New Release of 11 Years Vintage Tea Aged in Malaysia | HOJO Online Speciality Tea Shop

We have just released 4 types of 11 years aged vintage oolong and black tea. These teas were kept at our own warehouse in Malaysia without oxygen. We bought these tea on the year we established our company. Thanks to the tropical weather in Malaysia, teas were matured pretty well, giving very distinctive flavor and typical taste of vintage tea. We only have the limited quantity, less than a few kg each.

Aged 11 years without oxygen

In Taiwan or China, tea is generally aged inside a clay jar. With this method, the oxidation speed is very fast as it is exposed to the air. Hence, In China or Taiwan, tea is regularly baked in order to remove the off-flavor and bring down the moisture. This method somehow develops the baking flavor on tea after repeating it for many years. After sometime, the flavor of tea is not only fruity but also woody, camphor, musty or sometimes tea is giving too much baked flavor. On the other hand, we suggested the aging to be carried out without oxygen. After running the series of experiments, we concluded that this method makes tea aged very ideal. The outcome after keeping tea without oxygen is only to develop sweet and fruity flavor, while the conventional aging develop not only the sweet flavor but also various kinds of off-flavor. In fact, the aging of other food items such as wine, whisky, cheese and ham are also aged without oxygen. The flavor of wine turns sour and produces less attractive flavor if the cork is damaged and oxygen goes inside the bottle.

The aging takes place faster under the tropical weather

Thanks to the tropical weather, the aging of tea takes place so much faster than keeping the same tea in Japan, USA or Europe. Usually the speed of aging in Malaysia is 2-3 times faster than Japan. These 4 types of tea were kept in our warehouse in Malaysia for 11 years. It is equivalent to 20 over years we keep the same tea in Japan.

What is so special about Vintage Tea?

Do you know what so special about the vintage tea is? The long aged tea produces very distinctive flavor and taste. What I was surprised when I tried the well aged vintage tea was its taste. Basically the taste of vintage tea has a lot in common with the taste of vintage wine or whisky. It gives the taste that gives very smooth mouth feel, silky and feel like it is penetrating in my tongue. It is similar to the sensation we are eating cotton candy or sugar alcohol. In addition to the taste, the vintage tea gives very distinctive flavor too. The flavor is like thick ripen with the hint of dried fruit. For example, the vintage oriental beauty gives the flavor like noble rot grapes, while the fresh oriental beauty gives the flavor like muscat.

High Mountain Formosa

After 11 years, tea has developed very thick and sweet fruity flavor. The flavor is overwhelming. It reminds me of the ripen mango or peach. It is impossible to experience this flavor with the freshly produced tea. Thanks to the no oxygen-aging technique, tea has been kept fresh and it gives no stale flavor at all. Of course, it gives distinctive taste of vintage tea too.

30g JPY2,700

100g JPY8,700

200g (100g x 2 bags) JPY17,000

Oriental Beauty

It gives the flavor that reminds me of noble rot grapes and also very well made raisin. Usually oriental beauty has a little rough taste due to the reason that oriental beauty is plucked late spring. The vintage oriental beauty gives silky texture and sweetness lingers on our tongue.

30g JPYJPY3,300

90g (30g x 3 bags) JPY9,500

270g (30g x 9 bags) JPY28,000

Formosa Black Tea

The flavor of fresh Formosa Black Tea is often described as menthol flavor. It is similar kind of flavor as Uva from Sri Lanka. After the long aging, tea is giving very sweet flavor like a brandy. In addition, it gives very smooth texture like silk.

15g JPY1,500

50g JPY4,800

150g (50g x 3 bags) JPY14,000

Keemun Black Tea

The flavor of vintage keemun black tea does not significantly differ from the freshly produced keemun. But it gives sweeter flavor like sweet potato or chestnut. Taste is softer and smoother. It also gives sweet sensation on the palate thanks to the long aging effect.

30g JPY1,800

70g JPY3,900

210g (70g x 3 bags) JPY11,500

The flavor gets stronger a few days after the bag is opend

Usually I open the bag of tea 2-3 daysbefore going to drink it. The flavor gets stronger when some substances get oxydized. It is the same mechanism as the decanting of wine. However it is not the must to leave it either as tea will naturally oxidized anyway. The flavor of tea when it is freshly opened is good enough. For Malaysian customer or those who are residing in Malaysia, please refer to the following page.
https://hojotea.com.my/posts-175/