Qian Liang Cha • 千兩茶

Qian Liang Cha, One Thousand 'Liang' Cha • 千兩茶

Since moving to the southern part of Korea a bit over a year ago, I've only had a few chances to drop by Kkik Da Geo, in Seoul. A few weeks ago, we were able to and as soon as we came in, the owner took out a large pot and began preparing us a brew of 60 year old "Cheon Ryang Cha", in Korean, or "Thousand Liang Cha", also referred to as the King of Teas.

One 'liang' is the equivalent of 3.75 grams and the name of the tea refers to the method of packing the tea into large cylinders. They made for easier transportation when they were once carried by mules or horses through trade routes across the country. Since transportation is much easier now, this form of tea has mostly faded out, so it is becoming increasingly rare nowadays. If you do come across some, chances are that it's at least 50 years old.

The tea liquor is a dark reddish brown, yet noticeably translucent for a 60 year old 'dark tea' (Hei Cha, 黑茶). The aroma is warm and slightly metallic, ringing the insides of your nostrils. The flavour is very clean and nutty, like the sent of roasted walnut shells.

It wasn't long before the cha qi, 'tea energy', was rushing through my body, making me warm on one of the first really cold days of the season, and a little tea drunk, too... It was a nice welcome after a long absence.

Aged Traditional Tie Guan Yin • 炭焙 傳統觀音

Aged Traditional Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha/Iron Goddess)
20 years old, charcoal roasted • 20 年陳 炭焙 傳統觀音

Long before Taiwan's high mountain oolongs invaded the tea scene, China had a long history of oolong tea. Though oolong these days is mostly thought of as fresh, bright green, balled tea, this is a result of the overwhelming  popularity of Taiwan's tea over the past couple of decades. China answered back with a fresh take on Tie Guan Yin, the best of which are considered among the best teas in the world, now, but the traditional Chinese oolongs are much darker, aged and often roasted.

Daniel, from The Chinese Tea Shop, generously sent a sample of one of his premium Tie Guan Yin teas, a twenty year old tea, roasted every three years to enhance its flavour. Being that high mountain Taiwanese oolong and fresh Tie Guan Yin are my favorite teas, I was unsure how much I would fall for an aged, roasted oolong, but I was eager to start brewing and find out.

The first thing I noticed was how small the beads of tea were, about a third or so the size of what I was accustomed to. The colour was also quite unusual, very dark brown with tinges of red, like dried up old cranberries.

I choose one of my best pots, a small, red clay Seo-shi, perfectly shaped for oolong, and began pouring. Perhaps the tea felt my uncertainty because I was rather unimpressed. I found the flavour watery and metallic, like a penny on my tongue. That said, I enjoyed it anyway, it's very rare that I don't, I just wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped.

A few days later, I felt the urge to reach over for the small sample packet again. This time, I chose a much smaller pot, easier to control, and approached the tea with an unbiased mind. Once again, the tea responded accordingly, as I was lifted from my senses by the full, rich, chocolaty flavour of the tea. The mouth feel was lively and full, especially as it slide down my throat. The colour was a deep yet bright reddish orange that lasted through several steeps before slowly fading to a golden hue. The flavour barely faded a bit until the sweetly bitter end.

The energy of the tea was acute but gentle. I felt awake but not shaky, even after several cups. A pleasant warmth emanated from my my full belly, leaving me with the urge to just sit contently admiring the spent leaves, still tightly tangled together.

Reading Daniel's description of this tea just now, I found it interesting that he also describes the taste as being like chocolate. He also mentioned that this tea was grown in Anxi, known for the best Tie Guan Yin farms. This tea was actually bought fromt he farmer's private stock, which, as Daniel describes, took several years of visits to convince the farmer that he was a worthy buyer. This truly is a rare tea and I recommend that anyone who enjoys tea should try it!