water and then let it stand for five to eight minutes, or add a generous splash of cold water until it reaches around 70 to 80 degrees. Boiling water scorches the fine down on the buds, making the tea taste flat.
Put six grams of leaves in the glass or a large infuser and pour the water over them. Let it steep for four to six minutes. White tea hardly ever turns bitter, so a few extra minutes won’t hurt; you’ll simply get more flavor out of it.
Remove the infuser or pour the tea into another vessel so the leaves don’t keep steeping. The same leaves can be steeped two or three more times, adding a minute each time. You can add honey, but only stir it in if you really want it sweeter.
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The story
White tea mainly comes from Fujian province in China and consists of the buds and youngest leaves of the tea plant. They are picked, dried outdoors or indoors and then sorted; nothing else is done to them. Precisely because so little happens, the picking time is so important. If you pick only the unopened buds, you get Silver Needle, while picking the bud with the first leaves produces White Peony. The name comes from the fine white down on a young bud, which remains visible after drying.
The right glass
White tea is so light in color that you want a clear glass for it; otherwise it looks like hot water even though it is full of flavor. Choose a generously sized glass of 31 to 34 centiliters, because you work with plenty of leaves and a long steeping time, and the leaves need room to settle. A sturdy handle is comfortable when the glass is full, and both of these glasses can handle freshly boiled water. If you also serve coffee in glassware, take a look at the coffee glasses.
Pasabahce Timeless Tea Glass 31 cl (2 pieces)
Pasabahce Basic Some Like It Hot Tea Glass 34 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 40,90.
The right tools
For white tea, in addition to the glass, use a fine cocktail strainer to keep the buds out of the pour, and a jigger to measure a precise pour when adding something to it. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 40,85.
Which spirit pairs with white tea?
White tea is light, so the spirit you add should be light too. Stick to something clear or fruity, such as gin, vodka or limoncello. On each drinks page, you can read the percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it pairs with and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Cold brewing suits white tea well: use six grams of leaves per half a liter of cold water, leave it in the refrigerator overnight, and you will have a very light tea. A few mint leaves or a slice of cucumber can be added without overpowering the tea. Milk does it no favors, as it completely masks the flavor. A thin slice of peach or half a teaspoon of honey is as far as I would go. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Serve white tea in a clear glass and place the dry leaves loosely beside it, so guests can see how little processing they have undergone. Serve something neutral alongside it, such as a piece of cake or unsalted nuts; strong cheeses and spicy snacks overpower the tea. Do not leave the leaves in the glass if you are drinking it slowly.
Good to know
Why white tea is the least processed tea
For green tea, the leaves are heated to stop oxidation; for black tea, they are rolled and fully oxidized; and for oolong, oxidation is stopped halfway through. White tea goes through none of these steps: pick, dry, sort, and done. As a result, the finished product most closely resembles the fresh leaf.
The down that gives it its name
A young, still unopened tea bud has fine white hairs. The down remains after drying and gives a batch of white tea its silvery-white appearance; that is where the name comes from. In the glass, you can sometimes see the hairs floating in the tea like a light haze, and that is part of it.
Silver Needle and White Peony
Silver Needle, known as Bai Hao Yin Zhen in Chinese, consists only of unopened buds and is the most carefully selected pick. White Peony, Bai Mu Dan, consists of the bud plus the first one or two leaves and produces a fuller, slightly darker infusion. Silver Needle is lighter and softer, while White Peony is more robust.
Why it is so light in color and flavor
The leaves are neither bruised nor rolled, so much less is released from the cells than with black tea. In addition, you brew it with water that is not boiling. The result is an infusion that remains almost straw-yellow and tastes mainly of flowers, fresh hay, and a little melon, without the dry edge of black tea.
Plenty of leaves and a long steep
White tea contains little of the compounds that quickly make tea bitter, so steeping it for a long time is not a problem. Use one and a half to two grams per deciliter, considerably more than you would use for black tea, and let it steep for four to six minutes. The leaves are airy, so a teaspoon weighs almost nothing.
Caffeine in white tea
White tea contains caffeine. How much ends up in your glass depends on the amount of leaves, the water temperature, and the steeping time. So the assumption that white tea always contains less caffeine than black tea does not hold; with plenty of leaves and a long steeping time, the opposite can just as easily be true.
Frequently asked questions
What is white tea?
White tea is the least processed tea: the young buds and leaves are picked and dried, and nothing else happens. No bruising, no rolling, no oxidation is initiated. As a result, the infusion is very light in color and flavor.
How hot should the water be for white tea?
70 to 80 degrees. Boil the water and let it stand for five to eight minutes, or add a splash of cold water. Boiling water scorches the fine down on the buds, making the tea flat.
How long should you steep white tea?
Four to six minutes, with a generous amount of leaves: one and a half to two grams per deciliter. It hardly becomes bitter, so leaving it a few minutes longer is fine. The same leaves can then be infused two or three more times, adding one minute each time.
What is the difference between Silver Needle and White Peony?
The picking. Silver Needle consists only of unopened buds and produces the lightest, gentlest infusion. White Peony consists of the bud with one or two leaves attached and is somewhat fuller and darker. Both are only picked and dried.
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