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lyn
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 Posted: Dec 20, 2006 12:28 am Post subject: shelf life |
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I just signed up so I apologize in advance if this has been covered at length before. I did a cursory check and saw nothing. Other than a statement that tea shouldn't be over 6 mos old. Will green teas ordered now be signifigantly deteriorated? If so, how best to get the best flavor from an 'old' tea?
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Chip
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Joined: 21 Apr 2006
Posts: 760
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji, purging looters
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| Posted: Dec 20, 2006 1:22 am Post subject: Re: shelf life |
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| lyn wrote: | I just signed up so I apologize in advance if this has been covered at length before. I did a cursory check and saw nothing. Other than a statement that tea shouldn't be over 6 mos old. Will green teas ordered now be signifigantly deteriorated? If so, how best to get the best flavor from an 'old' tea?
Thanks |
Welcome Lyn,
You will be glad to know that the Japanese do more to ensure tea freshness than any other tea producer on the planet...which is very important in that steamed Japanese teas tend to deteriorate, lose flavor and aroma, faster than teas manufactured by other methods.
There is much info on the O-Cha site on this subject including the new video which provides enlightenment.
Few would disagree that Shincha, first flush tea that is processed for immediate sale, is the the freshest most flavorful Japanese tea. However, Ichiban, also first flush, is available all year long. It is usually carefully stored in bulk in a cold climate controlled environment in Japan often right up to the point of sale when it is packaged...usually nitrogen flushed.
Many Americans (I don't know where you are from) after they receive their Japanese green tea, carefully store it in the fridge away from odors until they are ready to open it.
So in theory, you can have very fresh Japanese tea any time of the year assuming all the proper steps have been taken to ensure tea freshness...our host, O-Cha, assures us that these steps have indeed been taken with their teas, and we can purchase with confidence from their site....
This I can tell you from experience is not always the case with many other vendors...especially when they do not specialize in Japanese tea. |
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lyn
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| Posted: Dec 20, 2006 1:51 am Post subject: |
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thanks. I am in So Korea (via an active duty spouse) and am just getting into these green tea. I was a lipton black tea drinker, then good coffee and now I got to sleep at night thinkin about which green tea I will brew n the A.M- and I am getting low. Discovering my personal preferences through all these ancient vagaries has/is fun.
So far In my greens I like light color/ grassy aroma/ slightly sweet
Do you (or anyone) haveany reccommendations and 'stay away from's right off the start |
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Chip
Spam/Troll Killer
Joined: 21 Apr 2006
Posts: 760
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji, purging looters
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| Posted: Dec 20, 2006 2:25 am Post subject: |
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| lyn wrote: | thanks. I am in So Korea (via an active duty spouse) and am just getting into these green tea. I was a lipton black tea drinker, then good coffee and now I got to sleep at night thinkin about which green tea I will brew n the A.M- and I am getting low. Discovering my personal preferences through all these ancient vagaries has/is fun.
So far In my greens I like light color/ grassy aroma/ slightly sweet
Do you (or anyone) haveany reccommendations and 'stay away from's right off the start |
...lol...yeah, Japanese green tea does that to me too...I sooo much want another cup of fresh Japanese green tea at night, but I know if I do that sleep will not be an option. So I always make sure I have at least a couple old steeps that I can brew from earlier...I call it soggy leaf tea, affectionately...SLT is better than no tea and as I drink it I am often amazed that though pale by comparison to earlier steeps, a 4th ot 5 th steep can actually be nice and sweet and of course mellow. And Gyokuro can take me well into the night with 7 or more steeps. Japanese green tea is great. But as I drink those late steeps, I often think about what Japanese tea I will have the next day...is that nutz...lol.
I seem to prefer Uji and Kagoshima sencha. While I was not in love with the Hatsumi from Shizuoka, someone I email loved it. But you cannot go wrong with the Uji and Kagoshima offerings. If you are adventurous, then you may like the Hatsumi...it is very...hmmm, intense.
I had heard that customs on tea coming into SK was pretty high, actually extremely high...perhaps there is a way around that with a military address.
Read through the forum...there is a lot of good stuff...and being in SK, it may be a pleasant diversion. On another tea forum, there is a guy stationed in SK, he is on the forum all the time...I guess it brings him home. |
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