How fast does green tea go stale?
Faster than almost anything else in the catalogue, and the answer changes what you should buy and in what quantity. It changes how much you should buy at a time, which is where most money on tea is wasted.
tea
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Sencha | Shou pu-erh (ripe) |
|---|---|---|
| Useful life | Months. Japanese green tea is at its best within a few. | Decades, and it improves. |
| Storage | Sealed, dark, cool. Refrigerate unopened. | Breathing, stable, away from odours. Never sealed. |
| How staling shows | Aroma fades first, then the colour dulls. | Not applicable — it changes rather than fades. |
| Buying quantity | Small and often. | Large, and keep it. |
The short answer
Buy green tea in quantities you will finish in months. Buying a large tin because it was better value is the most common way people waste money on tea.
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