Have you ever noticed that unless you buy tea from a mall or supermarket, generally when we go to a tea shop or tea house to buy tea, we don't see an expiration date.

Is it because tea doesn't have a shelf life, or is it a "three-no product"? Actually, it's mainly because most tea sold now is loose-leaf tea, where the seller weighs out how much the customer wants to buy. This is probably a market issue. But even so, you still need to understand the shelf life of tea.

Green Tea

Green tea has the shortest shelf life. Because it is unfermented, it requires higher storage demands. Generally, at room temperature, its shelf life is about 1 year. If stored improperly, it may start to turn yellow and develop an off-flavor in just 8 or 9 months. Of course, if you're wealthy and have a dedicated refrigerator for storing green tea, the shelf life can be extended to about 18 months.

Black Tea

Black tea is fully fermented and has a relatively long shelf life,它可以保存2年以上。可以保存2年以上。However, even if stored quite properly, it will often develop an off-flavor after more than 2 years, so try not to wait until after 2 years to drink it. After all, regardless of whether it has spoiled, if the taste has changed, there's no need to drink it anymore.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is semi-fermented. However, the shelf life of lightly oxidized types like Tieguanyin or Taiwan's Wenshan Pouchong, which undergo little or no roasting, is not as long as one might think. Generally, if refrigerated, they last about 18 months. Those that are roasted, like Wuyi Rock Tea, can still be drinkable even after 2 years.

White Tea

For white tea, which has the saying "1 year tea, 3 year medicine, 7 year treasure," what is a shelf life? Haven't heard of it. White tea has the characteristic of improving with age. The older the storage year, the more its value and taste increase rather than decrease—this, of course, refers to proper storage. If stored improperly, even the best tea becomes trash.

Dark Tea (Hei Cha)

Dark tea also has the characteristic of improving with age. In a clean, damp-free, and odor-free environment, it can be stored long-term. However, since it undergoes post-fermentation, it doesn't have the infinite potential of raw Pu-erh or white tea. Generally, for loose-leaf dark tea, the flavor peaks around 3 to 5 years. For compressed tea, 10 to 15 years is about the limit; storing it longer doesn't significantly increase its value.

Yellow Tea

As the most low-key and least noticeable tea, yellow tea undergoes one additional step called "men huang" (sealing yellow) compared to green tea. Its shelf life doesn't improve much because of this process. About 1 year is roughly it.

Pu-erh Tea

As the most热门的热门的热门的 Pu-erh tea in recent years, its characteristic of improving with age has been intensely "hyped" by collectors. For ripe (shou) Pu-erh, the general shelf life is over 15 years. For raw (sheng) Pu-erh, if stored properly, it seems no one has heard of it expiring; it only becomes more fragrant with age and increasingly valuable.

As a tea lover, you must be clear about the shelf life of tea. Otherwise, if you spend a small fortune on half a pound of premium West Lake Longjing, save it舍不得喝 for a long time舍不得喝, and after a year it turns yellow and develops an off-flavor, then it will be too late to cry.

Of course, many factors affect the shelf life of tea; what is mentioned here is only under常规情况常规情况. If you insist on作死作死 by storing tea with damp and strongly odorous items, then in less than half a month, your tea might be beyond recognition.