Recurring tourism themes in Hawaii and Thailand

 

not really on a bus tour

Not so long ago I ran across an article on Hawaiian tourism that expressed that visitor spending was stagnant, or perhaps even dropping.  This repeats a theme that comes up in Thai media regularly over the last 20 years, that they would prefer to attract a better, higher spending class of tourists, at times expressed as a more important goal than attracting more tourists.  I'll unpack a bit what I think is going on with both.  It's not exactly the same thing, but not different either.

The initial response is pretty obvious:  inflation has been rising in both places, quite quickly in the US over the past few years, and faster than previously in Thailand recently, so the same tourists are finding it difficult to match spending habits just a decade ago.  That's probably most of it.  But we can unpack it a bit more.

Starting with Thailand

The earlier problem there was tourism related to tours, framed as zero-dollar tours by Chinese tour groups, although that's probably only one main form.  Articles like this cover the general background, tourism statistics, and the emphasis on attracting higher spending visitors.  This reference from 2025 covers the same themes.  

This article introduces the topic, and the relation to the Tourism Authority of Thailand:

TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the 2026 direction shifts towards “Value Over Volume”, after weaker foreign demand was hit by factors such as natural disasters, scam-related concerns and the Thai–Cambodian border dispute, which affected travel sentiment and forced a more proactive marketing approach.

Targets: 36.7m foreigners, 205m+ domestic trips

One might wonder how they could adjust who visits; that first article cited mentions one idea:

“We’ve set the outline for TAT to accelerate tourists’ decisions by offering tailor-made tour packages that will match segments with high spending. For instance, the medical tourist segment, who book long-stay accommodation for themselves and their families, should have tour package options to purchase easily while in Thailand,” she said.

That doesn't sound very promising; people can already make arrangements with a foreigner oriented hospital and book a hotel room.  It's already easy.  The hospitals already offer a lot of different packages, related to bundling sets of services (eg. health checks, or longevity related treatments).  I guess marketing could relate to promoting these themes, and raising awareness about the special packages.

I've been on such group / bus tours in Japan and Korea, so the form is familiar to me.  You buy a trip as a package, including transportation (air travel), hotel stay, guide service, and even meal costs, which the tour provider arranges in advance using group rates, so that they can still turn a profit.  It's an inexpensive way to travel.  The trade-off, as a tourist, is all of your freedom.  You get on and off a bus and see the places on your itinerary, limited to the time they allot.  You eat what they plan for you to eat, and stay where they arrange for you to stay.  You need to wake up and sleep at pre-determined times.

The Chinese tour group form isn't really different than what I experienced, in mainly Thai groups (my wife had set that up, based out of Bangkok).  The food was often better than you might expect for such a format, since they arranged decent versions of local foods.  It's a mindless way to travel, getting on and off a bus, spending an hour here and there.  At least a guide drones on with a canned background speech.  I suppose I was listening to that in Thai fairly often, but that part wasn't so memorable that it sticks out.

Of course what Thailand wants instead are 5 star guests, staying in $200 or higher per night resorts (which would be $500 in Hawaii instead), spending money in higher end restaurants, and buying local goods as souvenirs, or just as normal expense on clothing and such.  We never travel like that, as a family.  We stay in moderately priced hotels, and eat in lower cost local restaurants, in Thailand and elsewhere.  And we've travelled a lot.  We've been to where we did those tours on our own as well, in Japan and Korea, and also visited China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia, multiple times each.  We've only been to Australia and Russia once, and make it back to the US from time to time.

One problem is that they probably can't really dictate who visits through marketing.  It would be nice if that was possible.  Then you could show those 5 star resorts and better restaurants in ads, and people on that page would stream into your country.  Or eco-tourism / home stays might thrive.  There's actually some chance of that, since it's a completely different theme, not just a different spending level, which is what they're trying to adjust.  Unsuccessfully; the tourism authority in Thailand has been discussing this for well over a decade, and the local consensus take is that they're not making any difference.

Tourism does thrive in Thailand.  Visitor numbers go up and down, for reasons they can't control, but it all works out.  

Legalized weed (marijuana) has been an interesting running theme, for a few years, which of course "they" (the Thai government) would see as a negative input, related to visitor type selection.  They don't want more hostel based backpackers.  Of course nothing is ever that simple, since different types of people might smoke weed, and more tourism is better, while less is worse. 

