White tea is mainly known in form of tea bags and loose tea. For the first time, Teasenz introduces this tea type in compressed form, known as white tea cakes.
Shenzhen, Guangdong -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/04/2016 --Traditionally, black tea has been the most popular tea type worldwide. However, in recent years, green and white tea have become better known, as the less processed leaves contain more antioxidants. "More and more scientific studies support the health claims related to white tea consumption. This combined with the constant media attention has resulted in white tea becoming an alternative to black tea and coffee," says Lisa Lin, manager at Teasenz.
However, according to the Chinese tea startup, people are less aware of certain side effects that are related to drinking white tea. "Because of the fact that loose leaf white tea is less processed, this also means that it's more 'raw', and therefore over consumption could upset the stomach," says Lin.
To avoid such side effects white tea cakes are much more popular in China. "The production of cakes is similar to that of loose leaves, but there's an additional steaming step to make the leaves softer, so that they can be compressed into cakes," says Lin. This method is nothing new, as it has been traditionally applied to make pu erh cakes.
By introducing white tea cakes to the West, Teasenz attempts to offer tea lovers 3 benefits. Firstly, white cakes aren't as harsh on the stomach because the leaves are steamed during the production process. Especially when they're aged for over 3 years. This makes them more suitable for frequent daily consumption.
Secondly, white tea cakes are more suitable for storage as their compressed form require less space. At last, cakes don't have to be consumed in a rush. "While loose leaves are at their best when fresh. This isn't the case for cakes. In fact, because they're suitable for long-term storage, the taste of cakes become better over time as natural oxidation turns the grassy flavor into sweetness. Similar to pu erh, older cakes are therefore also more expensive compared to younger ones," says Lin.
White tea leaves are generally divided into 4 grades, which are from highest to lowest: Silver Needle, Bai Mu Dan, Gong Mei, and Shou Mei. Teasenz now offers 3 out of the 4 grades in form of cakes. The China tea startup doesn't have a sales forecast for their new products. Lin adds: "White tea cakes, are hardly known outside of China, Teasenz is basically creating a new niche in the tea industry and we're very curious about the response from the industry."