But, is this a problem? Not for me. My strategy is to test this tea with a benchmark, a real Dahongpao that I bought at Malian-dao, the biggest Tea shopping center in Beijing, last summer!
COMPARING THE DRY LEAVES
(1980's dry leaves)
(2007's dry leaves)
Smelling
Yes, it is very important to smell the dry leaves -- this will reveal a lot of information: How the tea is processed and stored; where it came from; and together with the shape of the leaves it often tells what the tea IS! My Dahongpao releases a rather strong tosted and pleasant aroma; Bill's is much lighter, which made me think that it must have gone through a long period of dry storage; but my nose still tells me that this is not a Dancong or a Oolong from any other region. It is of Wuyi. The leaves of these two tea also bear quite a lot of similiarities.
STEEPING & SLURPING
(1980's infusions 1 to 5)
(2007's infusions 1 to 5)
The 1980'S
There is a saying "天下茶喝膩了還有武夷巖茶" or "if one is sated with teas he can still resort to Wuyi Rock Tea"! The beginning of the 1980's infusion was pleasant, though I could sense a slight oxidization taste in the liquor. It is a kind of stopping-ness on the tongue, especially on the upper part and two sides. Also, the color of the liquor went out gradually but noticeable. Upto the 5th infusion, the color became much lighter than the first three infusions. [Comments] A good and aged Wuyi Rock Tea. It won't last many infusions, before the drinker is getting satiated with his tea!
The 2007's
I wasn't as much paying attention to the tea as in the test of the 1980's. At the 3rd round, I was distracted by something else and when I returned, the liquor already became quite dark! And as a consequence, I guess, the 2007's got exhausted quickly after that as well... The tea tasted no sign of oxidization, just its spent leaves could tell below. [Comments] A good beginner's Wuyi Rock Tea.
COMPARING THE SPENT LEAVES
(The spent leaves of the 1980's from Bill)
(The spent leaves of my 2007 Dahong Pao)
Many leaves are still greenish in the 2007's; in contrast with the 1980's complety aged look ---
