Three ways to brew White tea
White tea splits the three methods by age. Young white behaves like a delicate green, and aged white behaves like a compressed dark tea.
Gongfu suits both halves, with different water. Western suits young white reasonably and aged white poorly. Grandpa style is the traditional daily method for young white.
The reason for the split is the same as everywhere else in this category: the two halves want opposite temperatures.
Young white wants 85 degrees and short steeps. Aged white wants a full boil and long ones, or a simmer.
Pick the method after you have identified which half you have, rather than before.
Storage is the other variable. White tea kept for more than three years starts behaving like the aged half, whatever the packet says.
Gongfu: small pot, high leaf, short pours
For young white, 5 grams in a 100 millilitre gaiwan at 90 degrees, 30 seconds for the first steep, adding 10 seconds per round.
For aged white, 8 grams in 200 millilitres at a full boil, two to three minutes, and a five second rinse first.
The two protocols share almost nothing, which is exactly the point. Same category, opposite treatment.
Porcelain suits both. Clay is a poor choice for young white and an acceptable one for aged.
Count the steeps. Young white runs six or seven, and a good aged cake will run ten or more.
For a very old cake, add a second rinse. Ten seconds rather than five, and it will still come out dark.
Western: a normal teapot, longer steep
Five grams in a litre at 90 degrees for three minutes is the Western approach for young white, and it is perfectly fine.
The problem with aged white in a Western pot is that three minutes at 90 degrees will not open a compressed cake.
If you want to brew aged white this way, use boiling water, 8 grams per 500 millilitres, and five minutes.
Silver Needle is the one white that suffers most in a Western pot, because the buds need a high ratio to give up their aroma.
Pour the pot out completely when the time is up. White tea left on the leaf goes flat rather than bitter, which is harder to notice and just as disappointing.
A white glazed pot helps you judge the liquor. Young white should be pale gold, and anything darker means the water was too hot.
Grandpa: leaf in the cup
Grandpa style is a genuinely good fit for young white. Two grams in a 300 millilitre glass, water at 85, top up through the day.
The buds are large and light, so a small dose still looks like a lot, and the low ratio keeps the cup sweet for hours.
Glass is the right vessel. Silver Needle standing upright in the water is worth seeing, and it tells you the temperature was right.
Do not use this method for aged white. A compressed cake at a low ratio and 85 degrees gives you almost nothing.
Three or four grams is plenty for a whole day. It is the most economical way to drink good white tea.
Keep the dose low. Two or three grams in a large glass is enough for a whole day, and more than that turns the cup heavy.
Which to choose
For young white, choose by how much attention you have. Gongfu for tasting, a pot for one cup, grandpa style for all day.
For aged white, use gongfu with boiling water, or boil it outright. Five grams in 600 millilitres, simmered for 10 minutes.
Never use grandpa style on the aged half, and never use 85 degree water on it either. Both mistakes are common and both waste the tea.
If you are unsure which half you have, look at the leaf. Pale and downy means young, dark or compressed means aged.
The single most useful habit is writing the year on the packet. White tea changes character after about three years of storage.
When you cannot tell the halves apart, brew at 90 degrees and see. It is a compromise, and it is drinkable for both.
If you drink both halves, keep two gaiwans rather than one. The temperature habit and the seasoning are different, and sharing ends badly for one of them.