I'm not sure how and why one would compare aged oolongs to aged puerh. The aging process is different for both teas, the puerh undergoing a fermentation process and the oolongs undergoing an oxidation process.shah82 wrote:That's the point...
I'm not sure about the '80s, but I've had the '70s oolong and it was somewhat like that.
Aged oolong are simply not exciting teas. Don't heat them or reroast them unless there is something seriously wrong with it.
You drink aged oolong because it's extremely mellow, easy on the tummy, and with good qi.
You should not, as a rule, overpay for aged oolongs. Just spend that money on enough good oxidized/roasted oolong and eventually you'll have some aged tea of your own. Time does fly.
Typically, oolongs are re-roasted periodically because of humidity problems. In the case of yancha, they can become very dark as we see in Shui Xian teas. Green oolongs from Taiwan are rarely roasted like this. Puerhs are never roasted.
The end user will rarely duplicate an aged oolong tea that has been looked after properly and charcoal roasted over the years. In the hands of a teamaster, aged oolongs can be terrific. Personally, I do not care for the aged green Taiwanese oolongs and agree about their taste profile with Shah. But, it is still a matter of subjectivity and there is a thriving market for it which will get hyped up like everything else.
Puerh and aged oolongs are both drunk by those looking for an easier experience in their guts, but that is as far as the comparison should be taken, I think. Both types of teas have their followers and both types of teas have their 'myths'. There is obviously a market for it all and I do agree with Shah's statement that most of the aged Taiwanese oolongs are just leftover stock that couldn't be sold whereas puerh is intentionally aged from the getgo and also some yancha.