Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[debunix]

Taiwan Royal Lu Gu oolong, a lightly oxidized balled green oolong from Bird Pick Teas, grandpa style in a Greenwood Studio's snowflake cup.



This cup is now quite pleasingly stained in the crackles, so that the drama of the glaze is no longer faded as soon as it' the tea liquor covers it. And the oolong is sweet and floral and pleasant brewed this way, but not a patch on the DYL from Origin Tea that was positively brilliant brewed Grandpa style (or any other way!)

[victoria3]

Great picture. I also prefer their Lu Gu oolong in a gaiwan, it seems to accentuate both sweetness and flavour.

Over the past few weeks I have tried a few of Norbu's oolongs and really enjoyed the Li Shan and Ali Shan Red.
Li Shan at 8.4gr/150ml/195F/50sec. is delicate yet very present with sweet floral, musky notes and nice background astringency and dry mouth feel. Lovely. I wish it was more affordable to drink daily.
Ali Shan Red is my first dark oxidized oolong and I found it quite aromatic with a deep red liquor and rich musky/cinnamon flavors, as if it had a hint of black Assam at 8gr/150ml/180/60

[Rdeitz]

I recently drank a 1980s oolong from Yang Qing Hao. It was not what I was expecting. It had a distinct humid storage taste, like you might expect from a pu erh. I assume this tea has been humid stored. I did not care for it all that much. Any opinions as to whether this will improve if dry stored for a time?

[jayinhk]

I recently drank a 1980s oolong from Yang Qing Hao. It was not what I was expecting. It had a distinct humid storage taste, like you might expect from a pu erh. I assume this tea has been humid stored. I did not care for it all that much. Any opinions as to whether this will improve if dry stored for a time?

Yes, if left out in a dry environment it should lose that humid flavor, but you might be better off heating it very lightly to see if that drives off the storage aromas. Sometimes oolong storage in China and Taiwan is really subpar and the teas age like pu erh because the humidity gets into them. I had baozhong like that in Pinglin and it was a major wtf moment.

[shah82]

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.

[jayinhk]

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.

In traditional Chaozhou gongfu cha, tea is heated to drive off moisture before brewing. I've found this to work well as long as the heat is low and it's done quickly. I don't think it will drive off all of the storage aromas, actually. You're going to need to air it out somewhere dry. I only heat to drive off any excess moisture (it's extremely humid here for much of the year, of course, even with three dehumidifiers and air conditioners going at home) before brewing, and I've found it to 'sharpen' my oolongs up if they are a little too moist.

[William]

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.

I do not share your vision.

Some of the best aged teas I've ever had were oolong, some perfectly stored, some not. Quality costs of course, as any kind of aged tea.
I find particularly appealing the cinnamon / ginger / ripe plum flavor some aged Taiwanese oolong have, mostly Dong Ding (cinnamon or ripe plum), Baozhong (ginger or ripe plum) and Mu Zha TGY (usually sweet candy or cinnamon) from the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

Regarding what is available online, I would suggest you to take a look at tea-masters Taiwanese aged oolong; hojotea as an aged Taiwanese oolong that is really really good. Sometimes essenceoftea offer aged Taiwanese oolong, so take a look from time to time.

[Rdeitz]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I just got a couple aged oolongs from teamasters, so I can see how those taste. Regarding hojo, how do you order using their website? I don't see any prices nor any way of adding an item to a cart.

[William]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I just got a couple aged oolongs from teamasters, so I can see how those taste. Regarding hojo, how do you order using their website? I don't see any prices nor any way of adding an item to a cart.

Price list: http://hojotea.com/img/tealineup10.pdf

To order you need to email him at (substitute at with @): akira(at)hojotea.com

[ethan]

shah82, I think you are having a bit of fun w/ the strong words of your comments. Sometimes it seems necessary to be emphatic to get responses on Teachat. Perhaps no tea is "exciting". "Exciting" is a word better used for meeting the love of one's life.
It's been several years since (I think); whatever..... I enjoyed aged oolongs that were sold by Red Blossoms Tea & Hou de Asian Art. I got them swapping cigars for tea through Teachat. Those aged oolongs were delicious. That is foremost in my memory of them. Later I got some aged Boazhong from Origin Tea that was also delicious.
Enough time has elapsed & enough good tea has been found for me not too miss such tea terribly; nonetheless, I tried all the aged oolong that I could while in Taiwan. None of those were very good.
I hope to read comments on the aged oolong mentioned here recently. I hope some are very good.

[shah82]

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.

I do not share your vision.

Some of the best aged teas I've ever had were oolong, some perfectly stored, some not. Quality costs of course, as any kind of aged tea.
I find particularly appealing the cinnamon / ginger / ripe plum flavor some aged Taiwanese oolong have, mostly Dong Ding (cinnamon or ripe plum), Baozhong (ginger or ripe plum) and Mu Zha TGY (usually sweet candy or cinnamon) from the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

Regarding what is available online, I would suggest you to take a look at tea-masters Taiwanese aged oolong; hojotea as an aged Taiwanese oolong that is really really good. Sometimes essenceoftea offer aged Taiwanese oolong, so take a look from time to time.

William,

No aged oolong (that people will sell) will ever beat a comparably stored and aged puerh of similar quality. The majority of aged oolongs out there and is available are highly mediocre, and are mostly unsold stock. There are a few decent aged dongdings out there, but really good aged wuyis, for example, are not generally available. Really good top shelf dongdings and tgy are not generally available. People get to try them because they have the right friends. There's nothing wrong with liking aged oolongs if that's to your taste, but generally, people are best off, for example, buying lots of Teamasters newest oxidized/roasted balled tea--at least 500g, and slowing drinking that on special occasions rather than buying the age stock, specifically if there's no real reason for them to prefer it. YQH aged oolong is highly representative of how it should be, and real aged oolong, again, is simply not that exciting.

