White tea

Pale and almost translucent, like steam over a light cup with hay, peach skin and a soft floral glimmer.

• The fine, silvery-white hairs on the buds are regarded as a mark of quality; the finest grade, “Silver Needle” (Baihao Yinzhen), consists of buds only.

White tea is only withered and dried – in studies around 36 to 56 hours of withering without rolling or firing – and its delicate floral scent is carried mainly by linalool and geraniol.