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How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:08 am
by klepto
I'm paranoid that war chest filled with oolong will go bad eventually. Once I forgot to properly seal up a 60 gram bag of some good quality Da Hong Pao
and I couldn't smell the leaves and it tasted flat. I have some Airscape containers and also gripstics
. Anyone know the answer to this?
Re: How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:28 pm
by Slurp
I imagine it depends on the amount of oxygen. In a ziploc-resealable package or airtight storage container teas seem to stay good after opening for a month or two, probably more if you're not opening it every day to brew a cup. Disclaimer: my observations are based on sencha, not oolong.
Re: How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:00 pm
by klepto
Slurp wrote: ↑Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:28 pm
I imagine it depends on the amount of oxygen. In a ziploc-resealable package or airtight storage container teas seem to stay good after opening for a month or two, probably more if you're not opening it every day to brew a cup. Disclaimer: my observations are based on sencha, not oolong.
I'll have to test it with some Gui Fei oolong, as I've had a 250g bag in my Airscape since Febuary. I hope it hasn't gone weak
. It will also tell me to bother buying anymore Airscape containers
Re: How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:17 pm
by debunix
Re: How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:49 am
by Baisao
A lot of oolongs get better with age, especially the darker ones like Da Hong Pao or Hong Shui dong ding. It’s not uncommon in Taiwan to find oolongs aging in thin plastic bags. We focus a lot on ideal storage scenarios like using special clay jars or vacuum sealing, but in practice a lot of very fine aged tea was treated carelessly.
The Gui Fei, however, is unlikely to age well. I would certainly vacuum seal it, remove the oxygen, or replace the oxygen with nitrogen.
As for green teas and green oolongs, I haven’t had one age well and feel that oxygen has a negative affect on the tea in mere weeks.
Re: How long does it take for oxygen to ruin tea?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:17 pm
by klepto
My Gui Fei had a gripstic on it, and it was inside a Airscape. I had some this morning and it is still great. I've had it since the start of February, so one of these solutions works well. I do have a very large bag of Oriental Beauty with a gripstic on it so I'll try that tomorrow and see if it held as it arrived in Feb too. Huzzah!!