Dragon Tea House Aged 70s Taiwan Hong Shui Oolong -tried it?
Has anyone tried this? It is a bit expensive so hesitant to order $45 worth. Is DTH usually pretty reliable? I haven't ordered from them before.
Dec 19th, '08, 16:33
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He has been a reliable puerh dealer, and earlier this year I was pleased to find that an expensive, high-end Long Jing I ordered from him was indeed very good. I was reluctant to order his 100g smallest size at $43, so I split an order with others.
Aged Taiwan oolong, however ... no experience with that from Dragon Tea. It sure would be nice if he offered little sample sizes.
Aged Taiwan oolong, however ... no experience with that from Dragon Tea. It sure would be nice if he offered little sample sizes.
Dec 19th, '08, 19:15
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Dec 19th, '08, 19:42
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I tried his 20-year aged dancong and it was completely musty, almost like puerh (and nothing like the description). This generally happens when it's aged poorly, and it has made me hesitant about wanting to try this other one. Fourty dollars is a lot to spend on one that was so poorly aged.
I do agree that his other teas are very good, however
It just seems that some otherwise good wulong vendors don't know what aged wulong is supposed to be like.
I do agree that his other teas are very good, however
It just seems that some otherwise good wulong vendors don't know what aged wulong is supposed to be like.
Dec 19th, '08, 20:32
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I am very skeptical about this whole aging thing. Unlike puerh, many other teas were not traditionally aged. 20 years ago, few people would purposely age other teas and the current aged non-puerh, I wonder if they survive all these years by pure luck or whatABx wrote:I tried his 20-year aged dancong and it was completely musty, almost like puerh (and nothing like the description). This generally happens when it's aged poorly, and it has made me hesitant about wanting to try this other one. Fourty dollars is a lot to spend on one that was so poorly aged.
I do agree that his other teas are very good, however
*Maybe* there are lots of good aged non-puerh out there that I don't know of. The other day I was really shocked to see a supplier even carrying aged jasmine green and aged black tea (the kind that was not expensive when it was new).By sitting in peace and doing nothing,
You make your one day worth two days.
You make your one day worth two days.
I have had some good aged oolongs / bao zhongs. I particularly liked a 20 year aged dong ding that I had at Wisteria teahouse in Taiwan last summer. However they only had an ounce left, which I bought. I'd like to find something similar. Over the past couple of years I've had several aged oolongs and I must admit that it is hit-or-miss. Some of the aged oolongs I've purchased have the musty, pu-erh flavor that ABx mentioned. I'm not a fan of that flavor in oolong, even aged ones, although I've been told that some people are.
I also understand, and share to some extent, ginko's skepticism. I think some aged teas are just old teas that for some reason have hung around over the years and weren't stored very well. That said, I've seen the care that some people in Taiwan take to properly age their teas and have enjoyed the result. Unfortunately buying over the internet is a risky affair. I think the only way to do it is to find a vendor that feels the same about aged oolongs. ABx's experience with the DTH aged dancong makes me even more skeptical so thing I'll hold off until someone braver gives it a shot.
I also understand, and share to some extent, ginko's skepticism. I think some aged teas are just old teas that for some reason have hung around over the years and weren't stored very well. That said, I've seen the care that some people in Taiwan take to properly age their teas and have enjoyed the result. Unfortunately buying over the internet is a risky affair. I think the only way to do it is to find a vendor that feels the same about aged oolongs. ABx's experience with the DTH aged dancong makes me even more skeptical so thing I'll hold off until someone braver gives it a shot.
Dec 19th, '08, 20:52
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I've got about a dozen aged wulongs in my cupboard that are all very good - in fact some of my favorite teas Many of them are re-roasted every 1-3 years or so, others were just kept sealed up tight. The ones that turn out tasting something like puerh are usually ones that get exposed to too much air/humidity without being re-roasted - there may be other factors that cause this, but the bottom line is that they're not well stored.
Many of them are re-roasted every 1-3 years or so, others were just kept sealed up tight. The ones that turn out tasting something like puerh are usually ones that get exposed to too much air/humidity without being re-roasted - there may be other factors that cause this, but the bottom line is that they're not well stored.
Dec 20th, '08, 00:46
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I like just about any type of aged wulong, and I've tried many/most types that I know of
Hou De, zen8tea, Imperial Tea Court, and Red Blossom are good ones to start with.
zen8tea's don't taste very aged, but they do have some of the aged qualities. The first one I got had just the slightest hint of mustiness, but airing it out for a few hours transformed it pretty dramatically. These seem to be high-fire teas that were probably fairly heavily roasted over the years, so although I don't have much experience with aged high-fire teas, I suspect that this reduces some of the aged qualities.
