(Finally) Good Outcomes with Aging Korean Balhyocha

Over the holidays I hosted some friends some of which knew a bit about Korean tea.  I decided to open a sealed airtight foil bag of 2013 Kim Jong Yeol Noeul balhyocha (aka Korean Yellow Tea) which was sealed by vendor Pedro at 05Tea shortly after production in 2013.  You can read my initial impression on this deeper roasted and more oxidized balhyocha tea here.  I had just read Cwyn N’s disappointing assessment of her favorite balhyocha, a 2017 Jeon Jae Yeun after 3 years of being aged in a sealed foil bag I do believe.  In that post titled "Never Too Soon" she implied that you probably want to drink up your favorite balhyocha fresh than age it out.  I was not feeling super optimistic but thought it would be fun to open a bag of this..

Although I have some very limited experience with aged Balhyocha I have never tried something this aged before.  To see a history of some thoughts on aging balhyocha, a tea that has no real history of being aged, see some of my previous posts here.

The experience I had with this aged 2013 Balhyocha was a good one… It had some mild coco or chocolate notes, not at all as robust as when fresh, but what was really notable and pretty amazing was the long lingering fruity floral finish which wasn’t there in my initial tasting notes.  It was quite good and the guests really enjoyed the experience and noted the long fruity aftertaste as being quite refined.  This was a bit of a surprise because my previous experience with a few years aged balhyocha wasn’t as exciting as this one and in some ways close in sentiment to Cwyn’s finding.  These are a few of the theories I’m floating as to why this 2013 Kim Jong Yeol Balhyocha Noeul (aka “Sunset”) Balhyocha seemed to age better…

First, this one was air tight sealed some of the others, I’m sure, were aged in Oongi (Korean Ceramics that are specifically used to ferment food).

Second, this balhyocha was more roasted and oxidized than most balhyocha.  Balhyocha is roasted and oxidized on a spectrum and this one is farther than most on the roasted and oxidized side.  The only other almost as old balhyocha which I sampled was this Zeda 2006 sampled in 2011 which was a much lighter oxidized and not roasted balhyocha that was probably aged in Ongii- the outcome is quite different.

Thirdly, this balhyocha has been aged longer potentially surpassing an awkward stage of aging.  I would guess this could be a factor as it often occurs with many aged tea such as hongcha and puerh between 3-5 years.  During this time you might be better off re-roasting balhyocha like this sample of 4 years aged and re-roasted Kim Jong Yeol Balhyocha.

Fourthly, this balhyocha uses mainly second and third flush leaves which might give it more depth In aging than a more delicate ujeon or first flush leaf such as its pair the 2013 Kim Jong Yeol “sunrise” balhyocha.

 Anyways, I have to post some more detailed notes on this balhyocha … but for now I would just like to float the idea that if you don’t consume all of your fresh balhyocha within 2 years, and the package is still sealed, you might be better off being a bit more patient and letting it age a handful more years before opening the foil pack and consuming.  Otherwise, you actually might be opening the package a bit too soon.

After all, you know how the saying goes…

Good things come to those who wait.

Peace