It's not as if it seems that 4 and 5 star resorts are going out of business, while hostel businesses are on the rise.  It's instead that tracking estimates of visitor spending, however accurate those may be, identify trends that are seen as unfavorable.  This is the same theme that's happening in Hawaii, so let's consider that part.

Related to Hawaii

Here's an example of the kind of article reference I had mentioned, which mixes in a lot of anecdotal accounts along with limited stats.  They can track average room rates, but visitor spending isn't something that would be well documented.  Maybe surveys help with that?

I really don't follow any related stats, so I've only seen different articles making the same kind of claims, based on similar spending estimates.  It's hard to imagine total visitor spending going down, given that room rates only go up.  The average cited is something like $400 per night (or a bit over that, which sounds kind of high, but who knows).  Resort fees, parking, and taxes keep going up, so the costs would rise, even beyond the room rate inputs increasing.

For what it's worth this is Google's AI take:

Hawaii tourism is experiencing a notable downturn, with visitor arrivals and spending dropping in early 2026. March 2026 saw a 1.7% decrease in visitors compared to 2025, influenced by severe weather, while 2025 saw sustained declines from 2024 levels. Key causes include high travel costs, a slowing U.S. market, lingering effects from the 2023 Maui wildfires, and reduced international travel.

From what I recall, beyond that article as a reference, tourist spending is either flat or else in decline.  It would make more sense to me if that was trying to capture spending beyond room costs, and maybe that is it.  From there I can only describe what I see "on the ground," since we actually live at the one edge of Waikiki.

The streets never seem empty.  You can't judge occupancy percentages that way though; if 10 to 20% less people visited we might not notice that in sidewalk traffic or beach space use.

What about visitor norms, guessing about spending levels?  The hearsay I would pass on might be of limited value, but I can still attempt that.  There are higher and lower spending level tourists, for sure, beyond almost everyone facing high room rates.  We live beside the local equivalent of a hostel, which is always full (seemingly); I guess that would be one way to drop costs.  Then again whenever we visit the Hilton Hawaiian Village, a sprawling, multi-building complex at the relative opposite extreme, it always seems to be quite full as well.  Their restaurants seem to be at capacity, and that closest beach space is packed.

One might imagine that they can see shifts in visitor origins or types (back to the problematic economic class distinctions), but it probably doesn't work out that way.  Or extrapolate from online discussion points, but again that's a mixed sample, and probably a poor reference.  

I see discussions about Hawaii and Waikiki tourism in Facebook and Reddit, and per the usual divide that breaks into two groups.  One segment isn't concerned about daily spending, which is going to be quite high, on guided tours, and going to typical Waikiki restaurants, or luaus.  The other perspective relates to complaints over a local burger costing at least $20 (which is does).  More like $30, with any drink, tax, and tip, and in a beachfront hotel restaurant that might be $60, or more, with alcoholic drinks.  It would seem strange spending $100 on a burger and a couple of drinks.  If spending a couple of extra thousand dollars on food is an issue then Hawaii isn't the place to go.

I've not seen mention of Hawaii using marketing changes to address this.  It probably wouldn't work if they tried, and it would awkward to market that higher end experiences are available, if your spending is unlimited.

We can see some broad changes in visitor origins, even guessed at from who is on the sidewalks.  Japanese tourists declined over the past 20 years, along with the decline in their economy (or even over the last 4 years).  This is where I'd add who seems to have replaced them, which groups, but I don't think that anyone's personal observations would be well-grounded or authoritative.  Even what I've just said might be questionable; maybe there are as many Japanese guests as ever.  I'm judging from people "looking Japanese."  

We sometimes take a free local shuttle, free if you have a JCB credit card, and of course almost everyone else on those are Japanese (JCB is the Japanese credit card version).  That kind of filtering makes the "general look" test unreliable, that where you happen to go changes everything.  

My own take

I don't think any tourist destinations can adjust who will visit.  Malaysia seemed to expand their tourism sector through extensive advertising, so I guess that could work (🎵 Malaysia, truly Asia🎵).

