Fujian white
The canonical white tea family, from Fujian's Fuding and Zhenghe production centers. The grade hierarchy is strict: Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) is bud-only from Da Bai cultivars (Fuding Da Bai and Zhenghe Da Bai are the two main lines), the most prized and most expensive; White Peony (Bai Mu Dan) adds the top two leaves with the bud for a fuller, more complex cup; Gong Mei and Shou Mei use progressively more open leaf and are bolder and sometimes pressed into cakes for aging. The Xin Gong Yi pressing technique produces compact cakes aged specifically for long-term storage and flavor development. These are not the same tea at different price points: the grade defines the experience.
Styles in this family
Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yinzhen)
Silver Needle sits at the top of the Fujian white tea grade ladder by a significant margin, made exclusively from the single unopened bud of Camellia sinensis.…
White Peony (Bai Mudan)
White Peony is the style that does what Silver Needle does not: it gives you a fuller, more textured cup at a price that makes daily drinking sustainable. The…
Gong Mei
Gong Mei (tribute eyebrow) occupies the rung between White Peony and Shou Mei on the Fujian white grade ladder, and in practice it is one of the quietly most…
Shou Mei
Shou Mei is where the Fujian white tea grade ladder ends, and where a different kind of value begins. The coarser, more mature leaf and later harvest date make…
Xin Gong Yi (New Craft White)
Xin Gong Yi, new craft or new technology white tea, is the deliberate modernization of Fujian white: a longer, heavier wither plus a light rolling step that…
Jasmine White (Scented)
Jasmine White is a white tea, usually White Peony or Silver Needle grade, scented with fresh jasmine blossoms until the leaf carries a soft floral perfume. It…
The steps overlap in practice; this is a reading order, not a set of separate stages.