This tea is old. Definitely a different beast than when I first bought it, but the flavour remains pretty intriguing – it’s light and almost a bit jasminey/floral, as opposed to the more green beany, chewy Laoshan greens. I don’t know if this is age-related or not, but IMO it has actually aged reasonably well to produce a cup of green tea that would still garner a rating of 80+ 7 or so years after it was picked, despite not being stored under amazing conditions. There’s a decent amount of it left in the bag, so I’m pleased that I’ll be able to enjoy the last few cups of it, since I was expecting at this point it would be a total loss.
TIL: green tea from good sources, stored in scentproof foil zip bags, actually is still fairly good, even when it’s older. Swap samples in regular plastic zip bags – nooope. This has been my experience over a decent number of teas in the past 10 months or so. (The main criterion I’m looking at is the development of that unpleasant metallic taste, which I associate with old/low-quality green teas.)
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You make a great point in this review, Kittena. I’ve long argued that green teas of decent or better quality that have been properly stored do not deteriorate as much or as rapidly as many would have us believe. I, myself, have never had issues with stored green teas. As a matter of fact, I have noticed very little if any deterioration in teas that are anywhere from 1 1/2-2 years old and have even had teas that are around 3 or 4 years old that were still fantastic though perhaps not quite as vibrant at times. Some can go even longer. Also, you may be aware of this, but aged green tea is kind of becoming a more widely known thing in certain parts of the tea world. I’ve even heard of people storing green teas for a decade or longer before drinking them.
I actually hadn’t heard of aged green tea being a thing! My experiences suggest that it could definitely be pretty successful – and I’m not even storing things properly. I’ll have to look into that (aged greens, not proper storage – that’s far too much effort for me).
I know that some of the older green teas I’ve had have definitely changed from their original profile (this tea being one of them) – oftentimes, some of the delicate sweetness is gone or a bit more muted, but what remains is not necessarily inferior, just different. Armed with this new knowledge of aged green teas, I may approach my older samples a bit differently. Thanks for the info!
No problem.
You make a great point in this review, Kittena. I’ve long argued that green teas of decent or better quality that have been properly stored do not deteriorate as much or as rapidly as many would have us believe. I, myself, have never had issues with stored green teas. As a matter of fact, I have noticed very little if any deterioration in teas that are anywhere from 1 1/2-2 years old and have even had teas that are around 3 or 4 years old that were still fantastic though perhaps not quite as vibrant at times. Some can go even longer. Also, you may be aware of this, but aged green tea is kind of becoming a more widely known thing in certain parts of the tea world. I’ve even heard of people storing green teas for a decade or longer before drinking them.
I actually hadn’t heard of aged green tea being a thing! My experiences suggest that it could definitely be pretty successful – and I’m not even storing things properly. I’ll have to look into that (aged greens, not proper storage – that’s far too much effort for me).
I know that some of the older green teas I’ve had have definitely changed from their original profile (this tea being one of them) – oftentimes, some of the delicate sweetness is gone or a bit more muted, but what remains is not necessarily inferior, just different. Armed with this new knowledge of aged green teas, I may approach my older samples a bit differently. Thanks for the info!
No problem.