Anji Bai Cha green tea

The reason Anji Bai Cha goes by the name Anji White Tea in English, is because the tealeaf is unprocessable and it appears as almost completely white. Incidentally, the tea itself is a green tea in terms of its processing. Its natural habitat is located in Anji county, in the province of Zhejiang. The picking season is very brisk, and it happens somewhere in the early months of spring, its duration is around 30 days. The reason behind this, is that because of the gradually rising temperatures in the area, the leaves begin changing their colour to green. This is a special type of tea plant and is unlike the other ones in several ways. According to research, the tea leaves of Anji have a unique genetic variation that produces lower levels of chlorophyll and polyphenol at low temperatures (which serves as an answer as to why its leaves are white and not green), however the leaves are extremely rich in amino acids. It almost contains twice the regular amount of amino acids that can be found in green tea. High levels of amino acids are a major advantage since they are beneficial for cortisol
levels and reducing stress.

The first mention of Anji White Tea was in an ancient 900-year-old Chinese book, in a legend called “Da Guan Cha Lun” and it was referred to as a jade white leafed tea plant. It remained a legend up until the 1980’s, but there was a discovery made in An Ji in the province of Zhejiang. They found a white tea bush which experts deemed to be the tea plant the legend was alluding to. They began cultivating it for commercial purposes – the Anji Bai Cha is one of the teas which is made from the leaves of this plant. The picking season is very brisk, and it happens somewhere in the early months of spring, its duration is around 30 days.

To make the tea, you will be needing a small jixing, a clay teapot, or you can simply use a glass cup. If you use the latter, you can observe the merry dance of the tiny needle-like shaped leaves on the water as they open up. Use 2 grams of tea for 15 ml of water. It is key that the water utilized for the tea does not exceed 80 Celsius. During the first and second pour, make sure that the leaves only soak for one minute. During the additional infusions, you can increase the soaking time. The taste is refreshingly delicious and calming, its aroma is light, hinting at the sweetness of an orchid.