Broadening Our Experiences with the Aging Process

The magical influence of time in connection to the aging process is a topic that has long captivated me. For those who share the same interest and have the passion and drive to willingly pursue information and knowledge I would suggest considering additional avenues to broaden your experiences. The process of aging and its benefits extend far beyond the subject of tea. It covers various items of food and drink that have become a part of human consumption for many centuries from cheese, to pickled vegetables, cured meats, vinegar, soy sauce and a great assortment of alcoholic beverages. The aging process forms an integral part of our relationship with food, satisfying a need within our bodies beyond fresh produce.

i) Cheddar from Hookscheese, aged for 20 years, ii) Jamón Ibérico Bellota Gran Reserva, aged for 64 months, iii) Famous Yuan soy sauce from Hong Kong, aged for 1 year. iv) Traditionally made kimchi ripened in clay jars buried in the earth

1980s Bamboo Wrapped Melon - NA

This well aged puerh melon is estimated to be from the 1980s. The tea comes in a simple bamboo tube consisting of 5 pieces, bare and unadorned by labels. For an unlabeled puerh tea there is no hype, no marketing and no brand premium. As a result such a tea can be good value, adding a little excitement and mystery to our tea sessions. However at the same time unlabeled puerh can be a risky proposition for buyers as the quality of the tea greatly varies and is an easy way to pass off fake tea by dishonest merchants. With no written information to clearly reveal the production and origins of the tea an unlabeled tea is judged solely on the quality of the tea leaves and our experience from drinking them.

1997 Loose Leaf (Dry Storage)

This 1997 loose leaf is an intriguing puerh tea. What caught my attention was that this tea represents one of the few very clean dry stored puerh teas of the 1990s going against the trend of traditional (wet) storage which was the general norm at the time. The character of this tea reminds me of the famous Menghai 88 Qingbing dry stored teacake. It is my belief that the combination of dry storage and leaf material made to the standard of Menghai Tea Factory are key contributing factors to this resemblance.

 Earthenware containers are slightly porous and make great containers for storing and aging puerh tea.

1990s Menghai Green Label

For a long time I drank tea rather indiscriminately without understanding how to optimize the benefits of this wonderful drink to match the lifestyle and constitution of my body. After encountering my own health challenges and improving my lifestyle I became very interested in health and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), often testing ideas by conducting experiments on myself. By being mindful of my body’s reaction throughout the day I have learnt to become more in tune with my body. The changes become very noticable during times when I am consuming food and drinking tea especially the after effects when the body is reacting to what has come in. As a tea enthusiast I enjoy drinking tea on a daily basis and I am always keen to observe how my body reacts to a certain tea under different conditions and environments. As someone who has a Yin constitution I find warming food more suitable towards maintaining my sense of well being.

The 1990s Menghai Green Label was stored under mild wet storage conditions. The tea is warming and grounding in nature.

1990s Menghai Orange Label (HK Private Commission)

One of the best batches to come out from HK traditional (wet) storage 

1970s Fuzhuan Brick (People’s Unification Tea)

Under the reign of Chairman Mao Zedong and the Communist Party private ownership of tea factories became illegal. This hefty 1970s Fuzhuan tea (aka Fu brick tea) from Sichuan Province, Guanxi weighing 3kg represents a united co-operative of the people under a socialist economy. The socialist approach is based on production for use and to satisfy the basic demands and needs of the people for all the people. Unlike capitalism the basis of production is not for profit and therefore not to cater for special groups of consumers with the wealth to make purchases in order to accumulate capital. This tea is symbolic of the belief and idealism at the time and was produced by the people and for the people under the management of the Chinese government.

At the time the new and united nation of “The People’s Republic of China” under Chairman Mao would be marked by rapid changes and grandiose projects that would be pushed by strong idealism. The sense of togetherness and unity that was being projected by the government during this period of time was essential to spread and generate acceptance for government endeavors. The label for this Fuzhuan tea “People’s Unification Tea” represents one of many avenues that would be used by the government to communicate and impact social change and people’s thinking through propaganda.- Note the similar style and design of the tea label to the propaganda posters under Chairman Mao's Era here and here.

1950s Liu An Sun Yishun

The story of Liu An tea is not well known. For this reason the amazing quality of older Liu An vintages have largely gone unnoticed until recently. The pre1950s era remains the pinnacle for Liu An appreciation when this little basket of tea leaves weighing approx. 600g was enjoyed by the Chinese upper class and considered amongst the top teas in China. 

This early 1950s Liu An Sun Yishun represents the last batches of Liu An tea from an old era that was almost permanently erased from history under the reforms of Communism. This tea is symbolic of the wealth, refinery and pursuit for excellence that the upper class in China enjoyed under the Nationalist Government and capitalism. The production of Liu An tea during this time period was catered mainly to the wealthy and as a result the quality of the tea was made to a very high standard. This resulted in a highly meticulous and labor intensive production that is evident today in the quality and elegance of the brew and the astonishing uniformity of the leaves in shape and size that are compressed in these baskets.