Review: Tea Avenue 1979 Collector’s Wu Long

Apr 10

Review: Tea Avenue 1979 Collector’s Wu Long

Stephen’s Teaview Snapshot

"An aged oolong that smells like a pu'er, but tastes sort of like an intensified, high-quality Taiwanese oolong. This is one tea that is worth the 30-year wait. "

Stephen’s Teaview:	9/10
Other Teaviews:	Troy gave it 7/10
Your Reviews:	Add your review »

Tea Avenue describes this blend:

Wu Long (Oolong) tea from Taiwan. Formosa, meaning “beautiful” was what the Dutch explorers called this island. The wu long tea grown here continues to be called as such. This collector’s tea has been aged for over 25 years. Aged oolongs are taken out of storage and periodically re-baked to remove moisture and heighten the flavor. The result is a very smooth tea with a thick, chewy texture and rich, roasted aroma.

I’m familiar with aged pu’er tea, but this was my first experience with an “aged oolong”. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical going into it, especially when I gave the raw leaves a good long sniff and didn’t really get much in the way of intriguing or interesting aromas. As the leaves brewed the aroma developed into a distinctly smoky and earthy scent, very much like a pu’er. This just made me worry more, as I’ve yet to have a pu’er that really knocked my socks off.

Fortunately the aroma is very much different from the taste!

Although there is a slight smoky aftertaste, its very, very faint on the tongue compared with the aroma - surprisingly so. The primary flavor here is of a smooth and almost sweet-tasting high-quality oolong. I don’t know exactly what the aging and constant “re-baking” does to the flavor exactly, but I do know that this is one of the boldest oolong teas I’ve ever tasted. The “chewy texture” mentioned in their write-up is just about right… the tea has an immensely substantial mouth-feel about it.

This is the first “aged tea” that I can genuinely say has lived up to its hype. I would definitely recommend that oolong-lovers give this one a try. The slight smoky hints may be a turn-off for some but for me it just added to a genuinely one-of-a-kind tea experience. Recommended.

— To purchase Tea Avenue 1979 Collector’s Wu Long, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.