Many tea lovers who have just started to contact white tea have some doubts about the old white tea itself, and today Xiaolin will share with you the relevant knowledge of old white tea, and also answer some questions from tea friends.
Is the old white tea all Shou Mei?
It's not!Many new tea lovers have a fixed perception of old white tea and think that old white tea is Shou Mei. When it comes to old white tea, the first thing that comes to mind is the Shou Mei stem leaf, with thick tea stalks and broad leaves. But in fact, the division of old white tea is only related to the year, and has nothing to do with the specific bud and leaf grade of white tea. One bud, three or four leaves of Shou Mei can be stored into old white tea. Single-bud white silver needle One bud, one leaf, one bud and two leaves of white peony can also be stored into old white tea. Among the white teas, the biggest reason why new tea lovers mistakenly think that the old white tea is Shou Mei is Shou Mei, which has a large production and market share, and the retention of Shou Mei in the old white tea is more and more common.
Is old white tea all cake tea?
It's not!White tea is made, and according to the different forms, there are differences between loose tea and cake tea. White tea in the state of loose tea retains the natural flavor of white tea. After the white tea is pressed into a cake, the white tea can acquire a more mellow flavor. Compared with loose tea with a fluffy volume, white tea cakes are regular in shape, small and exquisite, and more convenient to store. In order to meet the market demand and obtain different flavors, tea farmers will press loose white tea into tea cakes. Then Shou Mei, which has a high yield and a fluffy volume in white tea, has become the choice of pressing cakes. After a long time of tea storage, after the white tea was successfully stored into old tea, Lao Shou Mei cake became the most common in old white tea. This makes many new tea lovers mistakenly think that old white tea is cake tea.
Old white tea is old, can it be used as medicine?
No, you can't!It is true that the older the old white tea, the more health benefits will be enhanced (provided that the tea raw materials and craftsmanship are relatively good). During the storage process of white tea, the composition of tea polyphenols, amino acids and flavonoids will be transformed, the flavonoid content of old white tea is higher than that of new tea, and the content of amino acids and caffeine will be lower than that of new tea, flavonoids have antioxidant effect and free radical scavenging function, as well as antibacterial, antiviral and hypolipidemic effects. Among the six major tea categories, the flavonoid content of white tea itself is the highest, and with the growth of the year, the flavonoid content is higher, which is what we often call white tea"Three years of medicine and seven years of treasure"。But let's not deliberately exaggerate its medicinal value, old white tea will also be used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, when you are sick, you still have to follow your doctor's instructions. Old white tea can be healthy, but it cannot cure diseases.
This is Xiaolin's sharing of old white tea, if there is anything lacking, everyone is welcome to add.