Beyond advertising there may be limited ways that these destinations could self-promote.  One example here in Waikiki has been a series of outdoor movies, shown on a main beach, for free (Sunset at the Beach).  This has been sponsored by Southwest Airlines, and I think not by local tourism agencies or government, but it's an example of something low-cost that could add appeal, especially with commercial partnership involved.  

Of course there is already plenty to do in Hawaii, lots of existing draw, but adding to that couldn't hurt.  Beyond there being more reason to visit it would seem more like visitors are appreciated, which is nice, and it can put a positive spin on local tourism support.  A collaborative arrangement for a fireworks display in Waikiki on Fridays is another example (that they're already doing); it just adds that little extra touch, to help make the thousands that tourists spent seem like a better value.

In Thailand all they would really need to do it promote local festivals that are already going on.  Those are typically framed as something locals mostly participate in, but foreigners are welcome at them, and there's nothing stopping them from framing them as a tourism draw.  

To me those are an exceptional and unique experience, and you can barely find out they're going on, on any sites or event calendars, so you really need to run across them by chance.  I suppose it's a concern that there is essentially no cost to attend those; people tend to buy food, but even those options are inexpensive, so it runs against the theme they are trying to promote, higher spending.

not exactly what I meant, but this light and sound show in Si Thep (historical area) was nice

still not what I meant, but the Bangkok Chinatown goes all-out for different themed festivals

I'd meant like a huge Red Cross event, but this small Squid Game themed festival works

this street art festival was nice, in an old part of Bangkok

that Red Cross event, which is massive, but that doesn't come across in this photo

Or I guess both places could promote marijuana tourism, since it's already happening, without them being involved?  I get it why both wouldn't want that to expand as a main part of the local image.  But they wouldn't have to spend a lot on ads referencing people getting high.  Holding a couple of related themed, medium scale events a year could explode awareness.  Local authorities wouldn't even need to hold those, they could just allow them, and businesses that are already related would take it from there.

But then both places need to sort out where it is that people are supposed to be getting high.  It's everywhere, in Honolulu, just walking down the street, but if people really are allowed to smoke on the beach or in parks they could mention that (or if they're not instead).  Or keeping it all in the grey area may make the most sense, what they already do.

In Thailand I think they have it narrowed down to people being allowed to smoke marijuana almost nowhere, only in shops that allow on-site consumption, which isn't how that usually goes (per online discussion; I've never been in such places there).  You can't smoke on the street, or generally even on an open hotel balcony.  Only partly a joke, old themes about illegal smoking are sometimes referenced online, about smoking and blowing it into a paper towel tube filled with fabric softener sheets.  Why make it both legal and also illegal?

  

In Hawaii the main problem seems to be out of control inflation, and I don't think that's under anyone's control.  They could address spiraling hotel costs by allowing Air BNB rentals (now disallowed in some zones), but with residential housing costs also spiraling that's very problematic.  Residential and retail rents seem to drive a lot of this cost increase, and there's no way to reverse that, or offset further increase.  Value will continue to be an issue, and hotels will need to trade off discounting to support high residency levels, as demand fluctuates.

Southeast Asian tea themed meetup in Honolulu

 

Not long ago I wrote about a variation of this event theme, a tasting meetup.  That picture is really from a meetup in 2023, covered here; I again didn't take a picture this time.  It's funny how similar the tea list was, even though parts were different.

Related to limited attendance to that recent meetup, this time six people showed up.  That's beside my daughter and I hosting, and my wife joining a little to talk about tourism in Thailand (kind of a tangent; she's a registered tour guide there, so it's force of habit).  It was really nice.  Most had limited exposure to tea experience so it was nice going through broad intro and background scope.

One might wonder what the point is of sharing this is.  Bragging about being such a good host, or having access to interesting teas?  It's not that.  To me the point is that it's easy to share tea experience with other people, if you have a few interesting kinds around, even though coordinating with others you don't know is difficult.  That local friend who is an owner of Teas We Like joined again; it was nice having two well-informed tea related perspectives to share (also counting myself as such; it applies, just less so in my case, in some ways).  A meetup would still be fine with less of an educational component.

For people who feel that their own tea selection is too limited to provide much exposure they could open it to others joining to also share what they like.  It would work to frame that as very open and optional, and people would take it as such.

I'll describe what we tried, and some of the reasoning for going with this progression, and how these teas were received.  That last part might be the most functional, related to what would work for a tasting / meetup. 

