How Afternoon Tea and High Tea Began

From chefs to scientists, many believe that white tea has numerous benefits for you and your health. So what exactly is white tea, and how can it benefit you?

White tea comes from immature tea leaves. These blooming tea balls leaves are picked right before the plant has a chance to fully bloom. A fine silver fuzz covers the tea causing it to turn white, hence its’ name.

There are 4 distinct varieties of white tea; White Peony, Silver Needle, Long Life Eyebrow and Tribute Eyebrow. These are derived by combining various quantities of tea leaves with their buds. For White Peony, two leaves are mixed with one bud, whereas for a higher quality Silver Needle tea, the mixture is made completely of buds. These buds turn into tea two days after they are picked. Long Life Eyebrow, a lower quality variety, is made from combining the left over leaves after a White Peony and Silver Needle harvest. Tribute Eyebrow is actually processed using a special tea bush, and is considered a lesser quality tea.

All four varieties are best purchased in loose-leaf form. Bagged tea simply is the leaf dust that’s left in the bottom of tea bins after harvesting, reducing the desired quality and flavor.

Recent studies show that white tea can give extra protection against skin cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer. It also shows that the extract of this tea helps protect your skin after it has exposed to sunlight and reduces cell damage. Some test subjects even experienced a partially repaired immune system. Scientists believe this is due to the antioxidants present, and further suggests that it could also have anti-aging effects.

Evidence has shown that the extract of white tea also has the ability to stop pneumonia and Staph infection causing bacteria, as well as the bacteria that causes tooth decay, gum disease, plaque and bad breath. This fabulous tea works even better when trying to stop bacterial viruses, and acts as an anti-virus for human pathogen viruses.

Another potential health benefit is that it may also have anti-fungal effects. In recent studies, when combined with white tea, certain fungus based drugs were found to be completely inactive. This could mean that it may be used to prevent fungus growth in other conditions.

Cholesterol is actually a health requirement, but there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Catechins, a type of antioxidant, have been found to reduce the bad cholesterol that causes hardening of the arteries. White tea is absolutely chock full of these catechins, and helps raise the good cholesterol in your system.

It has been suggested that this tea may even lower blood sugar levels, thereby reducing and possibly preventing diabetic symptoms.

From anti-aging and anti-fungal effects, to cancer protection and antioxidants, white tea has been proven to provide a wide variety of health benefits. Scientific studies and research continue, so we can only assume even more positive results and benefits will be found.