[ethan]

William, Looking at the prices of Teamasters' aged oolongs which start at $1 per gram & go up to as much as $25 per gram, one might lean more towards Shah's perspective & away from yours.
If one buys an excellent oolong for 12 to 40 cents per gram in a larger quantity than needed & age improves it, great. If not, so what? It is already excellent.
If Teamasters' aged oolong is excellent, for most people including me, again "So what?" It is not affordable.

[Bok]

No aged oolong (that people will sell) will ever beat a comparably stored and aged puerh of similar quality. The majority of aged oolongs out there and is available are highly mediocre, and are mostly unsold stock. There are a few decent aged dongdings out there, but really good aged wuyis, for example, are not generally available. Really good top shelf dongdings and tgy are not generally available. People get to try them because they have the right friends. There's nothing wrong with liking aged oolongs if that's to your taste, but generally, people are best off, for example, buying lots of Teamasters newest oxidized/roasted balled tea--at least 500g, and slowing drinking that on special occasions rather than buying the age stock, specifically if there's no real reason for them to prefer it. YQH aged oolong is highly representative of how it should be, and real aged oolong, again, is simply not that exciting.

I agree, if you do not have the right friends or the patience to age them yourself, good aged oolong is out of most peoples reach, more so outside of Taiwan.

I got lucky once and a friend gave me a small pack of aged oolong, no idea how long but at least more than 15 years.

I do not agree however that they are not exciting teas. It is rather a different taste to a an aged Puerh. Personally I do not care much for Puerh, for me oolong of all colours and roasts, ages are the first choice.

That particular aged oolong had a lot going on in terms of changing flavours and sensations. Kept going for many many rounds still changing and providing enjoyable cup after cup. Never had that luck again, but it stays with me as one of my all time memorable teas.

They are less exciting in the literal sense in that one can sleep afterwards and that they are easy on the stomach.

[shah82]

No aged oolong (that people will sell) will ever beat a comparably stored and aged puerh of similar quality. The majority of aged oolongs out there and is available are highly mediocre, and are mostly unsold stock. There are a few decent aged dongdings out there, but really good aged wuyis, for example, are not generally available. Really good top shelf dongdings and tgy are not generally available. People get to try them because they have the right friends. There's nothing wrong with liking aged oolongs if that's to your taste, but generally, people are best off, for example, buying lots of Teamasters newest oxidized/roasted balled tea--at least 500g, and slowing drinking that on special occasions rather than buying the age stock, specifically if there's no real reason for them to prefer it. YQH aged oolong is highly representative of how it should be, and real aged oolong, again, is simply not that exciting.

I agree, if you do not have the right friends or the patience to age them yourself, good aged oolong is out of most peoples reach, more so outside of Taiwan.

I got lucky once and a friend gave me a small pack of aged oolong, no idea how long but at least more than 15 years.

I do not agree however that they are not exciting teas. It is rather a different taste to a an aged Puerh. Personally I do not care much for Puerh, for me oolong of all colours and roasts, ages are the first choice.

That particular aged oolong had a lot going on in terms of changing flavours and sensations. Kept going for many many rounds still changing and providing enjoyable cup after cup. Never had that luck again, but it stays with me as one of my all time memorable teas.

They are less exciting in the literal sense in that one can sleep afterwards and that they are easy on the stomach.

I agree with the last sentence.

Generally, aged oolong is a very specific experience. What dynamcism they provide is typical very mellow, soft, and subtle. They also typically offer an unusual mouthfeel with a certain thickness and texture.

They can be loud and dynamic--that Houde Jinzhu Pearls balled dancong is certainly one such tea! But that's not really quite the point, and when it comes right down to it, what such a tea does well, can be done better by a newer tea of better grade.

[jayinhk]

I didn't understand the appeal of aged oolongs when I first tried samples Tony (Origin Tea) bought me from Taiwan when he visited. I was still very new to tea appreciation and I thought good green gaoshan, tieguanyin and high fire oolongs were so much more flavorful. I felt like aged oolongs had lost much of their oomph and for the higher prices, I thought it was silly to buy them.

Fast forward several years, and I totally understand the appeal. Aged oolongs may not have the complexity of flavor that a new tea has, but they are smooth teas with lovely energy and they are much easier on my tummy. For me, aged oolongs are really about the calm energy they give me and the relaxation they leave me with, without stressing my system like newer teas do. Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't think my system can handle green gaoshan every day anymore, or even maocha or young pu erh--I need aged teas on the menu, be they oolongs or pu erh or heicha. Yes, a well-aged pu erh still retains much of its flavor and in the case of old school factory recipes, they need that age to be good drinking (nothing is quite like a well aged Dayi sheng cake), but aged oolongs definitely have their appeal too, IMO.

I just bought 150g of 1995 Thai chin shin oolong from tea-side.com. I was sent a bunch of samples to review on request. I found their selection interesting after johnb mentioned them, since they carry a wide variety of quality Thai teas seldom seen on the market. Really lovely tea that has been stored well and tastes much like a good aged dongding, but with more complexity to the flavor profile, even with a relatively light roast and oxidation level. This tea was obviously produced by Taiwanese investors looking to sell it in Taiwan. For $12.50 for 50g, considering the quality and the very limited amount available, I felt this tea was good value for what it is and I'll put it aside in a pewter caddy for later consumption. I have no doubt this tea could very easily be passed off as Taiwanese laocha for much more money, and it probably was passed off as Taiwanese at some point. This makes me wonder if I've ever bought imported tea sold as Taiwanese tea while in Taipei. I don't think I have, but I think I was gifted 100g of "Shan Lin Xi" that most assuredly wasn't SLX last summer!