5 Years Aged Oolong Lao Cha (老茶)

Aged Oolong Lao Cha (Lord of Old Tea) is a rather unusual Taiwanese oolong. Its main difference is that after collecting the tea, an aging procedure is carried out, which consists in alternating the stages of roasting and cooling the tea leaf. As a result, the color of the tea leaves becomes darker and the aroma is thicker, denser and deeper. Then it is aged in clay pots, with annual roasting to remove excess moisture.

This oolong was aged for 5 years.

To make this tea, it is taken Dong Ding, which grows in the town of Lugu in Nantou County.

Tea has a beneficial effect on the body, improves blood vessels and brain activity, and improves vision.

Leaves: leaves are dark brown in color, like raisin (dried grape), rolled into small balls that straighten out when brewed.

Taste

The infusion of tea changes with each subsequent brew, starting from a brownish-yellow and ending with a darker shade. The taste is deep, floral-fruity, slightly woody, slightly spicy. After 5-6 infusions, the tea taste is fully revealed and you can feel chocolate and caramel notes, mixing with a cherry-honey tint.

Brewing

You can use any kind of tea pot, but clay tea pot suits much better.

Warm up the tea pot with the boiling water, put in no more than 2 grams of tea leaves, pour in a little hot water and drain immediately. Add 225-250 ml hot water. Warm up the tea pot with the boiling water. It is advisable to keep warm during brewing (cover with a towel, put a candle near the pot).

The water temperature must be at least 95 °C. Increase the brewing time with each subsequent brew. The same brew can be used up to 10 times.

The leaves should open fully, then you will get the maximum taste and aroma.

If you want to have stronger taste and darker color (like on the last photo), you can try traditional Taiwanese recipe, which is described in our blog.

Additional information

This is one of the traditional ways of brewing. Depending on individual gustatory preferences you can vary brewing time from 35s to 5 minutes.

You can also use Chinese traditional way of brewing - spilling, using Gaiwan and brew for 3-5 second each time.

Please note, that it is natural tea with high content of active elements, including caffeine, and minerals and some unusual feelings could appear. In that case we recommend decrease quantity of dry leaves and brewing time.