How to keep blended teas blended?

[chaiguy]

hello all

I'm a new to tea so I apologise if I'm using the term blended tea incorrectly I'm actually using it more in a general sense.

I enjoy chai tea. how do you ensure that your teas stay properly mixed through out consumption? For those who store their tea in a tin do you roll it every once in a while to remix it?

Sorry for the noob question :p

[debunix]

A reasonable question. I was just given a tin of fine-quality loose-leaf chai, and I know that too much shaking will break tea leaves (bad) but rolling a bit before opening sounds reasonable to me, if the spices are in bit that are larger/heavier than the tea leaves.

I'm used to preparing my own mix of herbs and spices fresh when I want a break from straight C sinensis tea, one pot at a time, so it's a question that has never come up for me before!

[Evan Draper]

For consistent results, use a larger sample: brew it all at once in a cauldron! I don't drink anything blended these days--debunix, do you really notice a drop in quality attributable to leaf "degradation"? I would guess that the spices mask any such effect, and you could simply shake away as you desired.

[kuánglóng]

hello all

I'm a new to tea so I apologise if I'm using the term blended tea incorrectly I'm actually using it more in a general sense.

I enjoy chai tea. how do you ensure that your teas stay properly mixed through out consumption? For those who store their tea in a tin do you roll it every once in a while to remix it?

Sorry for the noob question :p

It depends on the individual blend and the size of the ingredients (whole vs. ground spices) and how long they've been sitting in the tin already. The actual tea leaves (or fannings, dust) in any blend readily absorb any of the aromas in the tin anyway and in case there's any inhomogenity left after some weeks or months in a tin I'd personally embrace the remaining variety from one pot to the next.
Just my 2 drops ...