"Blair P. Houghton" asked:

> How is it that a leaf that's been rolled, dried, fermented,
> baked, and stored in a box for upwards of 9 months before
> finds its first-flushy way from Ceylon to your mug is
> "fresh"?
>
> --Blair
> "One myth at a time, please."

First, most tea aficionados purchase tea long before nine months have gone
by.

Second, air and water cause chemical changes in the tea, not storage which
restricts exposure to air. Once tea, or many other materials, is steeping
in hot water, substances are diffusing from the leaves at varying rates, and
those substances change over relatively short periods of time. Concentration
allows some of these substances to dissipate, increases the chemical
reactions among others and adds a preservative or two to inhibit spoilage.

If tea fans didn't make this distinction we'd all be drinking tea from
bottles.

Warren