Aging oolong? How to do it?

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Baisao
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Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:04 pm

faj wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:57 pm
Baisao wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:39 pm
I do. I like that the straw can easily go to the bottom of the jar and flush out air mixed in the tea. I also use it for sencha in Mylar zipper bags. The sencha keeps noticeably longer this way when compared to not using it.
Interesting. Do you use that systematically for all your teas, or only the more fragile ones and those you want to age?
Mostly systematically for greens and oolongs. Obviously I don’t do this with white, reds, pu, or heicha.
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aet
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Sat Sep 19, 2020 9:21 pm

Is it possible to make a "fake" old oolong? I mean like the way it's done with puerh. Storage adjustments to promote faster aging then moving to different environment to "dry off" excessive wet notes ( which of course still persist , but if doing things right , the impact is minimal ) .
I had puerh made this way which was only 2 y old , no wet notes but had as taste of 10y stored in KM. Of course you can call me inexperienced puerh drinker and that Pro PU drinker would spot that. I generally do have an idea in KM stored teas and getting it right +/- 3 years in blind drinking , but that day there were few of us ( some more experienced drinkers ) and we were all shaking heads how well this tea was "done".
So reading here the topics about storage, premises, places, expenses , why would anybody store if cant sell..etc. That raises one question in my head.
Wouldn't be that just a marketing trend which vendors follow and make some fakes along with ultra expensive and rare +30y old oolong?
I understand that we live in very broad WWW world where suddenly even rare items can pop out on your page , so probably all those websites selling very old oolongs might be legit ...as I have no experience neither proof , I do not dare to challenge / question any vendor , but I admit my brain stays puzzled.

I've heard that sometimes CN companies were exporting oolong ( not only oolong ) to countries to wholesaler's storage even if the sales didn't go well that time ( particular year ) , in order to shift tea out of the factory and fulfill the annual plan despite the importer ( the buyer in that country ) couldn't pay right after. So technically it is possible that this stock ( tons ) was forgotten / left behind and with sudden development of internet along with "few clicks" concept online shop creation , the tea is available everywhere now.
That's just my theory , I might be wrong. Should anybody have something to add to this , I'd be happy to read.
Please no flames, I do not accuse anybody neither raise doubt of old oolongs legitimacy.
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Baisao
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Sat Sep 19, 2020 9:50 pm

30+ year old tea doesn’t like to open fully even with very hot water. It is difficult to resist decades of being compressed. Maybe this can be faked but also the way ball tea was rolled changes over the decades. Experienced consumers can tell.

I suspect a lot of tea wasn’t thrown out when the favored styles of tea changed from heavier oxidation/roasting to greener oolongs. This is why a lot of the aged oolong is from the 70s-80s.

It could also be laziness or the entropy of daily life. I know I have bags and bags of tea I’ve saved for special occasions but in reality— shame on me— have never gotten back to.
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StoneLadle
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Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:41 pm

@aet Hiya, it is possible to roast an oolong to provide a semblance of aged taste... During the @OCTO Marathon two days ago there was a Hong Kong fired TGY that I had to taste and retaste, not only because it was yummy but because I kept detecting a hint of dusty sourness. The tea is about 11 years old at this point and that sourness doesn't usually appear till later...
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StoneLadle
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Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:44 pm

Baisao wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 9:50 pm
30+ year old tea doesn’t like to open fully even with very hot water. It is difficult to resist decades of being compressed. Maybe this can be faked but also the way ball tea was rolled changes over the decades. Experienced consumers can tell.

I suspect a lot of tea wasn’t thrown out when the favored styles of tea changed from heavier oxidation/roasting to greener oolongs. This is why a lot of the aged oolong is from the 70s-80s.

It could also be laziness or the entropy of daily life. I know I have bags and bags of tea I’ve saved for special occasions but in reality— shame on me— have never gotten back to.

I second the theory on the storage of old 70/80s oolong. While I bemoan the lack of higher (read, proper 😆) roast oolongs today I simultaneously am optimistic about hunting down more aged roasted TGY due to the reason that it is out of fashion!

