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How to Drink White Tea for Health

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(1 Ratings)

You may be familiar with white tea from Chinese restaurants. It's made from the buds and young leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, giving it a pale color. Though they contain more caffeine, buds and young leaves retain flavonoids that get lost in older leaves, such as those used in green teas. These fight cancer and boost the immune system.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Tea kettle
  • White tea leaves
  • Tea cup
  • Tea strainer
  1. Step 1

    Purchase quality white tea. Prepare to pay more for it because it's still not as popular to drink in the United States as green tea. Online outlets like The Tea Farm are your best sources.

  2. Step 2

    Choose the type of white tea you like. Silver Needle is the most expensive but the most delicate. White Peony is significantly stronger than Silver Needle. Other varieties include Ceylon, Darjeeling and Jasmine.

  3. Step 3

    Brew your tea with filtered or bottled water, if possible. Otherwise, pour out the water left in your kettle and fill it with fresh cool water.

  4. Step 4

    Boil your water and let it sit for about a minute before pouring it over the tea. This prevents a bitter aftertaste from ruining your white tea drinking experience.

  5. Step 5

    Use 2 teaspoons of white tea leaves for each 8-ounce cup to start. Experiment with the flavor. White Peony, which is a bolder variety, may be too strong at this level while Silver Needles, the finest variety, may be too watered down.

  6. Step 6

    Let the white tea leaves sit (or steep) in the hot water for at least 5 minutes. The more delicate the variety, the longer it takes to become more flavorful. Silver Needles may require up to 15 minutes to get its full flavor.

  7. Step 7

    Strain the tea leaves from your cup and meditate, knit, read a good book or listen to soothing music while you relax and enjoy your hot tea.

Tips & Warnings
  • Consider drinking white tea instead of your morning coffee.
  • Set aside a corner in your nicest room and a quiet time for your tea drinking ritual.
  • Never drink white tea with cookies, cake or pastries.
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