Oolong At Auction

[Tead Off]

Below is a 2100g caddy filled with No.22 of Jui Xiulou collection of oolong offered at auction in Taipei. Can anyone identify Jui Xiulou?

Jui Xiulou oolong No. 22.jpg (55.72 KiB) Viewed 2448 times

[Tead Off]

Bidding begins at about $2800.

[AdmiralKelvinator]

Looks like its being offered through this auction house

http://www.phoebusart.com/product.php?a ... show=16217

From what I can glean from their page it looks to be an aged high mountain oolong. I've never come across this variety myself, tho others here I'm sure can tell us something about it.

Given the street price of aged oolongs in Taiwan, that asking price seems quite high (and that's only the starting bid!). Unless it was something truly exceptional I think It'd be cheaper just to buy retail. Plus given the importance of storage conditions for aged teas, there's really no way to know the quality without trying it in person. It's a lot to gamble on an unknown (at least for me haha).

Out of curiosity, what is the protocol for aged pu-erh auctions? If a buyer bids for a Songpinhao etc. is that bidder able to verify the quality of the tea, or is that something they just have to trust to the auction house? I imagine even a tiny sample of some of those antique pu-erhs would still be quite a sum.

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

For those that can't read Mandarin I translated the tea's description to English:

"Aged GaoShan wulong tea, grown in famous Taiwan Alishan mountains. This tea has not been baked and is 1／2 fermented. Aged slowly for twenty years to naturally mature and to slowly fully ferment with age. It has a unique flavor and the rolling method is like a full "shrimp curl"in appearance. Because it's aged, one can easily see the change in the leaves appearance from the long aging process. The tea liquor is clear and red (amber?). The flavor is full and pure, sweet, and smooth with notes of sour plum. The tea is well-stored and clean. This tea can weather many rounds and is durable throughout the pour. Across ten rounds of brewing the tea still elicits a notable huigan and evolving flavor. This tea's flavor is a step up from premium puerh and worthy of drinking."

Currently we have a tea very similar to this bought in Taiwan from the limited private collection of the noted calligraphy and tea master 蔡崇三/Cai Chong San。He served this tea at a private tea gathering at Qiu Shan Tang on the opening of his calligraphy show there. I was able to buy two bags of the tea, gifting one to Andrzej, while in Taiwan last December. Only the one I have is a 30 Year Aged Dong Ding, also 中發笑, and rolled/processed in the same manner, as was typical for teas of the time before ball-rolled teas became prevalent. The tea I have is a wonderful, subtle, warm, clean tea, unique among aged Taiwan teas, and durable and rich as well across the rounds.

Reading the description of this tea makes me curious for the possibility of tasting it......

[Tead Off]

Well, I can tell you that this Auction House is full of dubious sculptures, etc. I get no confidence in them after inspecting their sale and looking closely at some of the lots I could have been interested in, none of them are tea related.

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Well, I can tell you that this Auction House is full of dubious sculptures, etc. I get no confidence in them after inspecting their sale and looking closely at some of the lots I could have been interested in, none of them are tea related.

If I remember right, didn't you previously deal in Asian antiques? I'm not familiar with this auction site. But, yeah, I personally have never even looked at an auction site for tea. I've bought Japanese tea antiques through Yahoo Japan and of course used EBay for tea ware items. But tea is just not something I'd buy from an auction site. Actually, prior to joining TeaChat I seldom bought tea from any website. I just purchased my tea from tea spaces here in California and while in Taiwan each year and still predominantly buy my teas this way.

That said, the description of the tea sounds nice; generally speaking, many aged Taiwan teas were really baked to begin with or baked repeatedly across the years of storing. This gives them a certain flavor that one is accustomed to with many aged Tawain teas. What makes the 30 Year Dong Ding from Cai Chong Shan so unique is the smooth mellowness it has precisely because when it was originally processed it was not baked and was instead allowed to oxidize to middle oxidation and then stored properly for 30 years. In that sense, the auction site's tea sounds interesting and indeed, for an aged tea, comparably rare.

As Admiral pointed out, there are great brick and mortar sources for really good aged tea in Taiwan without having to go through an auction site, and definitely not at that price.

[Tead Off]

I wasn't looking for tea on this auction site. I just happened to see this. Antiquities are my specialty. Most auctions these days have a hefty number of copies included in their sales. Few of these online auctions are vetted properly. I couldn't see myself buying tea like this on an auction, either.

[Tead Off]

Sold for $2900.

[William]

Sold for $2900.

Surely not a bidding war!

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Sold for $2900.

Teadoff, so you came into some extra cash?

Wow! Surprising!

[Tead Off]

Sold for $2900.

Teadoff, so you came into some extra cash?

Wow! Surprising!

Surprising that I came into some cash, or surprising that I bough it?

[William]

Sold for $2900.

Teadoff, so you came into some extra cash?

Wow! Surprising!

Surprising that I came into some cash, or surprising that I bough it?

You bought it?

[Tead Off]

No. Just having some fun with TeaArt.

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Sold for $2900.

Teadoff, so you came into some extra cash?

Wow! Surprising!

Surprising that I came into some cash, or surprising that I bough it?

You bought it?

[William]

No. Just having some fun with TeaArt.