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A worker sorts through newly-plucked tea leaves during the withering processes at a tea factory in Ningde city, Southeast China's Fujian province, March 22, 2016. [Photo by Yao Yao/chinadaily.com.cn]
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As one of the six types of tea in China, white tea has become increasingly popular with an ever-growing demand from health-conscious people around the world.
The name "white tea" derives from the fine silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant, which gives the plant a whitish appearance. The beverage itself is not white or colorless but pale yellow.
One reason behind the growing demand for white tea lies in the simple process of making white tea, which preserves the tea's healthy qualities.
Unlike the regular steps involved in making green teas, such as de-enzyming, rolling the leaves and withering, making white tea only needs two steps, such as withering and drying.
The simple processes keep healthy ingredients in the newly-plucked tea leaves as much as possible, meaning white tea has better health benefits than other teas, said Chi Yuzhou, deputy chief of the tea management organization in Ningde city, Southeast China's Fujian province.
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The compressed packages of tea leaves undergo a heating process. [Photo by Yao Yao/chinadaily.com.cn]
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The medicinal value of white tea is acknowledged around the world.
"Along with relevant research in the US, experiments carried out at a Stockholm medical research center prove that white tea is strong in sterilization and mopping up free radicals, which are prone to give people wrinkles and cancers," said tea expert Luo Shaojun.
Unlike green tea, where fresher is better, white tea has better health benefits when it is preserved longer.
Compared to fresh white tea, aged white tea preserved for one to four years or longer proved to be better as an anti-inflammatory and anti-viral and at lowering high blood sugar, according to experts. They also pointed out that the flavones in aged white tea can improve blood circulation, lower cholesterol levels, prohibit cells from degenerating, and can protect the body against cancer.
As far as these advantages are concerned, white tea in Fuding city, Southeast China's Fujian province, won a gold medal at the Milano Expo 2015.
By Yao Yao (chinadaily.com.cn)
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