Thé blanc

White tea is primarily made by withering and drying, without the fixation used for green tea or the rolling used to promote oxidation in black tea. Oxidation still occurs during withering; it is not deliberately driven to the extensive oxidation associated with black tea. Compressed white tea may also be softened with steam before pressing and dried again.

• 1PluckingBy hand each spring — a single bud for Silver Needle, bud-and-leaf for White Peony, or mature leaves for Shou Mei.
• 2Sun witheringLeaves are spread thin and left to wither for hours or days. This slow moisture loss is where the flavour is really born.
• 3Gentle dryingA low-temperature bake or continued air-drying stops the process and locks in the downy aroma.
• 4AgingStored dry and undisturbed, some white teas transform over time — the story we turn to below.

"White tea is made by doing almost nothing — and that is precisely the point."

For the full origin story, craft, and brewing notes, read The Ultimate Guide to Fuding White Tea.

Silver Needle, White Peony, Gongmei and Shou Mei are white tea product types, not grades one through four. Each type can have its own quality grades. White Peony is made from a bud with one or two leaves; cultivar and raw-material requirements also matter, particularly when distinguishing Gongmei from Shou Mei.

Bud Only · Silver Needle

Silver Needle

Single, fully down-covered buds. A bud-only style, often described in floral or honeyed directions; it has its own product grades. Best drunk fresh.

Explore this tea

Bud + 1–2 Leaves · White Peony

White Peony

Bud and adjacent leaves picked together. A balanced, everyday white tea with floral and gently sweet notes that also rewards light aging.

Explore this tea

Mature Leaf · Shou Mei

Shou Mei

Fuller, older leaves. Bolder and more forgiving — and a mature-leaf style that some drinkers enjoy with further development. Gongmei is its lighter, younger sibling.

Explore this tea

Want to see how they compare side by side? Start with The Complete Guide to the Types of Fuding White Tea, then Bai Mu Dan vs Bai Hao Yin Zhen.

The main white tea selections come from Fuding in Fujian and from Yunnan. The range also includes white-tea-based products with further fermentation, which should be read according to their own process rather than treated as ordinary withered white tea.

Compare them directly: How Does Fuding Silver Needle Differ from Yunnan Silver Needle? and Understanding Yunnan White Tea.

White tea has one of the most celebrated aging traditions in Chinese tea. The folk saying runs "one year a tea, three years a medicine, seven years a treasure" — and while we let the flavour speak for itself, the guiding idea is simple: the further a leaf moves from fresh, the deeper and smoother it becomes.

Dig deeper into how time transforms the leaf: From Simple Leaf to Prized Treasure and Freshness vs Aging: White Tea Storage.

We store our teas in Xi’an under naturally occurring ambient humidity. We do not artificially control humidity. Conditions follow the seasons rather than a fixed humidity target; the tea is protected from moisture, direct sunlight and strong odors.

How our natural dry storage in Xi’an works →

White tea is forgiving, but a little attention goes a long way. The key variables are leaf amount, water temperature and time.

• Use temperature as a starting point for flavor, rather than a test of authenticity. Try 85–95°C for a delicate bud-heavy tea; a tightly pressed or aged tea may benefit from hotter water and shorter steeps. Adjust the leaf amount and time together. Hot water does not automatically spoil Silver Needle.
• White Peony — 90–95°C for a balanced, aromatic cup.
• Shou Mei — 100°C works well and the leaf can even be boiled, especially when aged.
• Gongfu style — roughly 5 g per 100 ml, 20–30 seconds for the first infusion, then increasing with each round.

In cooler months, an aged Shou Mei boiled on the stove makes a warming, mellow brew that suits long sessions by the fire — a favourite autumn and winter ritual. For the full step-by-step, see How to Brew White Tea Perfectly Every Time and the Gongfu Silver Needle guide. For a winter classic, read White Tea and Tangerine Peel.

Start from what you already drink. Prefer something light and elegant? Begin with Silver Needle or White Peony. Enjoy a fuller, longer-lasting tea and like the idea of aging it? Shou Mei is your natural starting point. New to white tea entirely? Both discovery boxes are built to let you compare grades and origins in one sitting.

Fuding Discovery Box10 varieties across the gradesExplore this tea Yunnan Discovery BoxSilver Needle, White Peony & Shou MeiExplore this tea Jinggu Silver Needle CakeYunnan buds, a richer read on the classicExplore this tea Fuding White Peony BrickSpring 2023, whole-leaf compressedExplore this tea 2017 Shou Mei BrickAn aged, mellow cupExplore this tea Baicha FuzhuanWhite tea fu brick with golden flowersExplore this tea

For a deeper decision path, read How to Choose Fuding White Tea, or see how white tea compares with other teas: White Tea vs Green Tea.

08Read Further