Your favorite way to store tea

[Chip]

Chip, I've never tried anything from Upton. For curiosity's sake, whey don't you buy tea from them anymore?

One of the very few disagreements I have had with management of a TeaVendor. Their philosophy is incongruous with mine and many other TCers I suspect.

Upton (comically their anagram is UTI) will list as many teas as possible with little info or regard to harvest info nor freshness. Since they would not change, I did and simply moved on to vendors who shared similar philosophies as mine in this and other regards.

Of interest! Thanks! Unfortunately, I'm not far enough in my tea journey to understand the different harvests and whatnot, but I'll get there.

Of most importance is when was a particular tea harvested and what flush. Many teas like greens you want to get the most recent harvest, and you want to see that right on the site. Freshest is bestest!

Other teas can age well over time and even improve with aging, BUT you still want to know its vintage.

In discussion with a chief officer of Upton, he stated I can always ask about a particular tea ... but nah, that is just not worth the trouble and frustration. Plus I want to see it in black and white on the site, just not a customer service person telling me what I want to hear.

It is just really annoying not being told or knowing a teas vintage!!!

Some vendors now offer sell by dates, pfffft!!! This is just a bogus and/or possibly arbitrary date picked by the vendor.

[AdamMY]

Of interest! Thanks! Unfortunately, I'm not far enough in my tea journey to understand the different harvests and whatnot, but I'll get there.

IMO it is not so much the exact harvest that plays a role, while certain people will acknowledge general trends in the entire industry by saying things such as "Teas from X were not too good when harvested at time Y". But harvest info is imperative for understanding certain teas, in the sense of how old a tea is, because different teas are at their peak freshness, or best meets someones personal preference around a certain age.

For example with most green teas, they are preferred to be consumed within a year of the harvest, with certain notable exceptions (gyokuro for instance). So if a vendor fails to even attach a year to their information, you have no clue if you are drinking tea picked last month or 4 years ago.

[Crafty_Mom]

Thanks, guys! Fascinating.

On a related note, I usually buy what I will drink within a given time period, say, a few months, and when I'm near out I buy more. About 6 months or a year ago I bought some jasmine pearls from JASeTea. Mr. Crafty loved it, but I really just felt the jasmine flavor was too strong for me. Actually made my stomach upset. But after sitting in my cabinet all that time, I like it. Maybe it's a bad idea to let it sit for that long?

[solitude]

Thanks, guys! Fascinating.

On a related note, I usually buy what I will drink within a given time period, say, a few months, and when I'm near out I buy more. About 6 months or a year ago I bought some jasmine pearls from JASeTea. Mr. Crafty loved it, but I really just felt the jasmine flavor was too strong for me. Actually made my stomach upset. But after sitting in my cabinet all that time, I like it. Maybe it's a bad idea to let it sit for that long?

Whatever makes your tea taste better is a good idea , but I would not experiment with "ageing" expensive green tea.
Once you open the vacuum sealed teabag it should be used within 2-3 months.

[Chip]

Thanks, guys! Fascinating.

On a related note, I usually buy what I will drink within a given time period, say, a few months, and when I'm near out I buy more. About 6 months or a year ago I bought some jasmine pearls from JASeTea. Mr. Crafty loved it, but I really just felt the jasmine flavor was too strong for me. Actually made my stomach upset. But after sitting in my cabinet all that time, I like it. Maybe it's a bad idea to let it sit for that long?

Whatever makes your tea taste better is a good idea , but I would not experiment with "ageing" expensive green tea.
Once you open the vacuum sealed teabag it should be used within 2-3 months.

And some greens in less than 1 month!

I have experienced a few green teas that improved with age, but I only tried this more by accident. I did not like them fresh, I revisited later and found them more to my liking.

This is a major exception however. Usually the green tea had an element in its profile that was too strong and threw the balance off.

[Crafty_Mom]

Thanks, guys! Fascinating.

On a related note, I usually buy what I will drink within a given time period, say, a few months, and when I'm near out I buy more. About 6 months or a year ago I bought some jasmine pearls from JASeTea. Mr. Crafty loved it, but I really just felt the jasmine flavor was too strong for me. Actually made my stomach upset. But after sitting in my cabinet all that time, I like it. Maybe it's a bad idea to let it sit for that long?

Whatever makes your tea taste better is a good idea , but I would not experiment with "ageing" expensive green tea.
Once you open the vacuum sealed teabag it should be used within 2-3 months.

And some greens in less than 1 month!

I have experienced a few green teas that improved with age, but I only tried this more by accident. I did not like them fresh, I revisited later and found them more to my liking.

This is a major exception however. Usually the green tea had an element in its profile that was too strong and threw the balance off.

I have never aged my tea on purpose. Well, except the puerh, but I'm not really so much aging it as I have just not drank it yet.

Today, Husband found two jars of white silver needles that I had squirreled away about a year ago and forgot about. I'll be interested to find out if it is still drinkable. I really need to organize my stash better. I thought I had them all together.

[fire_snake]

In my belly.

[JeiKun4114]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

[iannon]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Oh well fine!
no..seriously..lovely

[JeiKun4114]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Oh well fine!
no..seriously..lovely

Thanks iannon

[Stentor]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Wow.
These are on my must buy list for this year.

[Chip]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Wow.
These are on my must buy list for this year.

+1!

Were these from Hojo?

[JeiKun4114]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Wow.
These are on my must buy list for this year.

+1!

Were these from Hojo?

Stentor Kaikado's canister's are very amazing to own, I would strongly recommend owning at least one

Chip these canister's are actually not from Hojo. I had the privilege to see these canister's made right in front of me in Japan. One of the makers came down to the city I was living in, and was offering to make them first hand, it was a very very amazing experience

[Chip]

I like to store my Tea in my hand made copper canister by Kaikado

Wow.
These are on my must buy list for this year.

+1!

Were these from Hojo?

Stentor Kaikado's canister's are very amazing to own, I would strongly recommend owning at least one

Chip these canister's are actually not from Hojo. I had the privilege to see these canister's made right in front of me in Japan. One of the makers came down to the city I was living in, and was offering to make them first hand, it was a very very amazing experience

Well now you are just showing off!!!

I am sure this makes them even more special and beautiful than we first thought.

[tortoise]

I use these Canopic Jars. The rotten organs of a pre-dynastic Egyptian priest lend the tea an interesting flavor. You can't really buy these nowadays...