The secret of the older the white tea is, the better it is.

General tea shelf life for two years, because after two years of shelf life, even if the preservation of good, tea aroma has been lost, white tea is different, it is stored for a long time tea taste is more mellow and fragrant, known as "one year tea, three years medicine, seven years treasure" said. So why does white tea get older and more fragrant?

01

How long does white tea last?

Old white tea, that is, white tea stored for many years, of which "many years" refers to a reasonable shelf life, generally five or six years of white tea can be regarded as old white tea, ten or twenty years of old white tea has been very rare.

The longer the white tea is stored, the higher its medicinal value, so the old white tea has great collection value. The following is a breakdown of one year, three years and seven years.

01

One year tea

A year of white tea, the newly harvested fresh leaves through the natural production process, only "early growth", tea in a variety of ingredients are still in a fixed value. Dried tea color gray green, white hair full Phi, soup color apricot yellow, taste fresh, everything is the most tender appearance.

After a year, the oxidation of the ingredients in white tea has changed, the content of flavonoids, caffeine and other substances has increased slightly, and the characteristics of old white tea can be presented, but the "old" is not obvious.

02

Three-year tea

Three years of white tea in appearance and endoplasm have produced changes. Dried tea color darker, soup color than a year tea darker, taste a little softer. Its medicinal value is also relatively improved. Three-year white tea is also an old white tea, the degree of oxidation is relatively high for one-year tea.

03

Seven-year tea

Seven years of white tea, undoubtedly "old" tea, its dry tea color from dark green to brown, or even black; taste more mellow, tea to mild; health care effect more powerful. It could be said to be senior white tea.

Through these specific years as a dividing point, we can find that white tea is always gradual, and with the passage of time, it becomes more and more "old".

02

The reason why it gets better with age

Old white tea is known for its fragrance as it ages. What is it called? The reason is that the chemical changes in the internal components of white tea occur slowly.

The soup color of white tea gradually turns red, the taste becomes mellow, and the tea nature gradually turns from cool to warm. Therefore, white tea and raw Pu 'er are the same. The longer the storage year, the more mellow and fragrant the tea taste is."The older the fragrance, the more fragrant" has become the charm of white tea.

How exactly did it change? Look down.

tea polyphenols

Tea polyphenols is the most soluble substances in tea, tea is the most important functional components of health care. White tea has a higher health function than other tea leaves, that is, tea polyphenols played a role.

The content of tea polyphenols changed little within 5 years, but decreased significantly at 20 years old. Although the content decreased, tea polyphenols did not "disappear", but converted into brown substances during storage, which deepened the color of tea soup.

catechin

Catechin also has the physiological activity of medical treatment and health care. Studies have found that catechins decrease after one year of storage.

During storage, one of the astringent catechins produces theaflavins and thearubigins. Theaflavins can enhance the intensity and freshness of taste, and thearubigins with sweet and sour taste can affect the concentration of tea soup, so the taste of aged white tea is more intense.

caffeine

Caffeine is an important taste substance of tea. Therefore, caffeine content of tea is often regarded as an important factor affecting tea quality. The caffeine content of 20-year-old white tea is higher.

Caffeine changes are not obviously related to chemical properties. The chemical properties of caffeine are relatively stable. In the comparison of the components of the six tea categories, caffeine has the most firm position and the most personality compared to other components.

amino acid

Amino acids constitute an important component of the fresh taste of white tea. Different amino acids will emit different flavors, such as sweet and caramel flavor, rose flavor, flower flavor and fresh taste.

In the process of tea storage, amino acids generate pigments in complex chemical reactions, so the new white tea soup is lighter in color and yellowish white, and the old white tea soup is darker in color and dark yellow.

flavonoids

When stored for a long time, the structure of polyphenols in tea was transformed, which promoted the formation of flavonoids. And the longer the storage time, the higher the flavonoids content of white tea.

Flavonoids can scavenge free radicals, have strong antioxidant and cardiovascular protection effects, and are important components of tea health care efficacy. Flavone is an essential natural nutrient for human body, because of its small molecular weight, easy to be absorbed by human body, fast metabolism, no accumulation in the body, need to be supplemented frequently. The body itself cannot synthesize flavonoids and must obtain them from the usual diet.

To sum up, white tea in the storage process, tea internal components slowly change.

After time, the white tea tasted more mellow and the taste was more fascinating. As the saying goes,"a year of tea, three years of medicine, seven years of treasure", tea aside, hiding tea, is also an interesting thing.

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