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(Jansen The TeaLover) wrote in message . com>...

> 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!!!
>
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