What is the Difference Between White Tea and Green Tea?

White tea is the least processed tea, with the leaves being plucked and air dried until they reach the ideal moisture level (typically between 5-10%). White tea oxidizes naturally while it dries, meaning that the only source of heat that our white tea receives is from the sun.

Green Tea is withered slightly and then either roasted, steamed, or pan-fired (our green tea is roasted to a temperature of approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit). This heating procedure allows the cell walls within the leaves to stay intact while retaining the inherent chlorophyll, giving the leaves a more greenish color and also contributing to a more “green” taste.

Also, true white tea only comes from two varieties of the tea plant (camellia sinensis), the Da Bai and the Da Hao cultivars (read more about traditional white tea here). Green tea on the other hand may be derived from any of the hundreds of different varieties of the tea plant, including Jiu Keng, Bai Ye, Tu Cha, and Mei Zhan.