I see what you're referring too and this would make a lot more sense if those teas in question would have been produced just a short time before I got them but they weren't. They were just fine right after I got them and died in less than two weeks, so I still suspect they must have picked up the extra moisture shortly before they've been shipped to me. That's why I (repeatedly) mentioned my observations of vendors that don't treat their teas correctly; I've seen just too much of that happen.William wrote:Kuánglóng, if a tea looses most if not all of the aromas/flavours after a couple of days (due to moisture the leaves have absorbed), the only reason this happens is of a serious flaw in the processing of that particular batch.
Been there twice (Yunnan), saw it, couldn't believe itUsually, this flaw is a direct consequence of the failure (rare) or incorrect decrease (extremely common) of the percentage of moisture retained by the leaves after they have been picked. Tendentially, this kind of mistake can not in any way be fixed heating the leaves once we brew them at home, because the quality has (unfortunately) been irreversibly spoiled.
It is something that usually happens with Pu Er (especially those processed by minority without the proper equipment), when the sha qing has been incorrectly made and the tea leaves have been compressed rather hard .. the high humidity still retained by the leaves combined with the high compression, bring to unpleasant and greenish flavours that only worsen with the passing years.
I'm well aware of that and posted some lines about the difficulties of correct firing a while ago but like I've mentioned I only saw this happen to a few of my Darjeelings and somehow doubt that any DJ that hasn't been fired correctly ends up as single invoice on western shelves. Lower qualities normally end up in blends or in the local bazars for a couple dollars per 10kg bag.
Generally I couldn't agree more but many shops over here (online) don't offer samples, the fun starts at 50 or 100g and there's no sure way either to determine beforehand what you'll get in the end. Last year I enjoyed a specific FF invoice so much that I've ordered more from the same shop but they sent me a completely different tea - no fun. It's like in any other business, there's the good guys and the less than honest folks and no matter how long we drank tea we'll have to pay some tuition fee and/or get ripped off here and there.Always sample, this is the only way!
Anyways, no big deal, apologies for the highjack.