2024 Thai black tea, close enough to Dian Hong (reviewed here, an earlier version, and this version):  this has been a personal favorite of mine for a long time, which is now one session away from being finished (from a kg or more of it; so sad!).  

It seemed like an approachable and interesting place to start.  Pretty much everyone always "gets" Dian Hong style black tea, since it's flavorful, mild in nature, sweet, a little complex, with decent depth.  It made for a good baseline for comparing other tea type experiences to.  This version was from Aphiwat, described more in relation to the third tea we tried.

I'd planned to start with a kind of low-medium quality range Wuyi Yancha, a Shui Xian, but this tea is better, and it served a similar purpose.  It can work to talk about both the strengths and limitations of teas; that came up a good bit in this tasting.  To me this black / red tea just works, even though it's a bit basic.  Flavor notes are along the line of cacao, dried fruit, and moderate mineral.

2023 Quang Tom Vietnamese oxidized sheng:  this post covers what this tea is, kind of an outlier for style (comparing it to the 2024 version, which is a little more conventional).  

This version is interesting for being a bit cloudy in appearance, usually an indicator of a problematic processing input.  This probably was a case of that; I think it wasn't dried properly after being pressed.  I'm guessing this because I first received this cake, or one like it, in 2003, when it was new, and it was still too damp then.  So I dried it out.  I did so by heating a good bit of salt in a toaster oven, a quarter cup of it, to pull out the moisture, and then placed this cake in a sealed storage container with an open cup of that salt, for a couple of days.  Since I was living in Bangkok re-conditioning the humidity level was automatic.

this should be 2023 left and 2024 right

People liked it.  That cloudiness dissipates within a few rounds, and doesn't seem to throw off flavor much, even though I'm not sure if it's a good idea to not drink a lot of it (I'm on my third or fourth cake now, so if that is an issue I'm just taking the hit).  It tastes a lot like honey, or even beeswax, and is very sweet and mild.  I suppose it's more like a lightly oxidized black tea than a sheng, but not exactly like that either.  And not really like an oolong either, although it might sound like that's what is in the middle.

2023 Thai sheng:  this is from my overall favorite local Thai producer, Aphiwat (reviewed in different posts, including here, but that was the 2024 version, this is the 2023).  He is a member of a local "hill tribe" in the Chiang Mai area (which would be pejorative in US English, but isn't in standard Thai use of English, as a translation of their own wording for something similar).  They work with older plant local material, a wild origin sort of theme, but it isn't presented along with a lot of claims of either, it just is what it is.  

Aphiwat!

We talked through a lot of tea background at that meetup, about plant types, older plant and wild origin material concerns, a bit on processing style, storage conditions and aging input, and local origin character; a lot of the basics.  It wasn't set up as a developed session outline, just plenty of basic discussion.

Even three years old this tea retains a good bit of bitterness and vegetal input, a green wood edge, along with some floral character.  To me it's quite approachable at this point, because I started drinking it brand new three years ago, and it was a bit intense and more challenging then.  Flavor tones have warmed, and it has picked up depth.  We really didn't dig too deeply into how sheng gradually transitions over the years; that's a lot to get into.  But we touched on some main themes, including a little on that.  It's fascinating scope, how teas change, and how storage conditions affect that.

2022 Wawee origin Thai sheng (from Rishi Tea):  this is another pretty good example, just not quite on the same level as the prior tea.  Where that version stays intense and just as pleasant over a full cycle of 10+ rounds this one kind of fades after a half dozen infusions.  That one friend mentioned how age of plants used might tie to this, how younger plant plantation production might be more intense earlier and lose intensity faster, and older or more natural growth material might start a bit subtle and keep picking up intensity, or might transition in aspect range later in rounds.

It was well received.  It's a relatively pleasant tea for those decent first half dozen infusions, and it doesn't have a challenging "youngish" sheng character.  By that I mean that it includes some bitterness and astringency, but not all that much, and warmer tones have just barely started to enter in.  Thai sheng, or other SE Asian versions, can often include fruit flavor, and to me this does.

Fu zhuan hei cha based on white tea, from Oriental Leaf:  this was a big shift, moving on to hei cha (dark tea, another broad category, although some people see pu'er as that, and some don't).  

