drank Wu He 1984 by Camellia Sinensis
1546 tasting notes

Alright y’all, here’s my Birthday Tea (several days ago now). I was born in 1983 — a tea one year off fits the bill well enough. I don’t feel old, even around teenagers but put in the perspective of tea years, I should be tasteless and dry by now. But I am neither! And neither is this tea. It smells a little musty, dusty and sour so in human years, I’d put this around 85 years old :P

The dry leaf smells a little of this, a little of that — sour, musty, dusty, woody, cookie, soy sauce. Warmed, it smells rich and sweet with date syrup-coffee-caramel, aged wood and pepperoni, fire-spicy, complex. The rinsed leaf smells like stale coffee, wet earth and wet vegetation. Once brewed, the tea has a forward note of ash. Its general character is spicy, woody, and mineral with a gentle unrefined palm sugar type sweetness. There’s also kind of an underlying umami-seaweed tone. There’s an awesome black sesame oil high note that pierces through everything for 4 or 5 infusions. That note smells and tastes exactly like the homemade black sesame ice cream the sushi chef gifted me with my pandemic to-go birthday dinner.

Thanks, Leafhopper, for allowing me a sample of the oldest tea I’ve had thus far! It was an interesting sip for sure and not a bad one by any means. It’s still a supple, complex oolong with a bit of an opinionated fiery bite.

Flavors: Ash, Biting, Brown Sugar, Caramel, Coffee, Cookie, Dates, Dust, Meat, Mineral, Mint, Musty, Plants, Pleasantly Sour, Seaweed, Sesame, Smooth, Soy Sauce, Spicy, Sweet, Umami, Wet Earth, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Courtney

Happy (belated) birthday! That ice cream sounds fascinating!

derk

I would highly recommend it. It has that really rich volatile note that peanut oil has without the heaviness. I wonder if a coconut milk base would carry that flavor as well as a dairy base.

derk

Oh, thanks :)

Shanie O Maniac

Oh geez, I didn’t realize it was your birthday. I’ve missed so much. Happy belated birthday!

Martin Bednář

Happy belated birthday and how awesome drinking that young! tea :) I was closest to my actual birthday with 2000 Yi Wu puerh which I have sipped down recently. I never had black sesame icecream and I would give it a try for sure!

Leafhopper

Happy belated birthday! I actually bought this tea because it was from my birth year, which makes us almost the same age! (Sometimes I do feel old.) I remember trying this a few years ago and not liking it much. Maybe I’ll have to give it another shot.

mrmopar

Happy belated birthday! That was the year I graduated…..youngster…. ;P

White Antlers

Another Pisces! derk, take it from me, a Very Old Tea Bag-life just keeps getting better the longer you steep yourself in it. 1983 was so long ago to me, I can’t remember what I was doing… : )

ashmanra

Happy, happy belated birthday!

tea-sipper

What a coincidence your tea tasted like your birthday dessert! Hope it was a good day for you!

LuckyMe

Belated happy birthday derk. Sounds like an interesting birthday tea!

derk

Thankee all

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Comments

Courtney

Happy (belated) birthday! That ice cream sounds fascinating!

derk

I would highly recommend it. It has that really rich volatile note that peanut oil has without the heaviness. I wonder if a coconut milk base would carry that flavor as well as a dairy base.

derk

Oh, thanks :)

Shanie O Maniac

Oh geez, I didn’t realize it was your birthday. I’ve missed so much. Happy belated birthday!

Martin Bednář

Happy belated birthday and how awesome drinking that young! tea :) I was closest to my actual birthday with 2000 Yi Wu puerh which I have sipped down recently. I never had black sesame icecream and I would give it a try for sure!

Leafhopper

Happy belated birthday! I actually bought this tea because it was from my birth year, which makes us almost the same age! (Sometimes I do feel old.) I remember trying this a few years ago and not liking it much. Maybe I’ll have to give it another shot.

mrmopar

Happy belated birthday! That was the year I graduated…..youngster…. ;P

White Antlers

Another Pisces! derk, take it from me, a Very Old Tea Bag-life just keeps getting better the longer you steep yourself in it. 1983 was so long ago to me, I can’t remember what I was doing… : )

ashmanra

Happy, happy belated birthday!

tea-sipper

What a coincidence your tea tasted like your birthday dessert! Hope it was a good day for you!

LuckyMe

Belated happy birthday derk. Sounds like an interesting birthday tea!

derk

Thankee all

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Bio

This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. And thus I step away.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile. Terpene fiend.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, Nepal and Darjeeling. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possess off flavors/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s pu’er, I likely think it needs more age.

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California, USA

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