Ilam, Nepal vs. Wuji, China: White Tea Comparison

Ilam, Nepal vs. Wuji, China: White Tea Comparison

With White Teas, I occasionally struggle to find the inner complexities on my palate when sipping and slurping. So, a side-by-side comparison was a fun option for me to do so I can help figure out the differences based on tea region. For this side-by-side, I am looking at white teas from Ilam, Nepal and from Wuji, China. Let’s step in:

Looking at the Leaves:

Ilam, Nepal: Oasis from Aera Tea

The leaf of Oasis was smaller and did seem to be a two leaf and a bud form. The leaves looked to be quite carefully dried up. There were the normal little “hairs” on the leaf, so I was quite excited to jump into the tea.

Wuji, China: Wild White from HER-CHA

The leaf of the While White was pressed (as you can see) but still looked to be quite full. Even though condensed, the leaves also had a little fuzziness on them. I am interested in how a compressed vs loose will make a difference.

Ilam, Nepal: Oasis from Aera Tea

The leaves brewed a very pale yellow color that did not vary steep to steep too much. My first note that I noticed was something sweet around the tea but I was struggling to identify what the taste was. It was familiar and really congregated on the tip of my tongue at first. I would say that when sipping side by side with the Wild White, this one had more of a nectar-like sweetness, where the other was more a floral sweetness. The character was quite rounded and smooth in my mouth, not altering too much steep to steep as well. I kept noticing how naturally sweet the tea was, almost like sweet hay nectar or sweet earthiness of sorts. I noticed a slight minerally aftertaste after about three steepings of this tea, which was extremely subtle. The aroma is what gave me the most trouble. Each steep I was determined to figure out what sweetness was hitting my nose, but instead, I became more and more confused as the steepings went on. I really enjoyed this tea and how tranquil it made my body feel. “Oasis” is definitely a correct name for it.

Wuji, China: Wild White from HER-CHA

The leaves for this tea brewed a pale golden-yellow color. I could not detect that much of an aroma, which leads me to wonder if my nose was slightly off and I could not pick up any tasting notes. This tea was a bit richer in taste and character, more complex than the Nepalese tea. It was mostly smooth in character, but there was a bit of astringency which caused a slight drying effect around my tongue. It had some sweetness to it, but not as apparent as the Nepalese tea. This one had a more floral sweetness to it that lingered in my mouth. The taste mostly lingered on the front and top of my tongue, but as I steeped further, the taste started to develop on the back/middle of my tongue. The taste and feel of this tea were not as round but still quite interesting in character. There were a bit more varying tastes with a punch of flavor at the top of my mouth near the end of my sleeping. The tea leaves also did not really come out of the brick format after 6-8 steepings, which I found quite fascinating.


This was not necessarily a battle of two brands and teas, but more of a “let’s see what more I can taste when tasting these side-by-side”. A review and an experiment all in one. Have you done side-by-side analysis before? What could I have done better? Let me know and, as always, Happy Brewing!

-Danielle

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