No, this isn't the ever popular green tea. Nope, not black tea either. It's White Tea! Yeah! Ok, settle down people. Everyone's getting to excited already and we haven't gotten as to why were so excited about White Tea.
White Tea originated from China in about 600 A.D. to 900 A.D.. Back then, it was consumed only by Chinese Royalty. But, it wasn't until the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in the mid 1300's A.D., that White Tea became available to more of the Chinese population. Then, sometime in the 1800's A.D., it made it's way to North America. White Tea comes from the same plant that green and black tea comes from - the Camilla Sinensis plant. So how can these teas come from the same plant yet each be different? It all has to do with when it's harvested from the plants stage of growth and the fermentation process afterwards. White Tea is harvested when the plants buds have not opened up and there is still a silver fuzz covering the bud. When the bud dries, the silver fuzz turns into what looks like white hairs. These white buds collected are also known as "white pearls". Very simply, they are round, white haired, and about the same size as a pearl from an oyster. As far as the process of manufacturing White Tea, it is the easiest of all teas. You harvest, let the bud briefly dry, and then lightly steam. Though, what makes White Tea so different goes back to the harvesting. ONLY IMMATURE BUDS (closed and not opened) COMPLETELY COVERED WITH THE SILVER FUZZ ARE HARVESTED FOR WHITE TEA. This, along with the simple manufacturing process, gives White Tea a pale color with a naturally "sweet and silky" taste. All that sounds great, but this is a Health and Wellness Blog. How will this help me?
Yes, White Tea does have numerous health benefits. First, since the White Tea is harvested in it's immature stage and has minimal manufacturing/processing done to it, it allows the tea buds to be up to 10x more stronger as an antioxidant than any other teas. This means it is 10x stronger to fight and kill those cancer causing cells that cause colon, stomach, and prostate cancer. Also due to it's antioxidant strength, it assists your immune system in fighting off viruses and bacterias. This was concluded in a 2004 study at Pace University. Now, the health benefits of White Tea don't stop here. Other benefits include: weight loss, prevention of dental plaque, prevention of canerous tumors, protection of skin from UV sun rays, reduces severity of strokes, increased energy, reduces fungus growth, lowers your cholesterol, thins your blood, gives greater bone density, reduces blood sugar for diabetics, and is an extremely high anti-inflammatory which is great for anyone having any autoimmune disease.
So, any thoughts of White Tea now? It maybe a good idea to incorporate this in your diet huh? A cup of White Tea a day just may help keep the doctor away...
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