White tea, unrolled and sun-dried, belongs to the lightly fermented tea category. During storage, its active enzymes continuously transform tea polyphenols, caffeine, and theanine into aromatic compounds, theaflavins, and thearubigins, evolving its flavor and liquor color while improving brewability.

✿✿—— Aroma and Taste of Aged White Tea

Aged white tea exhibits rich, lasting aromas: Silver Needle often has notes of pekoe, fruit, and aged depth; White Peony shows pekoe, mellow, and vintage tones; Shou Mei commonly features date and herbal scents. Its liquor becomes smooth, full-bodied, and lubricious with a strong sweet aftertaste and lingering charm.

✿✿—— Are Compressed Tea Cakes Always Better?

Compressed white tea cakes save space. While neatly shaped, they may conceal quality flaws. Silver Needle is mostly loose-leaf; White Peony comes in both forms; Shou Mei is often compressed. Opinions on compression vary widely.

✿✿—— Storage Location?

Storage requires extreme dryness. Tea moisture content must reach at least 98%. Plastic bags in sunlight cause condensation, leading to mold growth in high humidity. Avoid ground-floor storage without humidity control. High-grade white tea at proper dryness, well-sealed, becomes particularly fragrant after three years, filling entire rooms after seven to eight years.

Warehouse storage is optimal. Early tea cake packaging used moisture-absorbing, odor-prone cotton paper. Later improvements included plastic film and now aluminum-tin foil, which works best. Unlike Pu'er needing 12% moisture for oxidation, white tea requires below 5% moisture with stricter sealing.

Three storage packaging types: wrapping paper, old aluminum foil bags, new aluminum foil bags.

✿✿—— No Low-Temperature Storage?

White tea shouldn't be refrigerated, neither in fresh-keeping nor freezing compartments.

Unlike green tea refrigerated to preserve color (though it discolors after brewing), white and black tea don't need refrigeration. White tea must experience the "June summer" to mature - high temperatures accelerate color and aroma transformation. Spring tea's green taste requires storage until the following summer.

✿✿—— How Long for Efficacy?

Fuding white tea: "One year - tea, three years - medicine, seven years - treasure." Generally, 3-5 years aging suffices. It enhances aroma, liquor color, and flavor while gaining medicinal properties for toothaches, sore throats, hoarseness, or acclimatization issues.

✿✿—— Daily Storage Methods?

Store in dry, room-temperature, odor-free environments. Avoid smoking in storage areas and keep away from kitchens/bathrooms.

Discerning tea enthusiasts often use purple clay jars or earthen pots for superior odor isolation.

White tea avoids light exposure. Glass containers, even without direct sunlight, may develop strong "sunlight flavor" affecting taste.

Aluminum foil bags help daily storage: large bags for opened cakes/bulk tea, small bags for frequent use. Minimize opening large bags.