It's Tea-Time! Qi White Tea

I've never had White Tea before. I'd never even heard of it until I saw it sitting on the shelf at my local IGA. The label is another organic Fairtrade one called Qi tea (I'm so silly... I kept thinking it stood for QI, as in the British comedy quiz show, but it really stands for Qi, pronounced "chi", which is mandarin for energy).

The little leaflet inside explains what white tea is.

"Green, black and white teas are actually all plucked from the same bush; however white tea is the first picked young leaves and buds that have a 'white' appearance."

Qi White Tea
In the background, you can see a part of
the mountain, aka my tea collection

I wasn't sure what I was going to expect taste-wise, or looks-wise, but it looked like a regular cup of green tea, except a little paler. I didn't add milk or sugar to this, and just drank it the way I would normally drink any green or Chinese tea.

Taste-wise, it is also similar to green tea, but it doesn't have the bitterness that green tea does. It's very easy to drink, and because it's less processed, contains more anti-oxidants than green tea! I know quite a few people who dislike the taste of green tea because of that very bitterness, so this could be a better option.

The high anti-oxidant content also supposedly helps with cardiovascular function as it reduces cholesterol, decreases blood pressure and improves the function of your blood vessels (thanks Wiki!).

If it was cheaper, I would definitely consider this to be a permanent replacement of green tea. At the moment though, because it's such a niche tea, the price is a little steep at about $4 for a pack of 25 tea bags. If you're a tea explorer like me though, definitely add this to your "try" list.