Only problem is that it's difficult to pry out of the hands of storekeepers 🐱
vuanguyen
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:06 am

This topic is really interesting. I have never tasted aged Oolong. I read that aged Oolong has much lesser caffeine that other teas. My body cannot tolerate drinking teas for prolonged period.

Can anyone be kind enough to share where I can get some good aged Taiwanese Oolong?

Thank you kindly.
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Baisao
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:21 am

vuanguyen wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:06 am
This topic is really interesting. I have never tasted aged Oolong. I read that aged Oolong has much lesser caffeine that other teas. My body cannot tolerate drinking teas for prolonged period.
Caffeine has a long half life and there will still be plenty in aged oolong. However, the body load is relaxing and not as stimulating as younger, less oxidized oolongs or greens. It’s not as relaxing as 40 year old shou, however. That stuff is almost narcotic!

I believe there are more chemicals than caffeine that cause that jittery feeling and/or that something is changed in aged or darker oolongs causes them to be more relaxing.
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Baisao
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:29 am

I don’t believe most people who drink aged oolongs are disaffected puerh drinkers, as has I have read on the forum multiple times. Shou and aged oolong are very different things: they taste differently, feel differently, and are stored differently.

My experience talking to people who prefer darker and aged oolongs is that they, like me, got bored with the overwhelming character of green oolongs.
Ethan Kurland
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:34 am

vuanguyen wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:06 am
Can anyone be kind enough to share where I can get some good aged Taiwanese Oolong?
From me. In vendor thread. Page 4, towards the bottom, post dated Oct 2_, is current list of teas. There are 2 aged oolongs listed.
Last edited by Victoria on Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Mod edit: cleaned up quote
Ethan Kurland
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:42 am

Baisao wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:21 am
Caffeine has a long half life and there will still be plenty in aged oolong. However, the body load is relaxing and not as stimulating as younger, less oxidized oolongs or greens. It’s not as relaxing as 40 year old shou, however. That stuff is almost narcotic!

I believe there are more chemicals than caffeine that cause that jittery feeling and/or that something is changed in aged or darker oolongs causes them to be more relaxing.
Very well expressed. "Body load" is a new way of saying something like, "the effect on the body".

+1 for aged or darker oolongs being more relaxing. However, it happens, all tea is relaxing for me to drink to a significant degree.
Last edited by Victoria on Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Mod edit: cleaned up quote
Chadrinkincat
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:19 pm

StoneLadle wrote:
Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:22 pm
Chadrinkincat how do you define par and sub par oolongs?
For me below average teas are often drinkable but likely not something I’d want to consume regularly or consider a daily drinker. Seadyke brand is a good example of sub par tea imho.

Contamination from storage is a separate issue.
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Bok
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:21 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:42 am

+1 for aged or darker oolongs being more relaxing. However, it happens, all tea is relaxing for me to drink to a significant degree.
Mostly, but not always. I've had aged Dancong for example, that kept me up all night and with vivid, restless dreams...
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Baisao
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:06 pm

Bok wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:21 pm
Ethan Kurland wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:42 am

+1 for aged or darker oolongs being more relaxing. However, it happens, all tea is relaxing for me to drink to a significant degree.
Mostly, but not always. I've had aged Dancong for example, that kept me up all night and with vivid, restless dreams...
Great point. Dancongs are odd to begin with.

Additionally, I’ve had more doped dancongs than any other tea. I now steer clear of them except from sources I know very well.
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Bok
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:17 pm

Baisao wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:06 pm
Additionally, I’ve had more doped dancongs than any other tea. I now steer clear of them except from sources I know very well.
The one I am referring to was from the 70s, so pretty sure at time, doping them for fragrance was not a thing yet. Or so I hope.
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aet
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Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:43 pm

Well, I had some aged oolong from 95 stored in Thailand ( sample exchange with other vendor ) . I'm not experienced oolong drinker so can not confirm the age but it does taste like ( had a specific notes of ) aged sheng puerh of clean Puer ( Simao ) storage approx from the same time. And as I mentioned in previous post, I'm aware of that nowadays this taste profile can be imitated in shorter time of storage if humidity and ventilation ( air circ. ) set right.
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