萎凋
Term · Processing
withering
Literal meaning
wither + fade
Definition#
Withering: letting freshly picked leaf lose water and soften so it can be bruised without breaking. For yancha it is usually done in sun (晒青) and/or indoors with warm air, and the craft heritage text names 'compound withering' (复式萎凋) as a key step. The 2026 standard explainer cites withering temperatures of 35–39 °C.
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | withering controlled moisture loss of fresh leaf translation |
Also acceptable
Avoid drying withering is partial and precedes all heat steps |
| Deutsch | Welken Anwelken des frischen Blattes translation |
Also acceptable
Avoid Trocknen different step |
| Русский | завяливание подвяливание свежего листа translation |
Also acceptable
Avoid сушка different step |
| 简体字繁體字 | 萎凋 | |
| 日本語 | 萎凋 |
Common confusions#
- Moychay's article renders a withering-like step as «хон ган»; established Russian processing vocabulary is «завяливание».
- In white tea, withering is the main step (often 36–72 h) and is followed directly by drying; in red tea it lasts hours (a CTC draft standard: 6–12 h to 65–68% moisture).
- GB/T 18745-2026 sets yancha withering in sun or hot air at 35–39 °C; for white tea, withering is the main step and runs 36–72 h indoors (China Tea Society primer).
Terms#
Entries that use this term 19#
武夷岩茶
Wuyi rock tea Wǔyí yánchá
Umbrella entry for the roasted oolongs of Wuyishan, defined by a geographical-indication standard; individual cultivars and named teas are child entries.
sourced
国营福鼎茶厂白琳分厂
Bailin Tea Factory Guóyíng Fúdǐng Cháchǎng Báilín Fēnchǎng
State-era tea plant in Bailin, Fuding: made Bailin Gongfu black tea for export, then white teas, and developed new-craft white tea (新工艺白茶) in 1968.
sourced
白茶
White tea báichá
Tea chiefly made by withering, drying and sorting, without green-tea fixation. Traditional forms are unrolled; Fuding new-craft white tea adds light rolling.
sourced
白毫银针
Silver Needle Báiháo Yínzhēn
Bud-only white tea made from Dabai or Shuixian plant material under the national product definition. Fuding and Zhenghe are important production origins.
sourced
白牡丹
White Peony Bái Mǔdān
White tea from a bud with one or two young leaves of Dabai or Shuixian cultivars, fuller than Silver Needle; named for its flower-like leaf clusters.
sourced
贡眉
Gong Mei Gòngméi
White tea made from tender shoots of seed-grown tea populations. Its national product definition is narrower than Shoumei's, which also allows Dabai and Shuixian material.
sourced
Show all entries 19Show fewer entries
寿眉
Shou Mei Shòuméi
Leafy white tea made from tender shoots or leaves of Dabai, Shuixian or population-type tea plants. Sold loose or pressed; leaf grade, season and storage are separate details.
sourced
月光白
Moonlight White Yuèguāngbái
Yunnan white tea associated especially with Jinggu, with contrasting pale down and darker leaf surfaces. A local specification defines Moonlight White; wider trade use is less precise.
sourced
乌龙茶
Oolong wūlóngchá
Umbrella for partly oxidised teas made by bruising the leaf (做青); grouped by origin as Minbei, Minnan, Guangdong (Chaozhou) and Taiwan oolong.
sourced
闽南乌龙
Minnan oolong Mǐnnán wūlóng
Grouping for southern Fujian oolong: Anxi Tieguanyin and the other Anxi cultivars, Yongchun Foshou and Zhangping Shuixian. Usually rolled into tight half-balls.
sourced
安溪铁观音
Anxi Tieguanyin Ānxī Tiěguānyīn
Rolled oolong from the Tieguanyin cultivar, protected as a GI for the whole of Anxi County. GB/T 19598-2025 defines three styles: clean (清香), heavy (浓香) and aged (陈香).
sourced
黄金桂
Huangjin Gui Huángjīn Guì
Light, very fragrant Anxi oolong from the early Huangdan cultivar, named "golden osmanthus" for its aroma; defined by GB/T 30357.3-2015.
sourced
台湾乌龙茶
Taiwan oolong Táiwān wūlóngchá
Grouping for Taiwan's partly oxidised teas, from strip Baozhong (about 8–25% oxidation per TRES) to Oriental Beauty (50–60%), mostly from Qingxin Wulong and Jinxuan.
sourced
冻顶乌龙茶
Dong Ding oolong Dòngdǐng wūlóngchá
Medium-oxidised, cloth-ball-rolled and roasted Qingxin oolong from Lugu, Nantou; the style is now made well beyond the Dong Ding tableland.
sourced
高山乌龙茶
Taiwan high-mountain oolong Gāoshān wūlóngchá
Lightly oxidised, ball-rolled oolong from gardens at about 1,000 m or more in Nantou, Chiayi and Taichung; the threshold is a convention.
sourced
文山包种茶
Wenshan Baozhong Wénshān bāozhǒngchá
Lightly oxidised, twisted-strip (not ball) oolong from the Wenshan hills of New Taipei and Taipei, centred on Pinglin; floral and fresh.
sourced
东方美人茶
Oriental Beauty Dōngfāng Měirén chá
Highly oxidised oolong from leafhopper-fed young shoots, especially Qingxin Dapang, associated with the Hakka tea districts of Hsinchu and Miaoli.
sourced
木栅铁观音
Muzha Tieguanyin Mùzhà Tiěguānyīn
Ball-rolled, medium-oxidised and heavily roasted oolong from Muzha (Maokong), Taipei; in Taiwan 鐵觀音 names this method, which may use other cultivars.
sourced
台湾蜜香红茶
Taiwan honey-aroma black tea Táiwān mìxiāng hóngchá
Taiwanese black tea made from leafhopper-affected shoots, with a naturally honey-like aroma developed through manufacture.
sourced