I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

I have teas that are 30 years past expiry that taste fine because of
other reasons like proper storage. If the packaging is properly
sealed tea tins then don't worry. You shouldn't be able to smell any
tea through cardboard and cellophane packaging. This packaging
normally has the sealed aluminum foil for the tea. The expiry date is
money in your pocket. The expiry date is a government regulation.

Jim

mario wrote:
> I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
> i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

In article .com>,
says...
> I have teas that are 30 years past expiry that taste fine because of
> other reasons like proper storage. If the packaging is properly
> sealed tea tins then don't worry. You shouldn't be able to smell any
> tea through cardboard and cellophane packaging. This packaging
> normally has the sealed aluminum foil for the tea. The expiry date is
> money in your pocket. The expiry date is a government regulation.

Cardboard package has plastic traslucent foil, and the foil is intact,
but i can smell the tea. However, it is a vague odor. The place where
tea was stored in, is moisty :/
Anyway, I`m going to drink it, thanks for the advice.

On Jun 2, 2:44 pm, mario > wrote:
> I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
> i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

If there´s some taste left it´s safe.

@ Jim, what kind of tea are you talking about ? Pu-Erh or some heavily
roasted Oolong ?
I have yet to try Mike´s Nitrogen technique, since my Darjeelings,
especially those FFs don´t make it beyond one or two years, despite
being safely stored in special bags, perfect humidity, temperature,
everything. They just loose to much of what makes them Darjeelings in
the first place. Big sniff.

Karsten [still stuck]

On Jun 2, 7:44 am, mario > wrote:
> I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
> i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

Actually, there are a few teas that taste better when they're stale-
if they start out with tastes of cigarette or tobacco smoke, or fishy,
or like fresh manure or library paste, they can sometimes be redeemed
by being put in the back of the cupboard for a few months or
years. Toci

On Jun 2, 7:44 am, mario > wrote:
> I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
> i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

You might as well give it a taste. If it still tastes good, drink
it. If not, ditch it.

I started drinking Darjeeling estate teas four years ago when my local
tea shoppe opened. For the past few months I've been drinking
Darjeeling that is stored in clay pots I bought 20 years ago. It has
the Pure Darjeeling Quality Mark issued by the Tea Board of India.
This is a commerical grade OP not estate. I've just about given up
finding better than average estate Darjeeling in the US given we get
the German leftovers. I'm going to try some 2006 second flush and
autumnal this week along with 2007 first flush in a couple of weeks.
I'm not holding my breath. I live in low 10% humidity and have a cool
dry basement facing North for indirect sunlight. It's a permanent 60F
all year round with heating and ac. My 20-30 year old stuff across
the board is in tins. One of my best I rediscovered recently is cheap
loose PooNee that doesn't look like, smell like, taste like any loose
Puer I have today. Some would call that aging but I think a good
example of the crop in the mid eighties. It has a chocolate/coffee
taste with peppery finish. The soup texture is thin with multiple
steeps. Okay under torture I might admit some aging because my only
surviving mental note is like the ashtray,shoeleather taste of my
cheap 2004 Xiaguan shu . I probably won't be around in 20 years to
see if ashes turn to pepper and leather to coffee/chocolate.
Cardboard packaging has essentially replaced tins in the past 10
years. I bought a 2kilo aluminum foil bag of Ceylon Brooke Bond
RIckshaw for $6 over the weekend. It'll keep forever in my
conditions. I visit my relatives in the South ever so often and I'd
seriously consider a cool dry freezer for the long haul especially
when you buy more than you drink. So when I bring up these talking
points it is based on my experience and not idle argument. I'd also
have to consider the Nitrogen rig because that is my favorite form of
commercial packaging.

