Storage of Darjeeling Tea

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Jun 16th, '11, 20:39
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Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by dzh » Jun 16th, '11, 20:39

Hello to all of you tea lovers,
I am new to this form, and I like it a lot. A question: I have read different opinions on storage of black tea. Anywhere from a few months to two years. What do you think? If freshness is not important, why is it that current year teas are always more expensive than last year's? Is there a difference in this respect between first and second flush?
I'd appreciate your input.

Jun 17th, '11, 20:28
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Joined: Jun 14th, '11, 20:47

Re: STORAGE OF DARJEELING TEA

by TeaBreakLady » Jun 17th, '11, 20:28

The general storage for teas is air tight containers in a cool place including Darjeeling. But by the time you consume your Darjeeling, its been months since production and along the way (storage/transportation) - there is a high likelihood it might have been exposed to air, so the aroma might be a bit diluted. Vacuum packs is an option though.

In terms of first & second flush - I could recommend that you read these - http://blog.darjeelingteaxpress.com/dar ... eling-tea/
http://blog.darjeelingteaxpress.com/dar ... eling-tea/

Happy brewing! :)

Jun 18th, '11, 09:00
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by dzh » Jun 18th, '11, 09:00

Teabreak,
thank you for your reply. I read the blog you referred me to, and that helps also. What I still wonder, is wether last year tea has lost some of its flavor compared to this year's tea? after how many months, in good storage condition, do you begin to notice loss of aroma?

dzh

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Jun 21st, '11, 16:57
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by yshuto » Jun 21st, '11, 16:57

I did not make a straight apples to apples comparison but I did purchase two 2011 FF Darjeelings and three 2010 FF Darjeelings. All of the teas below were great in flavor, taste, and aroma with their own distinctive characteristics of a first class Darjeeling tea. I could not rank the 2011 over the 2010 or 2010 over the 2011.
2011 FF Namring SFTGFOP1
2011 FF Namring Upper SFTGFOP1
2010 FF Margaret’s Hope SFTGFOP1
2010 FF Vintage Castleton SFTGFOP1
2010 FF Moondakotee SFTGFOP1
The 2011 FF has a brighter green color and has more of an earthy taste. The 2010 had lost some of it’s green color yet the aroma and flavor was still there even after a year had passed since it was picked. If I were to describe the taste of the 2010 FF, I would say it had matured a bit and in a small way had gained some characteristics of a Summer Flush while retaining all the flavor of a FF tea. All the teas were purchased from Mariage Freres. Mariage does not discount their 2010 FF teas and when the new 2011 FF from the same estate comes in, the older 2010 is no longer offered.

Jun 23rd, '11, 21:33
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by dzh » Jun 23rd, '11, 21:33

yshuto

the information you provided is most illuminating. I have asked several suppliers about storage of tea, and got wildly varied answers. From 3 months to 2 years. I believe that your observation is an excellent one.

thanks,

dzh

Jul 18th, '11, 12:29
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by TeaBreakLady » Jul 18th, '11, 12:29

dzh wrote:Teabreak,
thank you for your reply. I read the blog you referred me to, and that helps also. What I still wonder, is wether last year tea has lost some of its flavor compared to this year's tea? after how many months, in good storage condition, do you begin to notice loss of aroma?

dzh
If the teas are kept in air tight containers, the loss of flavour is little. However, the best way to preserve the flavor is vacuum packing the teas (all the air is sucked out and hence no flavour is lost). This is what I read at there site - and some customer comments have attributed the freshness of their teas to vacuum packing. I am not sure if there is any other way? :)

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Aug 10th, '11, 16:55
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by oak » Aug 10th, '11, 16:55

"Darjeeling Vintage 1st flush

An exceptional 2008 first flush, with delicacy and style, now beginning to mature into a wonderful vintage tea..."

http://www.allabouttea.co.uk/darjeeling ... -1st-flush

I am doubting if to buy this tea, it would like to buy enough quantity since of all the teas that I have proved (in other seller in ebay), this one is the one that feels better, it is good for my health and in addition I like much.

