Aged White Tea Cake
Dried pear, honey and hay softening toward jujube in a pressed cake of aged white tea.
A pressed cake of white tea from Fuding, Fujian, aged until the fresh hay of young white tea has deepened into honey, dried pear and gentle herbal wood. The cup is soft and sweet, with very little bitterness.
Sensory profile
You should taste
How it unfolds
Where it sits
That is 35 mg in one serving (8 oz cup (240ml)), a concentration of 14.6 mg per 100 ml. The scale above ranks whole servings, and servings differ in size, so a larger drink can sit further right while being weaker cup for cup.
Editorial estimate, not a laboratory measurement
Related gear
| Brewing method | Gaiwan or Mug |
|---|---|
| Brew ratio | 1:20 |
| Leaf & water per infusion | 5g → 100g |
| Grind size | Pressed Cake, Broken into Chunks |
| Water temperature | 208°F / 98°C |
| Target brew time | 15-20 seconds for the first infusions, plus about 10 seconds each round |
| Serving used for caffeine | 8 oz cup (240ml) — see the mug or teapot version below |
What you need
- 5 g loose-leaf tea
- 100 g filtered water at 98°C
Required gear
Step-by-step protocol
- 0:00Warm the gaiwan or pot with hot water and discard it. Add 5 g of leaf and smell the warmed leaf before brewing.
- 0:20Rinse: cover with water at 98°C and pour off immediately. This wakes the leaf; do not drink it.
- 0:40First infusion — pour off after 15 seconds, decanting completely.
- 1:20Second infusion, 15 seconds.
- 2:00Third infusion, 20 seconds. From here add about 10 seconds each round.
- 2:45Keep going until the liquor pales — good leaf gives eight or more infusions.
Brewing it in a mug or teapot
The gongfu method above packs a lot of leaf into a small vessel. This version is for a 240 ml cup — the serving the caffeine figure describes.
- Leaf
- 2.5 g
- Water
- 240 ml
- Temperature
- 208°F / 98°C
- Steep
- about 3 minutes
- 0:00Warm the mug or teapot with hot water and pour it away, so the brewing water does not lose heat to cold ceramic.
- 0:15Add 2.5 g of leaf.
- 0:30Pour 240 g of water at 98°C over the leaf, cover, and start the timer.
- 3:30Lift the leaf out or pour the tea off the leaf completely. Leaf left in the cup keeps extracting and turns the last mouthful bitter.
Tea under five years old does better at about 95°C. The same leaf gives a second and third cup, each a little longer.
What it may be good for
The caffeine count
We list about 35 mg for an 8 oz cup.
Age sets the heat
Young white tea wants water at about 80°C, but aged white tea is sturdier. Under five years old, use about 95°C with short steeps; from five years, use water at the boil.
What to watch out for
- Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you.
A pressed cake of white tea from Fuding, Fujian, aged until the fresh hay of young white tea has deepened into honey, dried pear and gentle herbal wood. The cup is soft and sweet, with very little bitterness. Brewed in water just off the boil.
Origin & Story
White tea is the simplest tea to make, withered and dried with no rolling and no pan-firing, and it keeps changing after it is finished. That is why some people keep it. The leafier grades, above all Shoumei and White Peony from Fuding in Fujian, are the ones most often pressed into cakes and aged.
Dealers give a rough timetable. In the first year or two the liquor is pale gold and tastes of hay and light vegetal sweetness. By three to five years it is light amber, with jujube and a warm, sticky-rice note. At seven to ten years it is deep amber, with dried longan, a gentle medicinal note and a hint of wood, and past ten years it turns copper-amber with aged wood, camphor and faint honey. Shoumei is usually called old once it passes about three years.
A cake takes up less room than loose leaf and, like pressed pu-erh, ages more slowly because less air reaches the middle. You pry chunks from it with a knife or needle rather than scooping.
Storage decides how the tea turns out. Guides give about 20 to 25°C, moderate humidity, darkness and no strong smells, in a breathable wrapper or a sealed tin, away from the kitchen and the bathroom, with a check every few months for damp, dull color or off smells.
Aged white tea is sturdier than fresh. Under five years it takes water of about 95°C and short steeps; from five years, water at the boil.
Break 5 g from the cake into a 100 ml gaiwan, rinse briefly with boiling water, pour the first infusion off at 15 to 20 seconds and add ten seconds a round; in a mug, 2.5 g in 240 ml at 98°C for three minutes.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 76/100 |
| Acidity | 22/100 |
| Bitterness | 14/100 |
| Body | 62/100 |
| Aroma | 92/100 |
These values are comparative editorial positions within our own catalog, calibrated so entries can be ranked against each other. They are not laboratory measurements.
How much caffeine is in Aged White Tea Cake?
One serving, 8 oz cup (240ml), contains approximately 35 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for Aged White Tea Cake?
Target 98°C (208°F).
How long should Aged White Tea Cake be extracted?
Timing: 15-20 seconds for the first infusions, plus about 10 seconds each round. Method: Gaiwan or Mug. Ratio: 5g per 100ml water (gaiwan). Grind or leaf format: Pressed Cake, Broken into Chunks.
Why does my Aged White Tea Cake taste bitter?
In gongfu, bitterness comes from pours that run too long or from too little leaf for the vessel. Keep the early infusions short, pour the tea off the leaf completely every time, and fill the gaiwan or pot generously; an under-filled vessel tastes thin and tannic rather than gentle.
How long does white tea take to age?
Dealers usually call Shoumei old after about three years. Jujube notes appear around three to five years and medicinal and woody notes around seven to ten, and the liquor deepens from pale gold to amber and copper.
Why do people age white tea?
Because it keeps changing. The fresh hay and vegetal sweetness of young white tea turn into jujube, dried fruit and wood as it ages, and the cup becomes deeper and rounder.
How should I store a white tea cake?
Keep it in the dark at about 20 to 25°C with moderate humidity, away from strong smells and the kitchen, in a breathable wrapper or a sealed tin, and check it every few months for damp or off smells.
Who should avoid Aged White Tea Cake?
Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you. This information is educational and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a cardiac or gastrointestinal condition, or taking prescription medication, discuss caffeine and botanical intake with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes.
What people say
Plain Porcelain Gaiwan, 110 ml
In this recipe: Gaiwan or small clay pot, 100–150 ml
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