Unusual aged oolong tea from teafromtaiwan.com store.

Aged oolong is re-roasted every few years. This is a delicate process that requires the supervision of a tea master. The roasting removes excess moisture that would otherwise give the tea an earthy quality.

Wang Tan Pei aged oolong is a wonderfully complex tea that will stimulate your imagination. This is a rare tea very much in demand for its unique, refreshing taste.

Dry leaves are very dark brown, small rolls. Brewing in gaiwan. Starting on 80°C not to over-burn it, this tea is a mystery to me…

First rinse and steep at 80°C (40 sec): camphor smell, but walnut flavor. Brownish color.

Second steep: at 90°C (45 sec): camphor smell, but wet wood flavor. Red brown color. Leaves are still closed and black color.

Third steep: 95°C (45 sec): wet wood camphorish smell, burnt camphor wood flavor, leaves started to open.

Fourth steep: at 100°C (45 sec) – nothing to loose: a better taste, more buttery with camphor and burnt wood.

Fifth steep: at 100°C (1.5 min), more rounded complex and buttery taste. Walnut taste with camphor note. Getting better.

Sixth steep: at 100°C (2 min) – more buttery thick taste of walnuts with less camphor now, but even lavender undertones.

Seventh steep and more: at 100°C (2 min): same as before. Continuing this way several more steeps without change. People report it will hold more than 20 steeps, so take care!

My conclusion: it is an interesting tea with medicinal camphor aroma and walnuts taste. Unusual for me. Should be brewed at 100°C for about 2 minutes to get a strong taste. Adding some points for weirdness 🙂 I believe there are some fans of such tea in Taiwan or somewhere, but I’m not educated enough yet.