If the Shou Pu'er Tea has been stored for 10 years without developing mold or undergoing spoilage, it is typically still safe to consume. Shou Pu'er tea aged for over a decade can still be consumed, but only if it has been properly preserved. If the tea shows signs of mold, off-flavors, or decay during storage, it should not be consumed.
Can Shou Pu'er Tea Aged for Over Ten Years Still Be Consumed?
When stored under suitable conditions, Shou Pu'er tea can be kept long-term and can still be enjoyed after 10 years. There are three basic requirements for storing Shou Pu'er tea: the environment must be free of odors, relatively dry, and have air circulation.
If the storage environment lacks air circulation and has high humidity, there is a significant risk of the tea developing mold. Once the tea becomes moldy or spoils, it should not be consumed. Storing Shou Pu'er tea is straightforward; simply keep it in its original packaging.
After being stored for ten years, Shou Pu'er tea will develop a richer, smoother flavor and a more intense aroma. Drinking it will leave a lasting aftertaste, and its value may increase several times over. Generally speaking, when Shou Pu'er tea has been stored for 10 years, it reaches its peak condition and is at its best for drinking. It is not recommended to continue aging it beyond this point.
Should Pu'er Tea Be Stored in an Airtight or Ventilated Condition?
Professionals in China conducted an experiment using two different storage conditions as a basis for testing: ventilation and airtightness. Four batches of tea from the same year and production process were divided and stored in four different ways: vacuum-sealed, sealed in bags, sealed in bags with periodic oxygen addition, and naturally stored. All were placed in a suitable tea warehouse for storage, and after four years, they were tested and compared using the same brewing conditions.
The results showed that the tea stored in a vacuum had a golden-red infusion color, which was the best among the samples, and had undergone excellent aroma transformation. However, there was a downside: the bitterness and astringency did not diminish and were the most pronounced among the samples.
The tea stored in sealed bags also had a golden-red infusion color and good aroma transformation, second only to the vacuum-sealed sample. Importantly, the bitterness and astringency were significantly reduced, resulting in a smoother, more mellow taste and a noticeable aftertaste.
The Shou Pu'er tea stored in sealed bags with periodic oxygen addition did not perform as well in terms of color, with only a golden-yellow infusion, and the aroma and bitterness transformations were less than ideal. The naturally stored tea performed the worst, with a golden-yellow infusion color and almost no remaining tea aroma.
This experiment concludes that while Shou Pu'er tea stored in a vacuum performs well in terms of color, the taste is not ideal. In contrast, Shou Pu'er tea stored in sealed bags achieves the best results, both in terms of reducing bitterness and astringency and enhancing the infusion color and taste. Therefore, Shou Pu'er tea is best stored in a sealed condition. However, this does not mean completely airtight; the environment needs to be ventilated to meet the storage principles mentioned earlier!