Annual Series - 2013 Old Dong Ding Tea

A selection of outstanding harvests from various tea regions. 

These teas are fermented and roasted according to their individual characters, and are sweet and pure.

They are also good stored, to let their flavor profiles further develop with time.

1800g

年度系列
Annual Series

凍頂老茶
Old Dong-Ding Tea
特選自海拔800米凍頂茶區茶菁，於2013年生產。茶葉製作與存放具有相當的難度，為了使茶葉能夠長時間保存，保留傳統凍頂烏龍茶製作工藝製作，茶菁發酵均勻足夠，再以適當烘焙使茶滋味穩定，經過長時間存放後，醇化了烘焙所產生的滋味，茶湯香味純淨深遠，滋味回甘圓潤持久，茶葉久放後，越存放茶湯越醇和飽滿，是值得久放慢慢品嚐的好茶。1800克

Have you ever heard the term old tea? Do you think old tea is an expensive and mysterious tea? Do you want to know what old tea is, why some people are willing to spend a lot of money on old tea, and how to tell the real old tea from the fake? If you are interested in these issues, let's explore the charm of old tea with YOSHANTEA.

-What is old tea?

Old tea refers to tea leaves that have been stored for a long time, usually calculated in units of years. However, there is no clear standard to define what kind of tea can be called old tea, which depends on different varieties and production techniques.

-Why drink old tea?

The biggest feature of old tea is its flavor and taste. With the passage of time, the substances in the tea will be oxidized and transformed, producing some unique aromas, such as ginseng, red bean, fruity and sour. At the same time, the bitter components in the tea leaves will also be reduced, making the tea soup smoother and sweeter. Therefore, old tea can bring us a feeling different from new tea, allowing us to taste the charm of time.

-Why is old tea so expensive?

The high price of old tea is mainly due to its rarity and cost. To make good old tea, the following conditions are required:

1. Long-term storage: Old tea needs to be stored for several years or even decades, which means that the time cost is very high.
2. Appropriate space: Old tea needs to have a fixed space for storage, and it cannot be moved at will or exposed to sunlight, which means that the cost of space is high.
3. Strict control: old tea needs a good storage environment, requiring ventilation, drying, and avoiding high temperature and humidity, otherwise it may cause mold, insects or eterioration of tea, which means high risk costs.

-How to judge the authenticity of old tea?

There are several techniques for judging the authenticity of old tea:

1. Flavor of tea soup: If the aroma is sour, red bean, and ginseng, the tea leaves will produce different aromas with different storage time lengths. The charcoal smell of roasted tea is not the aroma produced by old tea after storage. Old tea usually needs to be roasted to reduce the water content of the 

tea and extend the shelf life.

1. Appearance of tea leaves: The tea-making process is different in each era. For example, 30 years ago, frozen top tea was shaped manually, so the appearance of the tea ball is slightly curled, also known as "shrimp curl". If the tea leaves are fairly round and tight in appearance, it is unlikely that they were made 30 years ago.
2. Tea packaging: The real old tea will have some markings to prove its age and origin, such as the date of the competition tea.
3. Pesticides: This is a more extreme method, but it is also an effective method. Due to the different pesticides used in different years, if the tea contains banned pesticides, such as DDT, it means that this is a very old batch of tea.

In short, old tea is a kind of tea worthy of our appreciation and tasting, which can make us feel the accumulation and changes of time.

However, old tea does not mean that the older the better, the most important thing is to look at your own preferences and financial situation.