the young leaves a white appearance. According to the different standards of picking and selecting, white teas can be classified as Yin Zhen Bai Hao (Silver Needle), Bai Mu Dan (White Peony), Gongmei (Tribute Eyebrow), and Shou Mei (Noble, Long Life Eyebrow). All of these white teas are widely produced in China and are available in America.The highest-quality white teas are Silver Needle and White Peony, both of which have various grades and are primarily produced in the Fuding and Zhenhe districts of Fujian, China. Silver Needle is carefully hand selected from the tender fleshy sprouts of the "Big White" or the "Narcissus" tea bush. If the buds are selected with two leaves intact, then the resulting selection will be made into White Peony tea. The leaves and other material left over from the selection of Silver Needle and White Peony will be processed into Noble, Long Life Eyebrow. Gong Mei is made from "chaicha" bushes and is processed slightly differently than other white teas. Both Gong Mei and Shou Mei are considered lesser forms of white tea compared to Yin Zhen Bai Hao and Bai Mu Dan.

White Tea leaves are not steamed or pan-fired as is the case in green tea but rather the leaves are withered, hand selected and sun dried. The special nature of white tea's color, leaf shape and hair fragrance is mainly created during the withering stage. If mechanical drying is required the leaves are baked (not fired) at temperatures less that 40’C. Only special ‘two leaves and a bud’ are selected. These leaves must show a very light green almost gray white color and be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. The ideal is a leaf or two being wrapped around a newly developing shoot. These shoots are plucked and segregated from the rest of the leaf being plucked. These leaves are then naturally withered and the painstaking process on final manual selection occurs. "Three Whites" is the primary requirement of the fresh tea material. This means the buds, the first leaves and the second leaves must be covered with tiny white hairs. Be warned that a tea with an abundance of white tips or large buds is not necessarily a true white tea.

According to the different standards of picking and selecting, white teas can be classified as Yin Zhen Bai Hao (Silver Needle), Bai Mu Dan (White Peony), Gongmei (Tribute Eyebrow), and Shou Mei (Noble, Long Life Eyebrow). All of these white teas are widely produced in China and are available in America.

The highest-quality white teas are Silver Needle and White Peony, both of which have various grades and are primarily produced in the Fuding and Zhenhe districts of Fujian, China. Silver Needle is carefully hand selected from the tender fleshy sprouts of the "Big White" or the "Narcissus" tea bush. If the buds are selected with two leaves intact, then the resulting selection will be made into White Peony tea. The leaves and other material left over from the selection of Silver Needle and White Peony will be processed into Noble, Long Life Eyebrow. Gong Mei is made from "chaicha" bushes and is processed slightly differently than other white teas. Both Gong Mei and Shou Mei are considered lesser forms of white tea compared to Yin Zhen Bai Hao and Bai Mu Dan.

The quality of white tea is greatly dependent on the season of harvesting. The best white tea is picked in early spring and is subject to numerous requirements. First of all, picking top-grade white tea is prohibited on rainy days or when the early morning dew is not dry. It should never be picked when the buds appear purple; when they are damaged by wind, people, or insects; when they have begun to open; when they are hollow; when they are too long or too thin; when there is one bud with three to four leaves; and when there is frost on the ground.

White tea production is greatly dependent on the weather conditions when the tea is made. Adjustments to the withering stage and the method of bake drying will be determined by tea makers as they interpret the effect the weather will have on the withering process. Temperature and humidity of the environment will dictate the techniques and timing of the withering and bake drying process. White tea that is withered in conditions that are too hot will become reddish, while leaves that are withered in conditions that are too cold will become blackish.

A tea maker's ability to balance solar and indoor withering of white tea is the major determining factor of quality. There are many nuances of white tea production that are dependent on the region and climate where the tea is made, but the major stages in the process are selective picking from specific varietals, withering, careful hand selection, and bake drying.

The plants are cut to about 30 cm (1 foot) from the ground at harvest time and begin another major growth cycle the following spring. The harvested rooibos is processed two different ways, producing two types of tea. The green leaves and stems are either bruised and fermented or immediately dried to prevent oxidation. The traditional fermented tea is processed today in much the same way as the indigenous people processed it hundreds of years ago, including the sun-drying step, but the tools are more sophisticated now. The fermented type is called red tea because fermentation turns the leaves and the resulting tea a rich orange/red color; this distinctive color led to the Afrikaans name rooibos, which means "red bush." The unfermented type, often called green rooibos, contains higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants because fermented rooibos loses some antioxidants during the fermentation process. The unfermented type was developed to maximize antioxidant levels in response to recent interest in the health benefits associated with the antioxidants found in C. sinensis teas. Unfermented rooibos tea is a tan/yellow color rather than the rich reddish color of fermented rooibos. Both types of rooibos tea are available plain or flavored, loose or in tea bags, organic or conventionally grown. Rooibos is graded according to color, flavor, and cut length, with the highest grade labeled "supergrade." The tea has a smooth, non-bitter flavor that is pleasant hot or chilled. The unfermented variety has a very mild "green" taste reminiscent of green tea but without the astringency; the fermented type is quite different, with a stronger sweet and fruity taste. The mild flavor of rooibos has made it popular in multi-ingredient herbal tea blends.