It's a pretty mild version of one, and the heavy "golden flowers" fungus input gives it that one characteristic taste.  It's based on white tea that is further processed as Fu zhuan, or Fu brick hei cha, which is kind of unusual.

People liked it.  They said it tasted like pumpkin pie, which is a pretty good observation.  It definitely includes warm tones, sweetness, and related spice flavor range, so that's it.  It's really easy to prepare; lots of infusion strength range would have been fine.  None of these teas were really challenging in relation to that, so I didn't need to focus in so much to dial in brewing.

Just to clarify brewing approach a little further I was using a large gaiwan, probably 200+ ml, and brewing and combining two infusions, to brew enough for seven people to try a little each round.  

My wife saw that gaiwan out somewhere in a thrift store and bought it sometime in the last year (in January, or last year?), and this was the first time I used it.  It makes you wonder about potential lead glaze exposure, doesn't it?  Not to worry participants, who may read this; people are right to test teaware for that, and limit exposure, but drinking a few hundred ml brewed from a dodgy gaiwan would still be fine.  It looks like a standard mass-produced version; it's probably fine.  Why mention it then?  Why not overshare, since it is related?

There wasn't much negative feedback to cover, related to what didn't work for people, or what was challenging.  It probably helped that these were all fairly approachable teas.  And if one didn't match preference as much as others it might have been natural for them to not comment on that part, and just take it as it comes.

1980's Bao Zhong:  I'm not sure where I got this tea, maybe in a trade with a friend (I don't think that I ever did review it).  It's an interesting character range, definitely well-aged, but it lacks both depth and complexity.  Storage input wasn't all that musty; it was pretty clean and neutral.

My one more-experienced friend in attendance mentioned that re-roasting during aging, a common practice for offsetting input of humidity over time in oolongs, may have narrowed the distinctiveness of the character range.  Roasting can counter sourness developing from a tea becoming slightly damp, and can change the flavor in a positive way, but it could also transition it in a way that limits its aging potential.  

It was still pleasant, just not all that interesting or pleasant related to any aspect range.  It's interesting being exposed to old tea versions, even when some aren't relatively ideal, in order to place later experiences against that.  

Lessons learned, what might have been different

It was all fine for sharing some basic but interesting teas, and pleasant discussion.  Nothing really went wrong, or seemed like a gap.  

It was especially nice having a "tea expert" join to add depth to the discussion, since that friend is good about linking the ideas to background that relates, without spiraling the input into lots of tangents.  It could actually detract from the limited exposure if one were to fill in too much background, making it seem like a lot of other versions would work better as examples, or de-emphasizing personal experience, which is kind of the main point.  

Any given tea offers whatever experience it does, and people tend to relate to that better after plenty of exposure, in terms of placing it.  But it's still a communication skill to bring that across, at times related to leaving out a lot of what might be said, and limiting input to others to what is most helpful.

It came up in discussion how much these teas cost (which I didn't take contributions for; the purpose was just to share the tea exposure).  It wasn't much, since I bought a lot as local teas back in Thailand and Vietnam, and one was passed on by a vendor, and another was probably part of a tea exchange.

We never did justice to trying ordinary range Yunnan sheng pu'er, of any origin, type, or age.  We just didn't go there.  I had considered adding a version, since it would've worked as a foundation for later experience, but I don't think it would've been easy to relate to (although looking back we did try a nice basic Yiwu three years ago at that other local meetup).  

I mean young sheng, what I tend to drink, which tends to come across as challenging, in the most conventional forms.  I was going to try the one older version I have on hand with them, described in the last post about that earlier meetup, but it's only so-so, and it was more interesting to try a much older oolong version instead.  

There's no need to try to drink the ocean, related to trying as much range as possible in one quick types-survey form meetup; what we got to worked well as an introduction.

I have no pictures of that yard space, but this is a view from the same general area

1990s 8972 (aged sheng pu'er)

I'm reviewing an interesting version of tea passed on by my new tea friend, who I've mentioned in the past two posts, as one of the founders and owners of Teas We Like.  I don't know that this is one of their products, since we didn't discuss that, but it could be, since there's one on their site that matches the little I know about it:

90s CNNP 8972 Naked Brick  (listed for $120)

This is a 90s 8972 brick from CNNP. There is some debate about this recipe, but we believe it is a blend of predominantly sheng with some light fermentation shou. This brick went through traditional HK storage and then spent 20 years in dry Taiwan storage, resulting in a very clean, dark, and satisfying entry with plenty of thickness and bittersweetness. It has a dense, strong Menghai character. It has no wodui aroma or taste, no smoke, and a small amount of traditional storage earthiness in the background. A good casual and comfortable drink with an aged puerh profile.