Then how much time seems to you that it might last once bought? And might it store as the pu erh without problems?.

There are others darjeeling and I am not sure on which buying

http://www.allabouttea.co.uk/shop-buy-tea-online?page=1

Thank you.

Sep 10th, '11, 02:31
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by habeeb » Sep 10th, '11, 02:31

to me.

I store my tea in mason jars, with a vacuum sealer top, stored in the most consistent cool place


but who knows , I could be doing it wrong...

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Oct 20th, '11, 13:28
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by AlexZorach » Oct 20th, '11, 13:28

I've read a lot of places that say that Darjeeling tea, especially first flush, does not keep as well as other black teas, usually citing a vague notion that it is "delicate".

My personal experience of this, though, has not been the case...I find Darjeeling tea, even first flush, tends to keep a year or sometimes even more, if stored properly. Also, if a tin or bag is sealed, I find storing it unopened doesn't really result in much degradation of flavor...but if you're constantly opening it up and closing it, it loses flavor more quickly...especially if it's a small amount of tea in a large container.

I also find it varies hugely by individual tea.

Airtight and dark is important for storage (unless you're talking aged teas, they need to breathe). But the amount of time that tea stays fresh is a matter of controversy...and it's probably a bit of luck too, the individual batch of tea you have, the temperature and humidity in your home, etc.

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Oct 23rd, '11, 20:38
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by wyardley » Oct 23rd, '11, 20:38

AlexZorach wrote:I've read a lot of places that say that Darjeeling tea, especially first flush, does not keep as well as other black teas, usually citing a vague notion that it is "delicate".
I think this is referring to the modern style Darjeelings that are less than 100% oxidized (so more like an oolong), and in this case,it stands to reason that they will change more than a fully oxidized tea.

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Oct 23rd, '11, 23:36
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by Tead Off » Oct 23rd, '11, 23:36

How can we know just how much has been lost in a tea after 1 or 2 years of household storage compared to a recent harvest? There is no way to factually compare and arrive at an answer. To further complicate the matter, teas from different gardens will vary a lot in flavor and aroma during the orginal harvest and will not be comparable. All we have is our subjective opinion as to whether there is a difference between a fresh tea and one that is a year or 2 old.

Personally, I have some 1 to 2 year old Darjeelings, both 1st and 2nd flush that I still enjoy but I strongly doubt they are the same as when I first got them. And, I have some teas like this that have noticeably lost a lot after 6 months to a year. There is still no doubt in my mind that tea loses its freshness with time no matter how it is stored. It doesn't mean the tea is bad. It just isn't the same as when it was purchased fresh.

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Oct 26th, '11, 22:03
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by entropyembrace » Oct 26th, '11, 22:03

I tend to notice a loss of flavour in 2nd Flush Darjeelings after about a year stored in not quite airtight metal canisters away from heat sources and other odours. (I dont drink enough 1st flush to comment on them)

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Nov 4th, '11, 10:25
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Re: Storage of Darjeeling Tea

by AlexZorach » Nov 4th, '11, 10:25

Re: unoxidized tea changing more...it makes intuitive sense but I'm not sure it's necessarily true. All but white teas are heated to a high enough temperature that the enzymes causing the oxidation transformation from green->black break down. With white teas, they really do change (and darken a lot) when stored, at least, from my experience.

There was an interesting study employing a tea tasting panel that looked at unoxidized tea (green tea) and used blind tasting:

http://hdl.handle.net/2097/1700

I discovered this study in the course of researching material for RateTea.net's page on storing tea. The study found that green tea does not appreciably change (as assessed by the tasting panel) in the first year of storage, and it only changes slightly in the second year. These figures are much longer than what people in the tea industry (and tea enthusiasts) usually state.

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