Many people think that buying tea, storing it for 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years, and waiting until the time is up will result in good tea to drink. Is that really the case? Wrong. Only good quality tea, suitable for long-term storage, and possessing good transformation [post-fermentation] potential, will become better and better tasting over time. If the tea is currently very ordinary or even garbage-like, then even after 100 years, it will still be garbage; it cannot transform into a different tea.

Aged tea is often thought of simply as tea that has been stored for a long time. I believe aged tea should represent a deeper meaning. According to commentary on "Chu Ci: Li Sao": Men over sixty are considered old men, women over fifty are considered old women. I believe that tea over thirty years old can be considered aged tea.

Tea under thirty years is drunk for its aroma, liquor color, taste, throat feel, and other sensations. Tea over thirty years is appreciated for its tea energy, the passage of time, its depth, and so on. It is similar to married life: in youth, the couple enjoys physical intimacy; in middle age, the乐趣 lies in career; in old age, the碰撞 is of minds.

After discussing the time aspect of aged tea, we must also talk about the activity of aged tea. It is essential that tea rich in intrinsic substances is aged, transformed, and finally matured in an appropriate space to become aged tea with activity.

Regarding the activity of aged tea, a tea expert surnamed Lin has a brilliant discussion, which I'll share with everyone.

Active Tea: Lively aroma and liquor, fresh and penetrating taste, delicate brewing yields a sweet liquor, strong brewing yields a powerful qi sensation with bitterness and astringency that dissipates quickly. Excellent mouthfeel, throat feel, and aftertaste. Strong foundational essence. The bottom of the cup retains a dry aroma of fruits and honey. The brewed leaves are evenly colored, soft, and not hard. Properly aged ripe tea can also possess activity.

Non-Active Tea: The aroma is not prominent, the taste is muddled and lacks purity, a woody taste sticks in the throat with a constricting feeling. When brewed strongly, its flaws become fully apparent. The brewed leaves are uneven in color and lack vitality. Shows no clear change even after awakening the tea. The entry is sweet but lacks a lingering aftertaste. The liquor is thin and the taste is weak, lacking complexity. The sensation of qi and physical feeling is weak or non-existent.