Selecting & Storing Tea
Selecting Tea
A good portion of the fun of enjoying tea is derived from the challenge of selecting the leaf that you will be steeping.
Tea Trekker suggests that tea enthusiasts explore two or more teas from each classification of tea and become familiar with the flavors, textures, and aromas of each type of leaf manufacture. In Asia, it is not uncommon to meet people who spend a lot of time studying tea and all of the minutia that surrounds tea drinking, tea culture and tea history. It is similar to wine connoisseurs who become fascinated by all things wine – the more you know and the more you learn about tea the more there is to get out of the experience of selecting and drinking tea.
Steep our teas according to the instructions that we provide, and keep notes on what you like and don’t like. Some teas require more supervision during steeping than others, and others are more sensitive to the temperature of the steeping water.
You will quickly learn whether you enjoy just the oxidized teas – such as black and oolong,
only the fresh-tasting, astringent greens, yellows, and whites,
the complex, dark and highly oxidized oolongs, the earthy, full-flavored Pu-erhs,
or all tea, of every stripe and color.
If you are always on the run, choose an easy steeper from the black tea class, such as Keemun Congou or a lovely Yunnan black, and leave the finicky Darjeelings for another time.
If your day has periods of quiet time, a sweet and delicate green or white tea
should add pleasure to contemplative moments.
Love to socialize with friends over tea? A distinctive yan cha oolong or Pu-erh is perfect for an interactive gong fu tea-drinking session that everyone will enjoy participating in.
Tea in most cultures is a social beverage, although it also serves as a comfort
when enjoyed alone during quiet times of contemplation
or can serve as a get-up-and-go tonic first thing in the morning.
Whenever and however you take your tea, select it with care and thoughtfulness
and it will reward you with a thoroughly enjoyable experience every time.
Storing Tea
Our premium Tea Trekker tea will stay fresh and sound for several weeks to several months in its original packet, depending on the type of tea.
For storage longer than a month we recommend storing your tea in clean, air-tight tins or pottery or glass containers.
We offer a much more in-depth look at tea storage, incuding a breakdown by type of tea, plus a discussion of ‘resting’ and ‘ageing’.
Follow this link to our page from the “About Our Tea” section.
Generally, keep your tea:
in a dry place away from excessive heat, direct light, strong odors
in a cool place but not in the refrigerator or in the freezer (an exception to this are some Japanese green teas)