White tea is the uncured and unfermented tea leaf. Like green, oolong and black tea, white tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant. White tea is fast-dried, while green tea is roasted in an oven or pan (while kept moving for even curing). Oolong and black teas are fermented before curing.

White tea usually contains buds and young tea leaves, which have been found to contain lower levels of caffeine than older leaves, suggesting that the caffeine content of some white teas may be slightly lower than that of green teas. White tea is a specialty of the Chinese province Fujian.