Miaoli 1993 - Aged Wulong

This aged Wulong from Miaoli county in Taiwan is offered by the Camellia Sinensis shop in Montreal (also online). They mention that this tea has been "blackened by multiple cooking repeated over the years". Given that this is a 1993 cru, this tea has gone through this process to a maximum of 24 years. Unfortunately, we do not know how many times this has been done. But you can sure taste it!

Here is what they have to say about the flavour profile:

"The scent of burnt wood and carob fragrances the air when rising the leaves. The liquor has a sweet flavour enhanced by notes of candied fruit and molasses. Its earthy accents are nicely complimented by a spicy finish (vanilla), volatile and persistent."

If like me you read this and wondered how something could be both volatile and persistent, I will gladly elaborate on this later, fret not!

The recommended method was of course Gong Fu Cha (since it's a Taiwanese tea). I somehow wrote in my notes Gaiwan (I later checked the website (here) to be sure), but my brain knew better because I did it with the Gong Fu Cha technique anyway. I still tried the Gaiwan way as well.
Turns out the difference between the two techniques is unremarkable.

While I'm waiting for a new mineral cartridge replacement (we thought we still had some, turns out we need to order a new batch), I've been using the ethos water bottles. I feel like such a sold out.

Here are the dry leaves. As you can see they are very dark, obviously from the "blackening".

The dry leaves were small, dark brown bordering black and medium brown, and tightly rolled.

The leaves weren't shiny, but dull due to smoking. Barely any twigs, I only saw one lone twig within 2 grams of the tea, and it could have been part of a leaf.
They gave off a sweet woodsy aroma. Maybe my portion of tea (I got 25g) was too small, maybe my nose is wrong, but I didn't really pick up any smokiness.

The wet leaves revealed that each leaf is indeed one very long one. I originally thought that I would be seeing a set of two or three, but nope, it's single ones with some having a twiggy end.

The smokiness was very easy to spot then, smelling of burnt wood. There was indeed some carob, if my memory serves me right it never really smelled like chocolate, but rather more woodsy or earthy. When I smelled it, I felt like carob was right. I also got the aroma of fresh brown bread (the type that's commercially sold), which is what I imagine malt to smell like. Very shiny leaves of dark-reddish brown.

First Steeping: 2 teaspoons (I measured 2 grams), 95°C, 100ml of water and rinsing
Method used: Gong Fu Cha

Recommended time: 15 to 25 seconds, so I took 21.

This is what the first infusion looked like. From my perspective, it was rather peach-light amber coloured.
Sweet woodsy notes with honey lebkuchen (the ones that don't overdo it with clove). If lebkuchen is a long stretch for you, I guess a honey brioche could work too.

Lastly, a comforting bread crust and toasted hazelnut aroma.

First Taste: Mild at first but mouth-filling. Warm like fresh bread, and with notes of brown sugar (which contains molasses). Mild astringency and frankly a little watery. There was a short lived woodsiness like smoked drywood (Anyone ever had a Charcoal Ali Shan?), hence the volatile part as in the Camellia Sinensis description. It ended in a spicy finish closer to a chili kick than vanilla. After a few cups of this tea, I coughed a little. I had someone else try it and they too found it a little spicy and coughed. It's not bad, but does surprise. This is where it gets persistent (chili) and just layers up cup after cup, and the asperity as well, as tannins develop over time.

Second Steeping:
Recommended time: 10 to 20 seconds, so I chose 16.

Liquor: Yellow pale ale colour (I mean the beer) with a woodsy smell.

Second Taste: Still a little watery, but smoother, more rounded and even in taste. Woodsy charcoal notes and I'd ever dare say gammy like leather with a light honey lebkuchen. And again the chili finish almost reminding me of how sharp and spicy freshly grated ginger feels like. At that point, I was arguing in my head whether it felt more like fresh ginger or chili powder.

Third Steeping:
Recommended time: 20 to 35 seconds so I took 31.

Liquor: About the same colour as the 2nd steeping but with a slightly lighter hue and a woodsy aroma.

Third Taste: Even in taste with a mild astringency. Pretty much the same notes as the 2nd steeping but milder and less spicy. Still a little watery.

My score is 3 stars our of 5.Simply because the description was so much more promising than I felt it delivered. In terms of smoked wulong, the Charcoal Ali Shan still remains my favourite. Next time I get a hold of it, I'll make a review.

Also, since I found it a little watery -- and thought maybe the dosage was wrong -- I tried doubling the amount of tea and found it yielded a more rounded cup with a little tannin and a welcoming warmth. It was also less spicy with a stronger roasted coffee taste. That one would have gotten close to a 4 star rating!

I know I'm not consistent in my review postings, but I swear days are not 24 hours but more like only 10! I get so frustrated trying to get things done and practically have to yell to everyone to leave me alone as I've been trying to do this post for a week now.

Hopefully sooner than later~ See ya!