White tea
White tea is one of the most discreet teas.
It is born from young buds picked by hand and dried with restraint, adding almost nothing to nature's gesture.
At Hollin, white tea is a reading of time: the leaf stays almost whole, the liquor is clear, the fragrance is sensed more than asserted. It is a tea that asks to be listened to - slow infusion, softened water, a cup set down quietly.
Our white teas come from gardens where the hand remains primary. You find the softness of down, a discreet note of honey, sometimes the roundness of a pale fruit. Nothing is added, nothing is forced.
To drink in calm, in a withdrawn moment, when the gesture matters more than the quantity. A way of recovering, through the leaf, a long and true attention.
Why this selection
White tea calls for particular rigour: little processing leaves little room for correction. We work with gardens where picking remains manual and drying follows the rhythm of the air. We keep the lots that preserve the integrity of the bud, with no bitterness inherited from too brief a rest. The maison sees in it a form of restraint that reflects its own.
The collection
Preparation and tasting
Softened water at 70-80 °C. Four grams of leaves per 200 ml, in a gaiwan or a pale porcelain teapot. Long infusions, two to four minutes, renewed several times. White tea asks for slowness; it refuses boiling water and a hurried gesture.