What temperature should water be for white tea?

167–185°F (75–85°C). That's well below boiling. Without a thermometer, boil the water and let it rest with the lid off for three to five minutes.

How long should you steep white tea?

2 to 4 minutes. White tea is gentle and needs more time than green tea at the same temperature. Start around 3 minutes, taste, and adjust.

How much white tea should I use?

About 2–3 g per 8 oz (240 ml) cup, which for fluffy white tea is usually two heaping teaspoons. Measuring by volume is the most common reason white tea comes out weak.

Does white tea have caffeine?

Yes. It comes from the same plant as green and black tea. A cup usually has somewhere between 15 and 50 mg, depending on the leaf and how long you steep it. Bud-heavy teas can contain more, not less, than people expect.

Can you use boiling water for white tea?

Not for fresh white tea. Boiling water scalds the delicate leaves and brings out bitterness. Aged and compressed white teas are the exception and can take water close to boiling.

How do you know white tea is ready?

The liquor will be pale gold and smell sweet and floral. Taste at 3 minutes: if it's thin, give it another minute. Color alone is misleading, since good white tea is always pale.

How to Brew White Tea

Steep time: 2m – 4m
Water temperature: 75°C – 85°C

About White Tea

White tea is the least processed of all teas: young buds and leaves are simply withered and dried, without rolling or deliberate oxidation. It comes mainly from Fujian province in China, where the classic styles are Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen), made from buds alone, and White Peony (Bai Mudan), which includes the buds and young leaves. Aged white teas, often pressed into cakes, are also prized.

What it tastes like

Delicate and subtle: hay, melon, honey, and soft florals, with very little astringency. Silver Needle is the most delicate; White Peony is fuller and slightly fruitier.

Step by step

Measure your tea Use about one teaspoon of White Tea leaves per 8 oz cup.
Heat the water Bring fresh water to 75°C – 85°C. Water that is too hot will scorch the leaves.
Steep Pour the water over the leaves and steep for 2m – 4m. Start at the shorter time and taste as you go.
Strain and serve Remove the leaves as soon as the steep is done so the tea does not turn bitter.

Brewing tips

Brew it in a glass pot or cup if you have one. Watching the silvery buds drift and sink is half the pleasure.
Try an aged white tea, often pressed into cakes, next to a young one. Aging turns it deeper and sweeter, toward dates and honey.
Serve it with very light food or none at all. Even mild flavors can overwhelm it.

Timer

White Tea steeps for 2m – 4m — start the clock as you pour.

White Tea

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Other ways to brew White Tea

In a mug or teapot

White tea leaves are big and fluffy, so measure generously: two heaping teaspoons, or 2–3 g by weight, per 8 oz (240 ml) cup. Heat water to 167–185°F (75–85°C), or let boiled water rest three to five minutes, and steep 2–4 minutes. White tea is subtle, so start at 3 minutes and taste before deciding it's weak.

In a gaiwan or small pot

For a richer, more layered session, use about 5 g of leaf in a 4 oz (120 ml) gaiwan or pot with water around 185°F (85°C). Steep 30–45 seconds for the first infusion and add 10–15 seconds each round. Silver Needle and White Peony both reward this kind of brewing.

Cold brew

White tea is lovely cold brewed. Use about two heaping teaspoons (4–5 g) per 8 oz (240 ml) of cold water and refrigerate for 6–10 hours. The result is honeyed and soft, with no bitterness at all.

Iced white tea

Brew at double strength, about 5 g in 8 oz (240 ml) of 185°F (85°C) water for 4 minutes, and pour over ice. Peach, pear, or a little honey suit its gentle sweetness.

Can you re-steep White Tea?

Yes, and well. Good loose white tea gives three or four steeps. In a mug, steep the second round a minute longer than the first, and the third a minute longer again. Bud-heavy teas like Silver Needle open slowly, so the second cup is often fuller and sweeter than the first.

If your White Tea doesn't taste right

Tastes like hot water? You probably need more leaf. White tea is light and fluffy, so a level teaspoon is far less tea by weight than it looks. Use two heaping spoonfuls or weigh 2–3 g, and steep the full 3–4 minutes.
Bitter or grassy? The water was too hot. White tea is barely processed and scorches in boiling water. Let the kettle rest off the boil for a few minutes.
Flat or musty? Check the age and storage. Aged white teas, especially compressed cakes, are meant to taste woody and honeyed, but a loose white tea that smells of cardboard has gone stale.

Ways to drink White Tea

Silver Needle

Made only from unopened buds covered in fine white down. It's the most delicate white tea, tasting of melon, hay, and honey. Brew it at the cooler end, around 167–175°F (75–80°C), for 3–4 minutes.

White Peony (Bai Mudan)

A bud and the first one or two leaves. Fuller and fruitier than Silver Needle, with notes of apricot and dried flowers, and a little more forgiving. Brew at 175–185°F (80–85°C) for 2–3 minutes.

Shou Mei and aged white tea

Later-harvest leaves with a darker, woodier character. Aged white tea, often pressed into cakes, develops notes of dates and honey and can take hotter water, up to a full boil, without turning bitter.