How fast you finished your gyokuro?

[auhckw]

1) I was told that it will be best to finish gyokuro under 3 months once it is opened to remain its freshness. How fast you finished yours (once opened)?

2) Is it safe (in terms of health) to leave the Silica gel together with the gyokuro? Will it make the taste lesser or better?

[Chip]

A lot will depend on the "freshness" of the gyokuro at the time you open it, or whether it has been aged or not. I have had gyokuro improve after being open (and properly stored) for well over 6 months already.

However if the gyokuro is at a stage where it will decline upon opening, then 3 months might be right ... or wrong.

I would dispose of the silica gel upon opening.

[Tead Off]

A lot will depend on the "freshness" of the gyokuro at the time you open it, or whether it has been aged or not. I have had gyokuro improve after being open (and properly stored) for well over 6 months already.

However if the gyokuro is at a stage where it will decline upon opening, then 3 months might be right ... or wrong.

I would dispose of the silica gel upon opening.

I think the answer to this question depends on how delicious the gyokuro is. When I have one that I particularly like, 50g will last no more than 2 weeks. I use a minimum of 7g per serving.

Why do you remove the silica gel other than aesthetics? I usually leave them in, but, I live in a very humid climate.

[Chip]

The silica gel is selected to preserve a sealed bag. It likely does little to preserve a repeatedly opened bag.

Sometimes I leave them in if I am not going to open again for a while, like when I divide a bag in half and seal the second bag to use only once the first is used up.

Does not hurt to leave it in I guess.

I guess if I was in Thailand, I would leave it in as well ...

[britt]

I drink less gyokuro than any other type of Japanese tea, so I have it sometimes for 6 months or more. I've never found this to hurt it in any way. However, I do live in an area that is hot and humid in the summer and I rarely use air-conditioning. I store my Japanese tea, including gyokuro, in cherry-wood caddies. Not the ones with the steel interior, but the ones that are 100% cherry-wood. These were originally developed to preserve tobacco in humid weather and I've found them to do the same for sencha and gyokuro. I have had much worse results using air-tight metal containers, which seem to "cook" the tea in the hot summer months.

[brlarson]

Once you open the bag all of ``tea faeries'' escape, so the only really good brew is the very first one:-)

I like to buy gyo in 50gram bags and finish it within two weeks. Britt, I've been wondering if the cherry tea caddies really worked. I might have to try some based on your recommendation.

[britt]

Britt, I've been wondering if the cherry tea caddies really worked. I might have to try some based on your recommendation.

I seriously doubted that the cherry-wood caddies would work as well as they do. A few years ago I was storing sencha in air-tight, double-lidded steel cannisters. My apartment can get very hot and humid in the summer. I nearly ruined all of the tea that was stored this way. That's when I read about storing tobacco in cherry-wood containers to preserve it in the humid Japanese climate. I tried one of these caddies, and the tea remained fresh throughout the summer. I then purchased a second one, as I usally open two types of sencha at a time.

I bought mine from Artistic Nippon. Just a reminder that these are the all-wood versions, not the steel wrapped in wood, so they are more expensive. I do not think these are technically airtight. That may be why they work. Humidity can be absorbed by the cherry bark.

[Tead Off]

Britt, I've been wondering if the cherry tea caddies really worked. I might have to try some based on your recommendation.

I seriously doubted that the cherry-wood caddies would work as well as they do. A few years ago I was storing sencha in air-tight, double-lidded steel cannisters. My apartment can get very hot and humid in the summer. I nearly ruined all of the tea that was stored this way. That's when I read about storing tobacco in cherry-wood containers to preserve it in the humid Japanese climate. I tried one of these caddies, and the tea remained fresh throughout the summer. I then purchased a second one, as I usally open two types of sencha at a time.

I bought mine from Artistic Nippon. Just a reminder that these are the all-wood versions, not the steel wrapped in wood, so they are more expensive. I do not think these are technically airtight. That may be why they work. Humidity can be absorbed by the cherry bark.

I live in a year-round hot, humid, climate. When I buy a tea, I almost always take some out of its bag and put it into a caddy to let it breathe. Invariably, I find the teas open up and become better than straight out of the bag. I use both ceramic and metal caddies. I'm fairly certain that the ceramic ones are superior to the metal even though they are not airtight. The teas taste better out of the ceramic and even the aroma is more pronounced inside a ceramic compared to a metal container. But, I do keep moisture packs in all of them and have had no trouble with teas going bad in any containers. I haven't tried wood mainly because of its inherent odors that may affect the tea, but, maybe I'm being too cautious.

[zen41]

Hello, I am new to this forum, and this is my first post, but have been cruising teachat for a while now.

I live in Thailand and order my sencha (and shincha) directly from Japan.

The good thing about living here is that shipping from Japan to Thailand is fast and cheap. I like organic sencha above all.

I will usually have about 3 envelopes of 100 grams at a time on hand (lite, mid, and deep steamed). I only open one envelope at at time and transfer it to an air tight tin. I keep all of my sencha stored in an armoire in my bedroom since it does get very humid here, and the armoire being the driest and coolest storage area in the house. I have kept sealed envelopes (bags) up to 6 months with no problems and I am sure it would last until expiration with no problem. Once transferred to the tin it lasts around a month to a month in half. I am happy to say that I have never had tea go "bad" or loose its quality..... at least not yet.