On Mar 21, 6:57*pm, Lewis Perin wrote:
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 /

Dear friends,

There is a lot of confusion regarding the expiry date of Tea.

Take this case :- Estates in India mark there bulk package as "best
before one year from the date of manufacture", these packages are then
exported to UK, after being sold in the auction 2 months from date of
mfg. Tea lands in Uk when 3 months Old, and may be offered as early as
when 4 months old to 15 months old (awaiting the next seasons tea of
similar quality before exhausting the stock), with a marking on the
pack "Best before 12 months from the date of packing" !!
Take another case :- Some countries have markings of "Best Before One/
Two and even Three years" available in the market.
And yet another case :- In some countries Tea is included in the "list
of food products exempted from declaring expiry date".
Icing on the cake :- How about Pu'reh? Old is Gold. The older it gets,
the more premium it commands.
My personal experience :- I have some "Golden Tips" from Langharjan
which are nearly 15 years old. Its now gone flat (I suspect its due to
improper storage. We have moved house thrice, and things have not been
very orderly), but I hang on to it now just for its sheer looks. Its
pure gold!

Proffesionaly speaking, over a period of time, Tea becomes weak in the
following order:-
First to go is the "Character", followed by "Flavour", followed by
"Briskness", "Strength" and then "Colour".

For all practical purpose, store in an air tight container,
prefferably Stainless Steel or good quality Tin or Alluminium, away
from moisture and odours. If you need to sun at all, sun with the lid
open.

Nigel? Pl. do give your inputs.

Tea Cheers!
Jayesh S Pandya.