White tea is Micro-fermented tea variety, is one of the six major teas in China. It is second to none tea in terms of taste, quality, and efficacy, is a special treasure among Chinese teas. It is named because the finished tea is mostly bud heads, covered with obvious and abundant white fuzz, like silver and snow. And white teas usually exists in two forms: Loose white tea and compressed white tea cake.

While both loose leaves white tea and compressed white tea cakes are made from the same ingredients, there are still a few important differences:

Color

Loose leaves white teas are often silver green while compressed cakes from the same material have a slightly brownish appearance. This is related to a difference in processing that’s discussed next.

Processing

Loose leaves white tea refers to the tea that exists in a loose state, consists of dry leaves as a result of natural withering and drying. Loose white tea retains more nutrients, and a large amount of tiny white-hairs on the buds and leaves are also relatively well preserved.

Compressed white tea cake, based on loose tea, has an additional step of steaming to make the leaves soft, followed compression of the leaves to turn them into cakes. In addition to the shape of round cakes, it can also be pressed into shapes such as bricks, biscuits, and round beads,etc..

Among the white teas, Silver Needle(Baihao Yinzhen) and most of the White Peony(Baimudan) exist in the form of loose tea.

A small number of White Peony(Baimudan), Gongmei(tribute eyebrows), and Shoumei(longevity eyebrows) are stored in the form of compressed cake tea.

Due to that the yield of Silver Needle is very small, so the storage of silver needle in form of tea cakes is rare and expensive;

Another type of white tea picked in spring, white peony, has relatively delicate buds and leaves, and is also a very popular white tea. Generally, it is stored in the form of loose tea first;Due to their high yield, Gongmei and Shoumei are usually be compressed into cakes for easy storage and aging.

Aroma

The process of loose white tea is very simple, no greening and rolling, even no frying, only two processes of withering and drying naturally, with minimally manual intervention, and thus the nutrients and aroma of the green leaves are retained to the maximum extent. The aroma of loose white tea is purer, more ethereal and plainer. It has floral and grassy aromas as well as flavors of tea fuzzy and bamboo leaves. 

In contrast, compressed white tea cake is more mature and stable.

In essence, the process of pressing the cake is the process of breaking the tea cell wall.

The soluble sugar and pectin substances in the tea stems are precipitated and released to the surface of the leaves. These substances can directly contact with the air and participate in the aging of white tea. Therefore, it is easy to form a unique fruity aroma in compressed white tea cake, such as jujube aroma, which is a special aroma unique to aged white tea cakes, and is exclusive to old Shoumei cakes.

Taste

The soup of loose white tea is very fresh and elegant, delicate and tasty.

Like a lively girl with no distracting thoughts and clean smile, as pure as a clear spring in the mountains.

Therefore, if you want to taste the original taste of white tea, loose tea is more recommended.

However, over time white tea cakes will acquire a more mellow and sweet flavor with a thick texture. It is no longer a little girl who is ignorant of the world. After pressed, she seems to grow up in an instant, experienced and mature.

In addition, with loose leaves the flavor comes out in the earlier steeps, while the taste from cakes is drawn out in later steeps. Thus, compressed white tea cakes tend to last for more steeps.

Choice Recommendation

If you like the elegant and refreshing flavor of green tea and Tieguanyin tea before drinking white tea.

Then, loose white tea is more suitable for you.

If you used to love to drink Pu-er ripe tea, rock tea, black tea, etc., with a strong taste. And when drinking loose tea, you feel that the taste is too weak.

For these tea lovers, compressed white tea cake is more suitable for you.

Storage & Aging

After pressed, the gap between the blades is greatly compressed, thus white tea cake saves more space than loose white tea. Given the additional processing steps, white tea cakes are more suitable for long term storage and aging so that they acquire a rich flavor, while loose leaves teas are great for fresh consumption. Compression also makes sure that the leaves are less fragile and less easy to break.

Last but not least, compared with loose white tea, the aging of compressed white tea cake will be faster. Taking Shoumei tea as an example, while loose tea usually has jujube fragrance in five years, pressed white tea cake takes just three years.