Turning this blog to English in hope to reach more people. Which seems quite impossible in this day, however.
Anyway, today I am tasting an aged Ali Shan High Mountain oolong I bought from Finland in 2010. I have no further information about this tea and I remember thinking the tea was quite uninteresting when I first tasted it.
In 2010 I roasted the tea very slightly over hardwood charcoal. Today there are no signs of the roast in the aroma of the dry leaves. There is a very mild scent of that mustiness I always find in aged oolongs, but behind the aged aroma there are clearly noticeable notes of fresh flowers.
The first brew produces a scent more reminiscent of vegetables than the creamy floweriness one can find from young Taiwanese oolongs. However, in the second cup the vegetables have faded almost completely and a pleasing aroma of warm honey and mild notes of flowers arise.
Regarding the taste, the first brew focuses at first on vegetable notes backed up by a mildly fruity aftertaste. Then slowly darker notes of fruits become apparent. In the second cup the fruitiness and floweriness reach their full potential and the taste becomes very savoury.
At first the body of the brew has some structure, but lacks the weight and thickness I desire. Even though the mouthfeel becomes more clearly defined in the second cup, I still feel it is a bit too light.
I think High Mountain oolongs should be somewhat roasted and of high quality in order to age well.
Fortunately this tea is not sour, and compared to how light and ethereal this tea tasted six years ago, it has aged quite well. The taste and aroma have condensed to an enjoyable semi-aged level. However, as I would like the tea to have a bit more body and a bit darker notes in the taste, I will take this Ali Shan oolong back to the cellar for a couple of years.
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