Brian said

Aging white tea (or anything other than puerh)

I have a small 100g white tea cake and was curious if it could go in my Sheng pumidor or better to just let it sit by itself.

also, how would one age wuyi oolong? i have a good amount of some 5 year aged in bags. whats the best way to store those.

4 Replies
AllanK said

The aging of tea other than puerh is a bit of a dodgy subject. Many hold that other teas cannot be successfully aged. I have tried other types of aged teas and I have never been as impressed as I have been with puerh. I think the general theory about aging white tea is it is good for a few years but not like puerh which is good at twenty years and older.

> Many hold that other teas cannot be successfully aged.

And yet it seems that aged white tea is enough of a traditional thing that there is a saying “1 year tea, 3 years medicine, 7 years treasure” to refer to it.

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I’ll agree with AllanK in that it certainly seems like a dodgy subject, especially with white teas, black tea’s, etc. However, I do think darker oolongs may be the only comparable tea in terms of aging potential. From the little research I’ve done, it seems people think that little air exposure and a dry environment are important for oolongs to age properly, as opposed to the humidity that promotes aging in puerhs. For oolongs, when people age them, there is a process of periodic re-roasting that occurs to remove some of the moisture that the tea absorbs over time, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of aged oolongs not undergoing this process, perhaps when in a really ideal environment.

I’ve heard it said that parts of North America may be ideal for aging oolongs. But I think I will likely leave the aging of the oolongs to those with more skill, especially as I have no faith in myself to not ruin the tea should I even consider roasting oolongs! That being said, I certainly trust my dark and already aged oolongs to remain highly drinkable for a longer period of time than anything white or green(including green oolongs) and most of my black teas. But my puerhs are the only things I wouldn’t be surprised to have parts of in 5 years time, if only because I buy so much more, and drink my oolongs so quickly, but we’ll see how that pans out.

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Lumpkin said

it that Anji White Tea?

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