SilverTip white tea

History of white tea

According to different variety of tea plant and pluckingstandard,Chinese white tea were ever divide into three types:

• (1) Big white: the white tea made from fresh tea leaves pluckedfrom "Big White Tea" variety.
• (2)Narcissus White: white tea made from fresh tea leaves pluckedfrom "narcissus white" variety.
• (3)vegetable white:white tea made from fresh tea leaves pluckedfrom "vegetable white" variety.

Silver tip white tea (or silver needle pekoe) made from singlebuds plucked from "Big White Tea" variety. White peonytea made from one bud with two/three leaves plucked from "BigWhite Tea" variety or Narcissus White.

The history of white tea manufacturing is shorter than other teatypes. As recorded, white tea was firstly created in Fuding countyin 1796. In that time, the farmers plucked the fresh tea leavesfrom "vegetable white" variety to make silver tip whitetea. And, the "Big White Tea" variety was found in Fudingabout in 1857. Since 1885, the farmers began to pluck fresh tealeaves from "Big White Tea" variety to make silver tipwhite tea, which called Big white in that time. And, the silvertip white tea from "vegetable white" variety then so called"unrefined neelde" or "small white".

The "Big white" variety was also found in Zhenghe in1880. The tea farmes began to produce silver tip white tea in 1889.Till 1922, white peony tea was then produced there. White peonytea was firstly created in Shuijie( Jianyang county nowadays). While,it's not sured when white peony tea was created.

The white tea production began from Fuding, then spread to ShuiJie,then Zhenghe. As to white tea products, silver tip white tea wasfirstly creasted, then white poeny tea, then longevity eyebrow.

The export business for silver tip white tea began from 1891.Since 1910, Chinese white tea tend to be popular in Europe and Americalike Chinese congou black tea.