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Aged tea

Dear all,

Maybe someone can help me with this one, since I do not seem to be able to find any information on the internet on this.

Not so long ago, I found some old tea in my cupboard. It was already there for a few years, so I thought about throwing it away. Luckily I didn't because it turned out to be very nice tea: nice and round, slightly sweet with a very rounded off character, not bitter but with clear body. After finishing the package (it was Pickwick Orange Pekoe loose leaf tea) I went to the store to buy me a new one, only to find that the quality was not the same. Since it was stored in a wooden box I first thought that it might have taken up some of the wood flavour or that the blend of the manufacturer had changed. Recently, however, the same thing happened with an old package of Livingstone tea ('Sources from the nile') this time stored in an aluminium pouch which was well closed. The same excellent rounded off, slightly woody and sweet flavour. Now I am wondering: is it this special blend (I do not seem to be able to get it anywhere here in Holland (tips would be welcome!) - an aunt brought it from Kenya) or the fact that is also a few years (4+) old? Since I cannot get it here I cannot rush out to the store and compare! Ordering it from internet is very expensive (UK is the closest; shipping fees are very high) and might give a disappointing result.

So my question: does anyone know about this effect? And if so, is there a way to speed it up? I am willing to store some tea for a few years, but if it works, then I would have wished storing a lot more. On the other hand, if it doesn't, storing a few kilograms seems a big waste!!!

Any information would be *HIGHLY* appreciated!!!

Many thanks in advance!

Frans Jos Jansen

(P.S. I know storing First Flush Darjeeling etc. will have a detrimental effect on the quality etc.: this is really about rather average teas turning into something special that I have not found so far in the 30+ loose teas I bought looking for the same aroma....! (I have discovered many other exciting flavours though, so it was well worth it...))

Reply to
Jansen The TeaLover
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The way we make our Aged TongDing Spring oolong is to keep left over Spring harvest in double layered plastic bages and leave out door for

7 years. Then we keep them in cooler for 7 years. So, the tealeaves is aged for 14 years. The use of plastic bag is for sanitory reasons to prevent contamination. Of course, there is a baking processe at the end.

What is the chemical reactions or a break down of chemicals during the

7/7 process is unknow to me. However, I am sure of one thing. That is the cell wall of the tealeaves have been broken down further.

Are there new flavored chemical compounds formed while ageing? or the break down of the cell walll, so its easier for hot water to extract the more flavored chemical compounds? Your guess is as good as mine. I think it is both.

Reply to
Oolong

The Mombasa company packing Livingstone Tea went bankrupt in 2001 so there is no more of this blend available. The owner Adrian Archer (who used to write to r.f.d.t) seems to have disappeared from tea circles. The CTC tea was vacuum packed in foil which gives it a head start for long storage but the key to holding quality in storage is to start with a dry tea (well dried and packed at less than 4% moisture) and to pack it so that it cannot pick up any moisture. This is much more difficult than is generally imagined - to prevent the entry of ambient air your pack or jar or tin must be hermetically sealed, and even then every time you open it, more ambient air gets in. The equilibrium relative humidity for home stored tea in contact with ambient air is generally between 7 and 10% moisture in the leaf. Three months shelf life is max at these levels.

Killers for tea quality are Light and Moisture. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of teas improving with age in their absence, particularly Orthodox teas that without doubt mature and improve in their first two months after manufacture. Tea in chests on ships marooned for 18 months in the dry desert heat of the Suez Canal during the takeover by Nasser in 1956(?) eventually arrived in England in better condition than they left India (so 'tis said).

We used, for experimental purposes, to keep control samples of teas hermetically sealed and deep frozen (minus 18 deg C) to maintain chemical and taste attributes - this storage regime is the best I know for maintaining a quality standard. But I have never heard of anyone purposely laying down tea to improve over the years (with the notable exception of pu ehr).

Nigel at Teacraft

Reply to
Nigel at Teacraft

Nigel: I wonder what, if anything, you do to retard the hydration of a tea you really love once you've opened the package. Silica gel packets, maybe?

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

i used to refrigerate my expensive green teas/yellow teas by directive of the tea shop i frequent. their tea's the freshest i've ever tasted, esp the dragonwell, sold 2 weeks after harvesting cuz it got couriered over here fast enough

Reply to
ws

"ws" ha scritto nel messaggio news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

I am using both divices for my best greens: I seal 50 g packes when I buy it in China, with 1-2 packet of silica gel inside, then I put them in the freezer when I return home. I am quite satisfied... the day I can be in China right after the harvest, and I can also find a easy way to fill the packages with nitrogen, and have them in my freezer within a week and... Ok sorry, I was day dreaming! L

Reply to
Livio Zanini

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