"Terry Youngkin" > writes:

> For the past 4 years since I've discovered loose leaf tea, I've read
> from various sources that white tea should be steeped at around 175 F
> and for about 3 minutes. Lately I've been giving myself a little
> refresher on the subject, and I was browsing around on adagio's site.
> According to them, white tea should be steeped for 7 minutes. To me,
> this seems like an eternity for such a delicate tea. Upton Teas, who I
> believe to be a bit more knowledgable on this subject, still recommends
> that all their white varieties be steeped for 3 minutes. As do most
> other sources.

I don't think there's a rule that applies to all white teas. Very
long steeps at fairly cool temperatures seem to work for some, and
I've had good results with water just off the boil and very short
steeps with others. Unfortunately, I think you just need to
experiment.

By the way, the idea that all white teas are delicate may be a faulty
assumption. Big, tight buds take more time and/or heat before they
will properly infuse. (Have you seen bud-only Yunnan large-leaf white
tea?) In fact, I suspect it's the lower grades of white teas, the
leaf-only ones, especially where broken, that are the most delicate.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html