Jim

PS For $1200 you can buy an electronic control KimChi storage vault
at a local Korean store. If something can store cabbage it can store
tea. My favorite item a $200 electronic controlled pressure
cooker.

wrote:
> @ Jim, what kind of tea are you talking about ? Pu-Erh or some heavily
> roasted Oolong ?
> I have yet to try Mike´s Nitrogen technique, since my Darjeelings,
> especially those FFs don´t make it beyond one or two years, despite
> being safely stored in special bags, perfect humidity, temperature,
> everything. They just loose to much of what makes them Darjeelings in
> the first place. Big sniff.
>
> Karsten [still stuck]

Jim,

I stored all those teas I brought back last time in special heavy duty
bags.
The bags are not just some cheap aluminized mylar, but consist of a
pretty thick and stiff aluminum foil, sandwiched between two layers of
PE to make them heat sealable. The teas however didn´t make it. Since
I brought back more than I could possibly drink in two years I really
tried my best to make them last. As mentioned before I´m a little
obessed with aging pipe tobaccos, and they all benefit from the way I
store them, but keeping those teas, especially my beloved Darjeelings
alive hasn´t worked out so far. Another thing I tried with Oolongs but
not on DJs so far is reroasting them. It worked beautifully. I really
have to try it with DJs, nothing to loose once they´re stale.
I also gotta get one of those nitrogen rigs these days.

PS: I envy you for your aged leaf.

Karsten [Rose Congue in tazza]








On Jun 4, 5:00 pm, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> I started drinking Darjeeling estate teas four years ago when my local
> tea shoppe opened. For the past few months I've been drinking
> Darjeeling that is stored in clay pots I bought 20 years ago. It has
> the Pure Darjeeling Quality Mark issued by the Tea Board of India.
> This is a commerical grade OP not estate. I've just about given up
> finding better than average estate Darjeeling in the US given we get
> the German leftovers. I'm going to try some 2006 second flush and
> autumnal this week along with 2007 first flush in a couple of weeks.
> I'm not holding my breath. I live in low 10% humidity and have a cool
> dry basement facing North for indirect sunlight. It's a permanent 60F
> all year round with heating and ac. My 20-30 year old stuff across
> the board is in tins. One of my best I rediscovered recently is cheap
> loose PooNee that doesn't look like, smell like, taste like any loose
> Puer I have today. Some would call that aging but I think a good
> example of the crop in the mid eighties. It has a chocolate/coffee
> taste with peppery finish. The soup texture is thin with multiple
> steeps. Okay under torture I might admit some aging because my only
> surviving mental note is like the ashtray,shoeleather taste of my
> cheap 2004 Xiaguan shu . I probably won't be around in 20 years to
> see if ashes turn to pepper and leather to coffee/chocolate.
> Cardboard packaging has essentially replaced tins in the past 10
> years. I bought a 2kilo aluminum foil bag of Ceylon Brooke Bond
> RIckshaw for $6 over the weekend. It'll keep forever in my
> conditions. I visit my relatives in the South ever so often and I'd
> seriously consider a cool dry freezer for the long haul especially
> when you buy more than you drink. So when I bring up these talking
> points it is based on my experience and not idle argument. I'd also
> have to consider the Nitrogen rig because that is my favorite form of
> commercial packaging.
>
> Jim
>
> PS For $1200 you can buy an electronic control KimChi storage vault
> at a local Korean store. If something can store cabbage it can store
> tea. My favorite item a $200 electronic controlled pressure
> cooker.
>
> wrote:
> > @ Jim, what kind of tea are you talking about ? Pu-Erh or some heavily
> > roasted Oolong ?
> > I have yet to try Mike´s Nitrogen technique, since my Darjeelings,
> > especially those FFs don´t make it beyond one or two years, despite
> > being safely stored in special bags, perfect humidity, temperature,
> > everything. They just loose to much of what makes them Darjeelings in
> > the first place. Big sniff.
>
> > Karsten [still stuck]

mario > wrote:
>I found some black Milford Earl Grey tea that was best before 1999. So,
>i wonder if there are some reasons for not drinking it ?

Try it. It will probably taste stale, and also the bergamot flavour will
have changed as well.

When tea gets old, most of the lighter and more delicate flavours disappear,
and the bitterness and tannic flavours remain behind. Because the Earl
Gray is also flavoured with bergamot, though, you have the additional change
to the bergamot flavour. If the original tea was overly soaked with bergamot,
like some Earl Greys are, it might be quite nice once it's lost some of its
flavour. If it started out as a good tea, it's probably mostly bitter and
stale. Try it and see.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In a couple of years when I move from my tea sarcophagus to the coast
I'm planning on a wake.

Jim

wrote:
> PS: I envy you for your aged leaf.
>
> Karsten [Rose Congue in tazza]