"Lara Burton" > writes:

> I ordered a White Darjeeling that I really enjoyed, never liked the Chinese
> whites as much.
>
> But, I've read some places that white teas are the "least processed" but
> other that they are semi-fermented like oolongs. Does anyone know? Are
> they more like greens or more like oolongs?

Is the color green more like blue or yellow?

White teas are dried slowly, often sun-dried, rather than being
subjected to high heat like greens, so some enzymatic oxidation
occurs. But, unlike oolongs, they aren't kneaded or bruised before
the enzymes get denatured by heating. I would guess that white teas
as a class are less oxidized than anything being sold as an oolong,
but I don't have numbers to back this up.

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