Can this tea be saved?
Some time In 2012 I purchased a puerh cake from Essence of Tea. I labeled it 2001 Jin Chang Hao Yiwu but I suspect I mislabeled the canister and it’s actually 2011. I was very careless about storage - I put the cake in its wrapper in a brown paper lunch bag. After that it spent several years in a kitchen cabinet before I moved it to a plastic bin. Now it looks clean but the predominant flavor of the tea is mint - and I really don’t like it. The brewed tea actually reminds me of mouthwash. Is there anything I can do to it now, or any way I can brew it, that would allow more subtle flavors to come through? Or is it destined for the compost heap?
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- Location: Memphis, TN
A while back I had two cakes of sheng (pretty young, like 2007 and 2012 I think) stored in a small cardboard box. Some other cardboard boxes filled with teas sealed in foil bags and the like were stacked on top of that box, along with another cardboard box that had an unsealed cake of shou. Things were arranged like that for several years.
A couple years ago I tried one of the sheng cakes and was extremely surprised to find that the first couple steeps had a distinct shou flavor. Tried the other cake, same thing. The shou flavor went away after a couple steeps in both cases (leaving, also to my surprise, teas that were aging nicely despite my negligence).
I separated the boxes so neither is in contact with the other, tried the cakes a few months later, and no real trace of the shou flavor remained. (I've long since switched my puerh/liubao storage to ceramic crocks, but am keeping this cardboard box experiment going because why not.)
It sounds like you've already moved the tea to a better storage location. I'd check back in a few months / 6 months / a year and see what it's up to.
Worth keeping in mind as well that mint/camphor flavors are somewhat common/desired in well-aged teas but that doesn't sound like what you're describing here really.
A couple years ago I tried one of the sheng cakes and was extremely surprised to find that the first couple steeps had a distinct shou flavor. Tried the other cake, same thing. The shou flavor went away after a couple steeps in both cases (leaving, also to my surprise, teas that were aging nicely despite my negligence).
I separated the boxes so neither is in contact with the other, tried the cakes a few months later, and no real trace of the shou flavor remained. (I've long since switched my puerh/liubao storage to ceramic crocks, but am keeping this cardboard box experiment going because why not.)
It sounds like you've already moved the tea to a better storage location. I'd check back in a few months / 6 months / a year and see what it's up to.
Worth keeping in mind as well that mint/camphor flavors are somewhat common/desired in well-aged teas but that doesn't sound like what you're describing here really.
if you think it could be dried out, try hydrating it (@~70% RH) for a few months. maybe other flavors will pop.
Personally, I would brew the tea and add in an additional bag of peppermint leaves..... promotes digestion... or add some bergamot and make Earl Grey Puerh.... hahahaha ..... otherwise, it's destined for the compost.Janice wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:01 pmSome time In 2012 I purchased a puerh cake from Essence of Tea. I labeled it 2001 Jin Chang Hao Yiwu but I suspect I mislabeled the canister and it’s actually 2011. I was very careless about storage - I put the cake in its wrapper in a brown paper lunch bag. After that it spent several years in a kitchen cabinet before I moved it to a plastic bin. Now it looks clean but the predominant flavor of the tea is mint - and I really don’t like it. The brewed tea actually reminds me of mouthwash. Is there anything I can do to it now, or any way I can brew it, that would allow more subtle flavors to come through? Or is it destined for the compost heap?
Cheers!
Time and good clean storage could take care of it - like others have suggested. Breaking up the cake and storing in a tea jar/container could speed things up. Personally I would store it and just forget about it for a while. It's certainly worth a try for a 2001 cake like that.
Me too specially in the permanent summer weather (temperature wise) of the office where I work.
Toss it in and see if it will do its thing. You may want to plastic the top of the tin to help keep the moisture in.
Yes. You don't have to worry about it touching the tea.
When the pack eventually dries out, you can recharge it by putting it in an airtight container with some water (but not in/touching the water). For me it usually takes a few weeks to fully recharge.