Old green tea.

to keep your green tea fresh. you have to well seal and store it in the frig. if the color becomes brownish color., it may be oolong tea , not Green tea.

howardfy74g.1781$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com4/27/06

Hello,

I think *any* green leaf left to the air will oxidize. and that means darken. Have you never forgotten a green tea and found it quite dark when you finally rediscovered it months later? Anyway, forgotten green tea can teach you a lot, before you chuck it.

Sealing your tea well is always a good idea, but there are mixed reports on the refrigeration issue, mostly because of moisture and condensation. Yet, many people do it with good results.

I recommend drinking your finest green teas soon after acquiring them since they are delicate, and no matter how well you store them much will be quickly lost. For lesser breeds, longer is of course OK. Seal well, as OP says.

Michael

Order the same green tea and see what it's really supposed to be like. It won't have fermented on the shelf, but it will have lost a lot of the lighter elements that make for the more delicate flavours.

--scott