Old Sea Dyke Oolong

 

I like Sea Dyke oolong.  Sea Dyke tea factory is located in Xiamen, China. where most of China's oolong are produced. Sea Dyke tea factory has been around for more than 60 years and today they continue to produce a wide assortment of oolong.  Most of my tea are already more than 12 years old. With storage, these oolong had aged to a smooth, mellow and sweet tea with a lingering smoky aftertaste.  Sea Dyke oolong are not top shelf tea.  Many oolong tea enthusiasts think Sea Dyke as a cheap tea (yes agreed) and are low in quality in terms of taste and aroma. I have fooled many enthusiasts and oolong 'experts' when I brew up my old Sea Dyke during a tea session. They would not believe that this oolong was much better than they had thought. 

Let me elaborate. My Sea Dyke collection are mainly Lao Chong Shui Hsien, Da Hong Pao and Tie Kuan Yin.  I would rate the tea as 7 points out of 10.  A tea buddy recently gave me a tin of expensive oolong; 50g at $80. This tea was very nice and I would rate it about 7.2 points, higher than my Sea Dyke collection. Price wise, this is 4-5 times higher than my tea.  The tea is, however not 4-5 times better in taste and aroma but only a small incremental improvement.  I have heard of even higher prices for higher quality oolong. Perhaps it is time to make a trip to Xiamen. Meanwhile, I am brewing a packet of Sea Dyke tie kuan yin. Noticed the exterior parts of the tea tin had already discoloured.  More important is the tea. Yummy.