My idea of a good investment

On Mar 22, 6:13 pm, Michael Plant snipped-for-privacy@pipeline.com wrote: Bookburn, I drink Chinese and Japanese green tea in the spring. Usually, I do not have any left by the middle of summer. After several weeks, I note that the freshness I like so much in a green tea is mostly gone. That's my experience. Two pounds is a tremendous amount of tea, for me and I suspect for most of us. Buying that much green tea at a time would be foolish for me, although, if you can't taste the difference between that tea when you first open it and that tea a year later, no harm done. Michael

I'm a little late to the party but I'd have to fully agree with Michael. I do my damndest to run through greens/yellows in less than 3 months except for a few greens which hold up well (BLC, Jasmine pearls, and bancha) and with those somewhere between 6 months and a year.

I tend to buy my greens in either 2 or 4 oz. lots depending on the tea. I generally order double that (4-8oz.) though because half stay home and half go to work. Anything more than 8oz is generally too much even if it is a tea both myself and my fiance drink. That being said I have some Dragonwell which has been extremely well stored in airtight containers which is about a year old right now and still good. However I broke it up into ~2 oz. packs so that the majority stays sealed with only one open at a time.

2 lbs. is too much even at a deal. All it will mean is using way more leaf than needed to use it up artificially. My suggestion would be to package a pound of it up and give it as gifts to friends while it is still good and enjoy the other pound. That's just me though.

- Dominic

I bought half pound green ,1pound yunnan gold tips its now >6months later and ... i still have half of each left its because in the mean time i got some other teas or didnt have time to sit and enjoy them also they're in big boxes sort of in the back of the cabinet

- harder to reach for :P now the green tastes ..."flat", less flavorful its ok, but it doesnt feel "fresh" anymore. the yunnan blacks are ok, but same, they lost their "pungency" so next time i'm just going to get less and finish it.

Hi, Bookburn. Sometimes (well, often) I grow too enthusiastic and buy too much tea of the sort that can loose its better qualities over time. I always regret doing so. There are a few green teas I actually prefer aged for a year. One notable example is Yang Yan Gou Qing. A couple of my friends like aged green tea, too. But they are careful to store it tightly sealed, and they refrigerate the tea. But most green teas do not like to be aged. If you have the ability to store green tea in glass jars under very heavy vacuum and keep the tea dark and cool, it might be okay. Sencha can be frozen if you let it thaw completely before opening it, and if you drink the thawed tea right away--within a day or so. I note that Special Teas does not provide harvest dates for its green tea selections. Other vendors do. Best-- grasshopper

It may be a philisophical question, but instead of huge quantities of one tea I prefer buying smaller amounts of various teas. My taste changes as time passes by...

Tomas

I just received shipment of the 2 lbs. of Lung Ching and have this to report, in case someone is considering a similar investment.

1. The loose leaf bulk amount came in a single foil package, not the

4 oz. re-sealable pouches sent with my last order for 1 lb..

1. I immediately re-packaged the lot into freezer bags with double seals and put it into the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator, but it looked rather dry and without much aroma.

2. Comparing a sample of this shipment with one received the first of November, more than four months ago, I conclude that: a. either the lot I got was handled improperly, or b. it's not a spring harvest but remains of last years supply.

1. I'm referring the problem of freshness back to Specialteas to see if they will accept a return.

So it looks like I got blind-sided on my "idea of a good investment" in terms of the product received that may be somebody else's good idea of wholesale house-cleaning. The only good things about the purchase are: a. they did complete the sale in a timely manner, and b. they sent me a complimentary sample of 1/2 oz. puttabong FTGFOP1, first flush (no. 105), called a black tea, which is exotic stuff to my palate. bookburn

That's that old saying about things being too good to be true. I think we've all been overtaken by greed at some point in our tea careers, learn from the $40 lesson and go forward. Most lessons cost much more. Honestly, they provided you with what you ordered at a fair price I don't know if I'd come down too hard trying to return it now. Best of luck.

- Dominic

I just got an e-mail back about my reported problem with the freshness of 2 lbs. of lung ching I ordered from Specialteas. They have a liberal return policy and are returning the amount charged to my credit card. Here's a part of it, which I show to keep the record straight about this company's reputation.

(quote) The tea you received in your initial order in January was the same batch as near as I can tell as what you received in March. We have had no quality control issues that I am aware of with this tea. Although, I checked for you, and have found out that a new batch should be in late April or early May. If you give us a call or e-mail at that time we can confirm if it is that new shipment in stock and perhaps you would be happy with this new batch.

If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. (unquote)

Evidently, I could have requested the delivery in 4 oz. resealable pouches, instead of the one 2 lb. bag.

So I had to pay for return freight but appreciate their consideration--and information--in the matter. bookburn