white tea
nounEtymology Calque of Chinese 白茶 (báichá).
1
The leaves of a tea plant which have been processed in a manner to let them wilt slightly and lose their "grassy" taste of green tea while undergoing minimal oxidation.
2
A drink brewed from these tea leaves.
3
Black tea served with milk.
4
Boiled water; hot water served as a hot beverage.
- The young men from Hong Kong shivered in the compartment like prisoners in a dungeon. They drank hot water. I offered them some of my green tea (Zhulan brand: "A tea from ancient kings for those with kingly tastes") but they said no; they preferred drinking hot water. "White tea," the Chinese call it, bai cha.2006, Paul Theroux, Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China, →ISBN, page 314: