Green Tea Forum

Hebing · White Belt Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 26

Hi everyone, I recently bought the tokoname teapot with leaf design (it’s a beautiful teapot) and some tea to go along with it. I bought two kinds of sencha, the Shizuoka Green Tea Daily Sencha and the Uji Sencha Miyabi. I am new to Japanese green tea and have not learned to brew it. I want to start out learning to brew the daily sencha and get the hang of it before trying the Miyabi. My question is, will the Miyabi expire or loose quality if I do not use it rite away while I learn to brew the daily sencha?

thanks!

Dave

syntheticpanda · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 198

I think the general concensus is that a sealed (unopened by the customer) bag from o-cha.com will keep tea fresh for about 6 months. If you have already opened the bag, you should still be okay for a while, just try to seal it up again as well as you can (tape, binder clips, etc.) and it should be just fine for at least a few months, if not longer.

I generally don't buy more than one bag of tea at a time though, so I'm not 100% sure about these numbers-- others on this board would know better than I do.

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

Hi there.

As far as unopened packages, they should stay for 12 months if stored in the refrigerator. Now, since the new harvest is just around the corner, I'm uncertain if it would stay super fresh for 12 months. That being said, I bet it will stay super fresh for a long while and I think you have nothing to worry about.

Once opened you have about 2, 3 months maximum. Be sure to store opened packages in as air tight a container as possible.

And just to reiterate, once you open the tea, never put it in the fridge, That is only a good place for the UNopened packages.

Take your time with the daily sencha. The Miyabi should stay fresh for a while.

Hebing · White Belt Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 26

Thanks everyone!