Chinese Green Tea Map

In spite of the suggestion of its name, this is a green tea by its making process. In 1982 a rare wild white-leaf species was discovered by chance in the valley of Anji County - its leaves appear off-white during early spring; when temperature grows warmer in late spring, they gradually change to dark green.

White-leaf tea was recorded in China as early as the 11th century. “White leaf tea is different from other teas,” wrote emperor Zhao Ji in his About Tea. “Its branches are tortuous, and its leaves are thin and translucent. This tea grows only in solitary mountains, and a few plants can be found.”

The initial lab data showed that nutrition contents, such as amino acid, of White Tea are about ten times higher than other green teas. To 1996 its growing area increased to 160 acres in Anji, producing less than 1,000 pound of tea a year. The price of this tea in China was as high as 200 US dollar per ounce.

The harvest start from early spring and last about a month. The standard picking is one shoot with one or two tender leaves under one inch long. About 2,000 leaves will make one ounce of tea.

Situated at the northern foot of Tain-mu Mountain, Anji owns the largest bamboo forest in the world - about 150,000 acres of bamboo and three hundred species.