A single cateogory of tea is such a rabbit hole.

[Sweetestdew]

Yesterday I found out that not all white teas were baked. This months after "finding out" that white teas were baked. Now I've understand that while you can bake white teas you dont have to and it affects the flavor and how the teas will change over time. Baked teas, especially charcoal baked will change less with age but my friend said can be more astrigent.
This past season I found out that from picked leaves to finished white tea can take weeks, not just afew days due to the piling step mentioned in another post. How long it takes, days or weeks, varies from maker to maker and will affect the flavor.
I can go on with examples but I am amazed and kinda humbled by just how deep you can go into teas and how alot of the basic descriptions for teas are just put simply and really just intros. It really varies maker to maker even within a single location and for a single tea.

[Rob]

That's interesting. Sellers usually only talk about the positive aspects of charcoal baking, so I have tended to see the extra treatment process as an added luxury.

I have not knowingly tasted a really old charcoal baked white tea, so I'm not sure how it affects the development of the tea. I have seen some on sale before, and they do look the same as unbaked aged tea, so at least I know that they do turn to a similar shade of brown with time. They were, however, too expensive to interest me.

From what I can tell, the charcoal baking, if done at all, will only be performed lightly. The transformation is therefore significantly more subtle compared to roasted oolongs, so I wonder whether the impact on astringency and age-worthiness is low.

The roast does become less perceptible after just three years. So it could be that the effect of charcoal baking is less significant over time, and this could mean that the baked tea could end up very similar to other aged whites if given enough time.

I'd like to hear more on your thoughts on whether you believe charcoal baking is a worthwhile additional processing step.

[GaoShan]

I've also seen a few charcoal-baked white teas and have wondered how this process affects the leaf and whether it's worthwhile. I don't imagine people want smoke in their white tea, but maybe I'm wrong. It's also possible that the baking is subtle enough that it doesn't leave any smoke.

[Sunyata]

I have a 2015(?) Fuding Yinzhen that I suspect was lightly baked because it has that warm freshness to it, doesnt havent the typical "hay" or green bean character which I dislike in white tea. Instead, the baking preserves the freshness - i didnt detect any herbal aroma that comes from ageing despite being more than 10 years. What I got was soy milk and slight chocolatey notes in it. Its insanely good and goes strong even at 8 steeps, definitely the best white tea Ive had.

[Sweetestdew]

I have a 2015(?) Fuding Yinzhen that I suspect was lightly baked because it has that warm freshness to it, doesnt havent the typical "hay" or green bean character which I dislike in white tea. Instead, the baking preserves the freshness - i didnt detect any herbal aroma that comes from ageing despite being more than 10 years. What I got was soy milk and slight chocolatey notes in it. Its insanely good and goes strong even at 8 steeps, definitely the best white tea Ive had.

I think you got a really well aged tea. It sounds like it started off quality and then was stored well.
I associate alot of the negetive notes you mentioned, like hay which i also avoid, as a result of bad storage or making.
I look for aged teas like this. So far I have found only one or two

[Sweetestdew]

I've also seen a few charcoal-baked white teas and have wondered how this process affects the leaf and whether it's worthwhile. I don't imagine people want smoke in their white tea, but maybe I'm wrong. It's also possible that the baking is subtle enough that it doesn't leave any smoke.

Well good making shouldnt leave smoke. Sometimes if pieces from the tea being baked fall into the heat they will catch fire and smoke, but this is a flaw. A good bake has no smoke cause usually its a charcoal bake or a electric bake.
It apperently doesnt allow for as much change from year to year, the flavor is more consistent. I think that a charcoal bake can have a nice body. I have one.... somewhere.

[Pastleaf]

Yesterday I found out that not all white teas were baked. This months after "finding out" that white teas were baked. Now I've understand that while you can bake white teas you dont have to and it affects the flavor and how the teas will change over time. Baked teas, especially charcoal baked will change less with age but my friend said can be more astrigent.
This past season I found out that from picked leaves to finished white tea can take weeks, not just afew days due to the piling step mentioned in another post. How long it takes, days or weeks, varies from maker to maker and will affect the flavor.
I can go on with examples but I am amazed and kinda humbled by just how deep you can go into teas and how alot of the basic descriptions for teas are just put simply and really just intros. It really varies maker to maker even within a single location and for a single tea.

I am humbled too. I recently went to Zhangping for sourcing Zhangping Shui Xian, and was amazed at the variety and complexity of teamaking there. I thought I was familiar with Zhangping Shui Xian before, but it turns out I learned a lot. There's a lot of complexity in the roasting parameters, if they choose to even roast at all. At some farms in Zhangping they've also started making Zhangping green tea and white tea. The Shui Xian cultivar allows them to experiment this way, because it's a really hardy cultivar, resilient to any processing the farmer wishes to do.

[Sweetestdew]

Yesterday I found out that not all white teas were baked. This months after "finding out" that white teas were baked. Now I've understand that while you can bake white teas you dont have to and it affects the flavor and how the teas will change over time. Baked teas, especially charcoal baked will change less with age but my friend said can be more astrigent.
This past season I found out that from picked leaves to finished white tea can take weeks, not just afew days due to the piling step mentioned in another post. How long it takes, days or weeks, varies from maker to maker and will affect the flavor.
I can go on with examples but I am amazed and kinda humbled by just how deep you can go into teas and how alot of the basic descriptions for teas are just put simply and really just intros. It really varies maker to maker even within a single location and for a single tea.

I am humbled too. I recently went to Zhangping for sourcing Zhangping Shui Xian, and was amazed at the variety and complexity of teamaking there. I thought I was familiar with Zhangping Shui Xian before, but it turns out I learned a lot. There's a lot of complexity in the roasting parameters, if they choose to even roast at all. At some farms in Zhangping they've also started making Zhangping green tea and white tea. The Shui Xian cultivar allows them to experiment this way, because it's a really hardy cultivar, resilient to any processing the farmer wishes to do.

Not gonna lie, never found a Zhangping I liked

[debunix]

Down the memory rabbit hole...remembering fondly a lovely tea I encountered only once, offered by Norbu in 2011, which he called a 'white oolong'. It was not traditionally processed, and it was brilliant. It's amazing and wonderful that after millenia, there are still new ways to make tea!

Per the website description:

White Oolong is an intentionally contradictory name for this extraordinary tea. Essentially, it has been processed using some elements of the processing methods commonly used in the production of both oolong and white tea. Among tea farmers in Taiwan, it is common to refer to Qing Xin cultivar tea plants simply as “Oolong” plants, so part of the reason this tea is called White Oolong is because it is made from (Qing Xin) Oolong cultivar. Also, even though it is produced from tea plants that are traditionally only used to produce Oolong tea, the way this tea was processed makes it fit into the “White Tea” category. This tea really fits into the category of White tea and Oolong tea just about as well as the proverbial square peg fits into its round hole…it doesn’t really fit anywhere if you are a stickler for the “rules” of classifying a tea.

It was wonderful tea, with delicate floral notes like a white tea, a certain spiciness, and an oolong-ish stamina for many infusions. I adored it.

I would love to get my hands on those lovely leaves again, and this time I'd buy lots and do my own vacuum-sealing and cold storage to keep it good to the last drop.