White tea is a type of tea unfamiliar to many Taiwanese. However, during the 1950s to 1970s, Taiwan supplied 60% to 70% of the world’s white tea market. So, what exactly was this once "Hidden Champion" of tea? And why has white tea recently become a favorite among international tea enthusiasts?
Freshly picked tea leaves are either sun-dried or gently roasted without rolling or intense blanching/fixing (De-Enzyming)—a process known as White Tea Crafting. Due to this minimal processing, the fine white hairs on the leaves remain largely intact, giving them a frosty appearance—hence the name "White Tea 白茶."
Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, GuangZhou has been the political and economic hub of the Pearl River Delta. Beyond their regular meals, merchants embraced tea drinking as both a leisure activity and a means of conducting business discussions. Around the same time (during the reign of Emperor JiaQing), white tea craftsmanship began to gain recognition in FuDing, FuJian. In the next few decades, white tea gradually reached the bustling trade hubs of GuangZhou and Hong Kong, where it became a favorite for its mild, smooth, and lingering taste, as well as its reputed ability to cool the body and relieve heat.
White tea began to be widely available throughout Hong Kong in the 50s—in restaurants, tea houses, tea shops, and hotels—regardless of their size or prestige. The most popular grade was Shou Mei 壽眉, meaning "Longevity Eyebrow," named for the resemblance of the fine white hairs on the leaves to the eyebrows of a wise old man, symbolizing longevity and good fortune. Moreover, compared to Pu'er and Shui Xian teas, whose names together in Cantonese resemble "保你死先" ("Guaranteed to die first"—an bad omen), white tea had a much more pleasant and auspicious name. Because of this, many senior Hong Kongers favored white tea for their morning tea sessions, savoring it slowly.
During the 1950s to early 1970s, more than 60% of the white tea consumed in Hong Kong—the world’s largest white tea market at the time—was produced in Taiwan. Back then, Taiwan’s tea industry was heavily export-oriented, focusing on OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) production for foreign markets. For Taiwanese tea makers, who had long been familiar with the intricate processes of scented teas, PouChong, many kinds of Oolongs, and black tea, White Tea Crafting was as simple as a piece of cake—almost effortless to produce.
However, from the 1970s onward, global tea exports grew increasingly competitive as other tea-producing regions recovered from the post-war era. Taiwanese tea prices were sharply driven down by foreign buyers, leaving farmers struggling with dwindling profits. In response, the government redirected the industry’s focus to the domestic market, promoting High Mountain Tea 高山茶—a lightly oxidized, ball-rolled oolong tea grown at elevations above 1,000 meters—and refining modern tea-processing techniques. As High Mountain Tea surged in popularity across Taiwan, white tea, which had been produced solely for export, gradually vanished from the tea crafting scene.
Meanwhile, in the birthplace of white tea crafting—FuDing 福鼎, JianYang 建陽, ZhengHe 政和, and SongXi 松溪 (all in present-day Fujian Province of the P.R.C.)—white tea underwent a transformation. Starting in the early 21st century, FuJian tea producers focused on high-end refinement, producing prized grades of Chinese white tea such as Silver Needle 銀針, White Peony 白牡丹, Gong Mei 貢眉 (a renamed version of Shou Mei), and New Craft White Tea 新工藝白茶, all of which attracted a dedicated following and stood out in the global market. In recent years, international tea drinkers have rediscovered white tea, driven by both Chinese tea merchants' enthusiastic promotion and a growing appreciation for its simplicity. Its minimal processing closely aligns with the modern European Bohemian lifestyle, which embraces natural, unrefined, and low-intervention practices—earning white tea growing media attention and widespread acceptance.
White tea has never been mainstream in Taiwan’s domestic market, and since the 1970s, its production has played only a minor role in the Taiwanese tea industry.
Rather than being processed for export, Taiwanese white tea is now primarily crafted by passionate tea masters as a niche, artisanal product—some of exceptional quality, others less so.
In 2018, Taiwan’s Tea and Beverage Crops Research Station (TBRS, formerly the Tea Research and Extension Station) partnered with the Sanxia Farmers’ Association 三峽農會 to introduce white tea crafting workshops in the aging Sanxia tea region. The initiative aimed to attract veteran tea makers by highlighting the simplicity of white tea production.
TBRS recommends using TBRS No. 8, TBRS No. 17 "Egret" 白鷺, or TBRS No. 18 "Ruby" 紅玉 to craft a New Taiwanese-Style White Tea (新) 臺式白茶 (the cultivar Qing Xin Gan 青心柑仔 is not directly recommended by the TBRS in their press release. However, since the TBRS has worked tightly with the SanXia Farmers' Association, many "example" white teas have been crafted using SanXia's local cultivar, Qing Xin Gan. Additionally, the first official white tea competition hosted by the TBRS in Taiwan took place in SanXia, and many of the awarded teas were made from Qing Xin Gan), utilizing light rolling and light roasting techniques. However, other tea makers, less influenced by official tea science organizations like the TBRS, may prefer using "old-fashioned" local cultivars such as Man 慢種, Mi Lan Xiang 蜜蘭香, or White Monkey 白毛猴 to craft their own white tea.
As a result, the flavors of New Taiwanese-Style White Tea exhibit a remarkable diversity. Some are as elegant and delicate as traditional white tea, while others carry a high acidity reminiscent of balsamic vinegar. Additionally, some, after tight compression and cellar aging, develop a rich, sherry-like sweetness.
It remains to be seen whether Taiwan’s White Tea, with its renewed identity and artisanal touch, can once again flourish in the 21st century and claim its place in the global tea landscape.
