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...))

On 21 Dec 2003 02:14:56 -0800, (Jansen
The TeaLover) wrote:

>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.
>
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.


>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...))

(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

(Nigel at Teacraft) writes:

> (Jansen The TeaLover) wrote in message . com>...
>
> > [...aged Livingstone tea is wonderful...]
> >
> 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.

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
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Lewis Perin > wrote in message >...
> (Nigel at Teacraft) writes:
>
> > (Jansen The TeaLover) wrote in message . com>...
> >
> > > [...aged Livingstone tea is wonderful...]
> > >
> > 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.
>
> 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
> ---

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
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"ws" > ha scritto nel messaggio
m...
> Lewis Perin > wrote in message
>...
> > (Nigel at Teacraft) writes:
> >
> > > (Jansen The TeaLover) wrote in message
. com>...
> > >
> > > > [...aged Livingstone tea is wonderful...]
> > > >
> > > 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.
> >
> > 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
> > ---
>
> 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
> > Lew Perin /
> > http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

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