250g brick, not wrapped.

That pricing seems on the low side, for tea of that age, doesn't it?  But then "a good casual and comfortable drink" sounds on the basic side.  Basic for them might mean something else entirely for more casual tea drinkers.

It's especially interesting that they speculate that it could be a mix of mostly sheng and some shou.  I've heard of such things, but there's a good chance that this is the first time I've tried an example.  I didn't notice that much shou input in trying it, but then roughly 30 year old sheng isn't that familiar a theme to me.  

I could add more about the last 2 in that number code relating to the Menghai Tea Factory, now known as Dayi (or Taetea), but that leads straight into early history of Chinese tea production that I know little about.  Different producers made tea for the main government entity, which already implies more than actually mean.  It's easy to look up more on that background, that would fill in some details.

I wrote these notes before seeing that description, which is how reviews here always go.  I knew what was in the post title.

Review:

#1:  interesting!  I've tried aged sheng before but it has been a long time since I've tried anything similar to this, even though it might be a standard enough form, probably well above average factory tea, favorably stored, and around 30 years old.  

It's clean at the start.  In some past cases--of trying older sheng, even some from the 80s--there was a heavier fermentation input flavor range to get past, which took a couple of infusions, but this might just include a little more char effect than it's going to after another round or two.  What I take to be what people describe as betel nut comes across in a strong form right away (although to be clear I never get around to trying that, even though it's out there in Bangkok's Chinatown).  Feel is especially nice too, rich and smooth, a bit velvety.  Aftertaste is pronounced, although that will probably pick up further, leaving behind that heavy mineral, unusual herb, and the touch of char.

I could keep going; someone could free associate another more flavors or experiential aspects, just from this first infusion.  That's really something.  It leans a little toward a dried fruit that I'm not making out.  Warmer and heavier tone could seem a little like an aged tree bark, maybe pine bark, but it doesn't include the sharpness of pine needle.  The mineral range is interesting, but it's easy to get stuck on that tasting like some kind of rock.  I'm not getting much ginseng or medicinal herb yet, but those would fill in a lot of the rest of the typical flavor range of aged pu'er, or I guess camphor also might be added to that.  

It was an interesting first round.  This will "clean up" over another round or two, and the minimal mustiness and char will probably drop out completely, even though it wasn't pronounced.  

#2:  creaminess picks up; that's pleasant.  The early char is transitioning nicely to include a heavy and warm bark spice.  It's always hard describing what the rest of bark spice range is, or root spice, for that matter, beyond cinnamon (and ginseng).  I drank a broad range of tisanes over a decade or so before getting into tea, but didn't keep track.

I think I'll limit the free association of possible flavor connections this round.  It's nice just experiencing the tea.  

Maybe I am already "feeling" this?  I'm internally inconsistent, making it harder to judge that kind of thing.  I don't sleep so regularly, and often get really intense exercise inputs in long runs, so my body works through a lot of natural variation.  Some really pleasant ocean swimming and getting extra sleep has been balancing me better than usual lately.  

It does seem to impart a calm, clear energy, even though I don't notice or value that about teas much.  I'm on a balcony on a sunny, breezy, perfect temperature day, sitting beside rustling palm trees, so maybe some of that effect would happen without tea.

#3:  even using moderate proportion (for me, or really just normal range, about 5 grams in 100 ml gaiwan) this is fairly intense.  4 grams would've been fine.  As I've covered at length here I don't weigh tea, but from trying countless samples of different sizes I feel like standard amount / weight baselines are familiar.

Depth increases this round.  It had significant depth before, but now it's more.  Where it gave a full, rich feel in the mouth before now it's coating those surfaces.  There's aftertaste, and the feel itself also carries over.  It's interesting.  People talk about feel residing in different places in your throat or mouth, which I've also not learned to value.  This contributes a substantial feel across your mouth, not so much centered in the back of the throat, but across the tongue, roof, and front in a unique way.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it is interesting.

