White

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.

teabert, the tealytics teapot, keeper of the kettle
This is white tea's classic home, where the grade ladder runs from bud-only Silver Needle down through White Peony to leafier Shou Mei. They aren't one tea at different prices, they're genuinely different cups, and the leafier cakes are the ones I'd tuck away to age and revisit later.

Styles in this family