Omkar writes:

[...]
Now, in early February, I ordered a bunch of first and second flush
samples from Upton. I'm pretty happy with some of the second flushes,
but the first flushes seem to have lost potency just as my Risheehat
did. I thought this might be the quality of the tea; luckily, I'd
ordered the Risheehat again as a check. Sure enough, it tasted and
smelled like it did after a few months with me last time. I'm not sure
what to make of this, since the tea itself is around a year old at
this point.

A lot of people believe that second flushes, like many black teas,
need several months storage before they reach their peak. I've never
heard anyone say this about first flushes.

So here are my questions:

1. Is this shelf life the best I can expect, or is there something I
can do to improve my storage? A few months seems a bit short to me.

How about storing the tea in an airtight container with a desiccant?

[...]
I'd also be interested in similar information for Assams or Nilgiris
if anyone has it. I have family in Bangalore so if anyone knows a good
Nilgiri, even if it's only sold locally, I'd appreciate the tip.

I've never been to Bangalore, but I was in various cities in Tamil
Nadu a month or so ago. I was amazed by how hard it was to find
Nilgiri tea for sale, even generic blends, let alone single estate
teas.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html