Imperial Tea Court has one that's very inexpensive and good if brewed right. When I first got it, it seemed decent but not great. Then recently I brewed it in my aged wulong yixing pot, taking care to maximize the heat, and it came out intensely fruity and sweet - some might have even found it too sweet, but I really like it. At ~$11 for 4oz, I'll probably grab some more.
Red Blossom has an aged baozhong that is a good solid one. It's not very complex, but it is a very good basic one that will both make a good introduction and serve to satisfy any craving for an aged wulong when you want one more casually.
As far as being skeptical of aged wulong in general - I forgot to mention that there are also tea competitions for aged wulong. I was chatting about this with Melody (zen8tea) and she showed me a picture of a 3rd place one that was very expensive. So yes, there are some that just get forgotten about, but it is an official type of tea (so to speak). They're just not easy to find here - especially when you consider that tea newbies get it drilled in their heat that fresh is better. This would also be why Seven Cups sells their 1+ year old yancha at a discount. Even ones that were just forgotten about can still be good if they were kept away from humidity and then sealed tight. Most of the roasting is done just to drive off humidity.
Hou De, zen8tea, Imperial Tea Court, and Red Blossom are good ones to start with.
zen8tea's don't taste very aged, but they do have some of the aged qualities. The first one I got had just the slightest hint of mustiness, but airing it out for a few hours transformed it pretty dramatically. These seem to be high-fire teas that were probably fairly heavily roasted over the years, so although I don't have much experience with aged high-fire teas, I suspect that this reduces some of the aged qualities.
Imperial Tea Court has one that's very inexpensive and good if brewed right. When I first got it, it seemed decent but not great. Then recently I brewed it in my aged wulong yixing pot, taking care to maximize the heat, and it came out intensely fruity and sweet - some might have even found it too sweet, but I really like it. At ~$11 for 4oz, I'll probably grab some more.
Red Blossom has an aged baozhong that is a good solid one. It's not very complex, but it is a very good basic one that will both make a good introduction and serve to satisfy any craving for an aged wulong when you want one more casually.
As far as being skeptical of aged wulong in general - I forgot to mention that there are also tea competitions for aged wulong. I was chatting about this with Melody (zen8tea) and she showed me a picture of a 3rd place one that was very expensive. So yes, there are some that just get forgotten about, but it is an official type of tea (so to speak). They're just not easy to find here - especially when you consider that tea newbies get it drilled in their heat that fresh is better. This would also be why Seven Cups sells their 1+ year old yancha at a discount. Even ones that were just forgotten about can still be good if they were kept away from humidity and then sealed tight. Most of the roasting is done just to drive off humidity.
That's a very good point.gingko wrote:I am very skeptical about this whole aging thing. Unlike puerh, many other teas were not traditionally aged. 20 years ago, few people would purposely age other teas and the current aged non-puerh, I wonder if they survive all these years by pure luck or whatABx wrote:I tried his 20-year aged dancong and it was completely musty, almost like puerh (and nothing like the description). This generally happens when it's aged poorly, and it has made me hesitant about wanting to try this other one. Fourty dollars is a lot to spend on one that was so poorly aged.
I do agree that his other teas are very good, however
I've seen some decade aged TGY, that has lots of twigs in it(also arguable removing twigs is fairly recent custom), not only that, some are done Pin Pei(mixing) with other products but sold expensive boasting 'age'. Now I can see where the marketing starts.
Not to diss all other good aged Oolong out there..
I remember this being brought up in the pu'erh section too. Someone mentioned that a decent amount of "stem" material was actually ideal for the taste.chrl42 wrote:That's a very good point.gingko wrote:I am very skeptical about this whole aging thing. Unlike puerh, many other teas were not traditionally aged. 20 years ago, few people would purposely age other teas and the current aged non-puerh, I wonder if they survive all these years by pure luck or whatABx wrote:I tried his 20-year aged dancong and it was completely musty, almost like puerh (and nothing like the description). This generally happens when it's aged poorly, and it has made me hesitant about wanting to try this other one. Fourty dollars is a lot to spend on one that was so poorly aged.
I do agree that his other teas are very good, however
I've seen some decade aged TGY, that has lots of twigs in it(also arguable removing twigs is fairly recent custom)..