What I take to be betel nut is still quite pronounced, and there is warm bark spice, or aged tree bark, and lots of warm mineral.  But I'm missing something, or maybe a couple of things.  An effect related to root spice seems to join that.  Sweetness is a little like dried fruit, but not in a familiar range, and I get around to trying a lot of dried fruit.  It feels relatively rich and full.  

There's a strange effect that happens here--when I'm in Honolulu--that the more calm, focused, and present I am the more I hear birds.  They're always there; we live right beside a giant park.  But I usually don't hear them.  On a walk to swim I relax and become more present, and they sound loud, there are so many.  There are a few saying different things just now.  I'm not claiming that this tea experience is connecting me to the universe, or anything such, since just relaxing for an hour could help with that, but the energy feels good.

#4:  I had my wife taste this tea and she said that she doesn't like it, that it tastes like mold.  That's a nice counterpoint.  It can be interpreted as tasting like those half-circle shape fungus disks on fallen tree trunks tend to smell like.  It probably helps more than I'm noticing that I've tried much murkier aged sheng before, so to me this tastes clean, light, and pleasant, but still nicely complex, with nice depth.  As my friend mentioned lots of old tea, old sheng or other range, tends to taste like pond water (or was that swamp water?).

I think that people open to this general range would like this, but it's the next consideration whether acquiring a preference for range like this is a natural outcome, or if just an inter-subjective group norm, because others in "tea circles" tend to like it.  Across a range of forms aged sheng is still an odd flavor range, from any normal perspective.  I think it makes sense to dismiss the two extremes, and then consider why falling in the middle, towards either side, seems more natural.  "That tastes like mold" is the one extreme; the other is the developed, refined, "advanced" range of aspects and experiential states.  Including positive or negative judgmental descriptions kind of assumes the conclusion.

A small green gecko joins me; I just saw a baby gecko right here a few days ago, which oddly never comes up.  In both Thailand and in Hawaii people love geckos.  Partly because they eat insects, even inside the house, but it may relate to a connection to nature that's different than in mainland perspective.  The birds are your neighbors, and although competing with the squirrels for mangos back in Bangkok can seem off-putting it's their home too, so they should get some.  They eat most of them; they cheat and don't wait until they are ripe.

About preference development, an interesting case came up in discussing Japanese interpretations of Scotch whiskey.  That's a learned preference, that can surely be complex and refined, with a literal strong form of poison as the base of the experience, that almost no one would like without conditioning to like it.  Within the range of whiskey experience much better aged versions probably would seem incredibly smooth, complex, and approachable, but surely to the average person without that acclimation it would just be less bad.  

I think aged sheng is a different kind of thing, and people could appreciate it and like it without conditioning, but maybe not as much as basic Tie Guan Yin or Dian Hong.  I have trouble fully placing what that means.

#5:  I tend to lose focus and interest on writing long before a full infusion cycle.  Sure, teas keep changing, and brew plenty of rounds.  But I only need to describe the general effect of the experience, not every last detail.  I'm already stretching infusion times, out to 20 seconds or so, and this will relate to going longer as rounds continue.

It's not developing, not heading in new directions for aspects, related to flavor, aftertaste, or feel.  It's not really fading fast either, but I suppose intensity is decreasing.

Related to really pinning down a flavors list I've probably missed something along the line of heavy mineral, bark spice, or root spice.  The feel was more interesting, and the overall clean nature (even though per that one secondary input it tastes like mold).  

This tea must have been pretty intense originally to retain this degree of intensity, complexity, and depth across the last 30 years.  Storage conditions must have been a lot less humid than I'm familiar with in Bangkok, since teas can pick up a heavier musty flavor range within a decade and a half or so.  It seems relatively fully fermentation transitioned, which brings to mind whether that not happening in drier storage could still be possible over 30 or so years.  Probably it could.

All in all a very interesting and pleasant experience.  Pushing the next round a little more (#6) it does transition, but in the ways you'd expect, the light wood and spice note develop.  Spice a little like clove is picking up, just not exactly that.  It's as pleasant as it has been, very clean in effect, maybe slightly thinner in feel, but with good depth, and nice mineral range expression.