White tea (Chinese: 白茶; pinyin: báichá) is a lightly oxidized[1] tea grown and harvested almost exclusively in China, primarily in the Fujian province.[2]
White tea comes from the delicate buds and younger leaves of the Chinese Camellia sinensis plant. These buds and leaves are allowed to wither in natural sunlight before they are lightly processed to prevent oxidation or further tea processing. This preserves the characteristic flavour of the white tea.
The name "white tea" derives from the fine silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant, which gives the plant a whitish appearance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tea