When Should this Tea be Drunk?

As with many of the particulars about traditional foods and drink, the how’s and why’s of tea production, storage, and drinking are not universally black and white. As we at Tea Trekker continue to learn more of the vast detail and nuance that comprise the fascinating world of tea, we now know that the one-size-fits-all answers that we learned about tea in the 1970’s ( and earlier) were only a very small part of the story of tea.

For example, many tea drinkers still believe that all tea should be drunk fresh and young, while others think that tea ‘keeps forever.’ In truth, neither of these statements is right.

So let’s explore some of the tea-keeping knowledge that we have learned on our tea sourcing trips to Asia:

• Some teas are meant to be drunk right away when they are fresh and young.

• Other teas benefit from being rested before being drunk.

• Still other teas are more highly prized after they have been carefully stored and aged.

Understanding when a tea should be drunk will greatly enhance your tea drinking pleasure. Young tea kept too long will no longer be a ‘rose in bloom’ while an aged oolong can introduce tea drinkers to new levels of flavor complexity, refinement and style.

It is important that tea enthusiasts think about tea in the same way that we think about other beverages such as beer, wine, whiskies, brandies, etc., and develop the sensitivity about when to drink a tea as well as when to purchase a tea. When a tea was made, when it was purchased and when it should be drunk are three different facets of tea knowledge that enthusiastic tea drinkers pay attention to.

What is new or young tea?

Tea that is manufactured in any given season of each year is ‘new’ tea for awhile. Some teas are best drunk young, such as most green teas, white and yellow teas, and some black teas too. New tea is prized for its fresh, youthful vigor and sweetness, or in some cases grassy, vegetal astringency.

What is rested tea ?

Rested tea is tea that has been ‘stored’ for several months to a year or more for best drinking. Rested tea is not the same thing as aged tea, but simply tea that has been put aside to benefit from a little maturing. Many Asian tea connoisseurs prefer to ‘rest’ certain new harvest teas before drinking them, such as some green, white, and oolong teas. A short resting period, if it is deemed appropriate, allows the tea to lose its sharpness and rough characteristic. After resting, the flavor elements ‘come together’ with more harmonious appeal. Oolong teas progress through a long rested stage before they are considered ‘aged.’

New harvest Japanese green tea powder – matcha – is a good case in point. Many Chanoyu teachers purchase new matcha each spring but let the tea rest until the fall before using it. This allows the tea to develop a rich, cohesive taste and focused flavor without the harshness that can be present in newly-made matcha.

What is aged tea?

In Asia, aged tea is relatively easy to find, albeit proportionate in cost to its age. There are no hard and fast rules as to how old tea must be to be considered ‘aged,’ but what we have seen for sale in Asia suggests that tea needs to be 10 years of age before it qualifies as ‘aged.’ Aged teas can be 20, 30, 40 and more years of age. These rare beauties must be stored under good preservation conditions so that the tea can rest, change, and become more complex and astonishing in flavor with time. Do not confuse aged tea with ‘old tea.’ Old tea is just that – tea that is old, past-its-prime, lifeless, flavorless and not worth drinking. Not every tea can age well: oolongs, Pu-erh and black teas will age successfully, although oolongs age differently and require different storage conditions than sheng Pu-erh ( discussed below). Tea for aging is chosen based on qualities that the tea possesses when it is young. Aging tea is about future potential, and the young tea must show signs that it is able to fulfill the promise that it will mature and develop into something even more wonderful. Tea that is of poor quality or disappointing in flavor when it is young will not improve with age.

Here are a few guidelines organized by class of tea:

• Black tea – different types can be drunk young or aged. Black tea is able to retain its flavor and aroma for many years, particularly orthodox black tea. These teas, made from full, long leaves, can age and transform into a more flavorful and rich cup after being kept in good storage conditions. (This does not mean that a package of supermarket black tea that has been hiding in the back of your pantry for years will still be tasty! )

• Oolong tea – oolong teas represent the highest art of tea making, and the topic of oolong tea is vast. This includes the choice of young versus aged oolong. In essence, different oolongs can be drunk young, rested or aged. Aging is a tool that allows the tea to mature, mellow, and develop complexity and finesse in taste (similarly to aging fine wine). To be successfully aged the tea must be stored dry and sealed, away from humidity. Depending on the style of oolong ( semiball-rolled, leafy, or strip style ) some new teas are very ‘green’ in style and offer fresh, bright flavors and intense, sweet and floral aromatics. Other oolongs are more subdued, but reveal rich fruity flavors and aromas. The degree of roasting ( zero, light, medium, or heavy) will vary with the style of oolong. Medium-roast teas are usually drunk right away or can be rested for 1-2 years. Heavy roast oolongs are often rested for 2+ years before drinking, as the flavor of the roast can overwhelm the flavor of the leaf in newly made tea. Oolongs can age for 40 and more years under good storage and with proper periodic re-roasting to eliminate any moisture build-up in the leaf. Some tea connoisseurs believe the ‘older the better’ with oolongs (and Pu-erh). Aged oolongs may lose some of their floral and fruity ‘high note’ aromas as they age, but the reward is an increase in flavor depth and complexity, and a fine, smooth finish.

• Pu-erh tea – the aging and transformational changes of sheng Pu-erh tea are different from that of oolong tea, and the requirements of storage are different. Individual Pu-erh cakes or tuo-chas are loosely wrapped in thin paper, which allows the tea cakes to ‘breathe.’ Successful aging of sheng Pu-erh is the result of continued microbial activity in the presence of humidity in ambient temperature environments. The timeframe for maturing sheng Pu-erh is longer because it is a slow and steady process that requires years before the tea is ‘ready’ to drink. Sheng Pu-erh is generally considered ‘young’ up to 15 years of age and ‘aged’ after 15 years, although the longer the tea is aged the more delicious it will be. Sheng Pu-erh (naturally fermented) can be drunk either young or aged. When young, the tea is sweet, woodsy, and clean tasting, and filled with youthful vigor, but many consider this tea too ‘newborn’ to drink. When aged, sheng Pu-erh becomes rich, beefy, earthy and substantial, and then, and only then, does it truly express the wonderful and delicious nature of this naturally post-fermentated tea.

• Green tea (spring harvest) – spring green teas are considered premium green teas, and are made only once each year. These teas are prized for their fresh, youthful vigor and sweetness, or in some cases, pleasant, vegetal astringency. Green teas are at their sweetest, most tender and tastiest when drunk within the year that they are manufactured.
  
  Depending on many factors, some spring green teas will lose their fresh taste before spring arrives the following year. Other spring green teas hold-up and drink well past the next spring season. But in general, these teas are ready to drink when released and there is no good reason to wait to drink most of them. There are a few green teas that benefit from a resting period of 3 to 9 months. This rest will change aromatics, increase body, reduce astringency or make similar positive changes. If you acquire a new harvest green tea that is: too astringent, has too much charcoal-fired taste, is too vegetal, etc, store the tea in a tightly-sealed container and let it rest for several months. When you steep it again, you will be pleasantly surprised at how it has changed.

• White tea - Yin Zhen can be drunk new or can benefit from being rested. It is your choice as to how you prefer your white tea – fresh, new and bright or smooth, mouth-filling and softly mature. Bai Mudan, because of its highly exposed surface area, should generally be drunk within a year of manufacture.

• Yellow tea – best drunk new, but a bud-only yellow tea such as Mengding Mt. Snow Huang Ya ( Mengding Mt. Snow Buds) may show well after being rested. Careful storage is critical.