I have a mound of Old Ways Tea packets tempting me every time I look at it, but I also have the urge to hoard my treasure. After sorting through, I found a 3 year selection of Masu Wild Style Black tea. Storage wise, I left these packets in coolish room temperature.
Is aged black teas a thing? Sort of, maybe unintentionally. I know some who dislike black tea that’s over a year old. Generally, I find pressed black teas really get good after a year. I’ve had some of my unintentional aged blacks from 2014 to 2016 and all were excellent. Let’s drink all these Masu Wilds and see what a few years did. Yeah, I’m missing 2017 but you get the idea.
These are all 5 gram packets. I steeped them all in a 75ml gaiwan, gongfu style with boiling water.
2019 Masu Wild Style Black
The first scent is baked goods but when I get my nose real in there I get grapes.
The hot leaf is herbaceous and fruity.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: 2019 Masu is thick to sip, feeling creamy and oily. The flavor is crisp, fruity grapes, and apples, with a background of baked eggy bread and salted butter. After each sip, the tea is creamy fruity sweet, but with a tannic nibble.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: I hit maximum balance and smoothness. The 2019 Masu is slick, creamy, and balanced fruity cherry, wood, eggy bread, with a sweet yet tannic finish. The aftertaste is a long apple grape flavor that shifts to a rocky sweet mineral. An absolute pleasure to drink! I accidentally oversteeped the fifth as I was doing Animal Crossing things. It was still good but a bit more tannic and tart in the finish. The sixth infusion was a bit powdery astringency but tastes just as good as the last few infusions.
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Infusion: 2019 Masu Wild Style is sweet, fruity, and consistently bready, but a touch tart and dry as the flavor slips. In the end, it lost thickness with the texture switched to raw silk.
2018 Masu Wild Style Black
The leaf smells only of crusty raisin bread.
Steeped up, a fruity cooling scent emerges, like a malty raisin popsicle.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: The 2018 is quite different compared to 2019 Masu Wild. 2018’s tea is of salted buttered raisin bread, a hint of tart, and a layer of old books, with the aftertaste of smooth butter.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: Masu 2018 is tannic and tart, like a concentrated dark raisin that’s a touch too old. It still has buttery notes that make a smooth initial sip.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: The balance is a hit here – the tea is smooth and buttery, a touch of tannic, tart, old book, and a bit of cherry wood. 2018 Masu’s aftertaste is sweet and buttery before settling into a mineral sweetness. There is some excellent salivation here too.
Eight and Ninth Infusion: 2018 Masu Wild switched to mineral wet river stone, a hint of butter, raisins, and a bit of rock sugar. This flavor was a great way to finish the tea session.
2016 Masu Wild Style Black
The dry leaf smells strongly of raspberries. Steeped up, it smells again like raspberries and old cardboard.
First and Second Infusion: The first sip is thick and smooth. 2016 Masu Wild Style drinks in heavily mineral, savory driftwood, old books, with a hint of butter. The aftertaste is a touch of raspberries and branches. As the aftertaste builds up, it is tasting fruitier.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: We hit max fruity and crazy red broth colour!
2016 Masu Wild Style is raspberry, stale driftwood, rich malty with a long fruity aftertaste. It is like the flavor got concentrated over the years that is got a punchy aroma that I can smell as I drink. Some sips have a bit of a stale jasmine floral note (something I tasted recently as I had a 2014 jasmine pearl yesterday.
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Infusion: After a number of excellent and powerful infusions, 2016 Masu Wild hit a wall here, tasting like bricks and stale potpourri. As the tea fades, it gets mineral wet stones and rock sugar.
Comments
Old Ways Tea’s Masu Wild Style black tea is no joke. All three ages, 2019, 2018, and 2016 were excellent. My favorite was 2016 for the intense aroma, I’m betting 2016 Masu Wild young was amazing. Masu 2018 was awkward compared to the other black teas, but I’d happily drink on its own as it was also incredible. The wild tea makes for a smooth texture and complex notes, which translated with some age on it.
(tea provided for review)
