White tea guide

White tea is among the oldest expressions of tea. Its tradition dates back to Fujian, in southeastern China, where families of pickers selected the young spring shoots and left them to dry in the open air, without roasting or rolling. Long reserved for the imperial court, white tea became more widespread as harvesting developed around dedicated cultivars. The names that emerged in the XVIIIe and XIXe centuries - Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei - still designate the main categories today. The process was refined without departing from its original simplicity: pick, wither, dry.

White teas come almost exclusively from China, and more specifically from the counties of Fuding and Zhenghe, in Fujian. The humid climate, granite soils and moderate altitudes encourage dense shoots covered in white down - hence the name of the family. More recent productions can be found in Yunnan, Northern India and Sri Lanka. They draw inspiration from the Chinese model without always sharing its cultivars. Hollin favors white teas from China, where the sequence from picking and drying to resting remains handled by the same workshop.

The liquor of a white tea is clear, sometimes almost colorless, barely tinged with straw yellow. On the palate, there are notes of down, subtle honey, sometimes dry hay or pale fruit - apple, white pear, orange blossom. The structure is light yet persistent. After the cup, white tea leaves a soft, lingering impression, without harshness. With aging, some white teas evolve: freshness gives way to a deeper roundness, sometimes mineral.

Water: low in minerals, ideally filtered. Temperature: between 80 and 85 °C. Dosage: 3 g per 200 ml. Time: 3 to 5 minutes in a teapot, or several short infusions (30 seconds to 1 minute) in a gaiwan. Water that is too hot dulls the delicacy of the aroma. An infusion that is too brief erases its roundness. Reinfusion is not only possible, but often desirable: each infusion reveals a different facet of the leaf.