Very aged oolong/baozhong flavor???

[AdmiralKelvinator]

Definitely want to give this a try, as I have a number of aged oolongs that could benefit from a little "refresh". May I ask, do you usually refresh over a stovetop? I saw in the other thread that people seemed to be putting their horoku on a gas range, but I wondered if that would be too strong. Would something like a tea candle then be too weak for this purpose?

How much tea do you roast at one time?

[Tead Off]

I use a hojiki, bought very inexpensively at Yuuki-cha. I use it on my electric range in the kitchen. I warm it first on medium heat and then lower it to a lower setting before I put the tea inside. I can probably do about 15g of tea at a time. I am moving the tea by flipping the contents like chefs do with frying pans. This is done gently, constantly watching for change of color and aroma. In this way, if I make a mistake, let's say by over-roasting the tea, all is not lost and I will adjust for the next batch.

Of course, charcoal would be much better, and even gas. But I can't complain as I am doing small batch refreshing and roasting. For larger quantities, you would need a different roaster. I've even used my rice cooker, but it doesn't get hot enough on the 'warm' setting to really roast, but it is enough to remove storage smells. After all, we are just trying to minimize water content in the tea which is probably where some of the smells are residing.

[jayinhk]

I just use a large skillet on my induction stove. I used gas in the past. Low heat is safer and less likely to scorch your tea (which I did to some Dahongpao that took a year to recover)!

[CWarren]

Edited

[Tead Off]

I have the hojiki from yuuki-cha as well. Wondering as of late reading this thread how well it would work removing some of the mustiness from the 90's Liu An I purchased from YS. Might have to try a small quantity and see. Until this thread I would have never thought of using it for anything but making up some hojicha.

CWarren

slow heat. Stop when the mustiness cannot be smelled. Works for Puerh quite well. Make sure you don't roast the tea or you will change its structure and taste.

[jayinhk]

For liu an I would just give it air for several months...might be interesting to see what gentle heat would do for it though! Please let us know how it works out for you.

I have 600g of liu an aging in a paper bag...it's been aging for a few years now. It's sweetened up and smoothened out considerably.

[CWarren]

Edited

[wyardley]

I like a little funk and / or sourness personally, but it's definitely not to everyone's taste.

[Tead Off]

I like a little funk and / or sourness personally, but it's definitely not to everyone's taste.

Old school.

[BioHorn]

I like a little funk and / or sourness personally, but it's definitely not to everyone's taste.

Sorry to +1, but I am +1 to plummyness.

[AdmiralKelvinator]

Went out today and bought a Hojiki (one of the benefits of living in Japan I guess) today and used in on my portable gas range to refresh some aged oolong. The results were...inconclusive. I kept the heat rather low and constantly flipped the tea in hojiki as I held it over the flame (Sorta like the guy was doing in the video posted in that other hojiki thread). The aroma of the tea started to rise out of the top and the bottom of the hojiki was too hot to touch; but comparing the refreshed and un-refreshed tea side by side a few hours on, I couldn't taste any practical difference. Perhaps i need to give it some stronger heat or let it rest for a few days? When you guys are done refreshing, do you put the tea straight back into the bag/tin or do you let it cool down first (on a plate etc.) before storing?

It could be also that refreshing in this way gets rid of musty smells but has less effect on sour notes; whaddya'll think?

Also I agree with Wyardly that a little bit of tartness (those wonderful dried-plum notes) is a good thing; however a sourness that envelopes all the other delicate high and mid-range flavors I don't think is desirable.

[jayinhk]

It might just be crap tea. How long did you heat it for? Maybe play with a little...more heat/longer time (one or the other or both).

[William]

Try to store the refreshed tea in a porous container (e.g. a clay container) for a week or two. If nothing happens, could well be the quality of the tea.

[CWarren]

Edited

[jayinhk]

I don't mind a little funk (living in HK a lot of tea has storage aromas from very wet storage), but I do like to air my teas out and rinse two or even three times before I start drinking. I also use a thicker zini pot for pu erh and hei cha that makes for smooth, clean tasting brews.