There are several factors that contribute to a good cup of tea, but
this can be a moot point if you haven't gone to the trouble of storing
your tea properly. Tea is a somewhat delicate product. There are many
varieties that don't age well and a few that do, but any one will
produce a better cup if you keep in mind a few basic rules for
storage.

There are essentially five main environmental factors that can
contribute to the ruin of an improperly stored tea. Among these are
air, light, heat and humidity. Perhaps it's oversimplifying a bit, but
these potential pitfalls can be addressed by storing your tea in a
sealed container in a cool, dark, dry place.

Of course, how you store your own tea at home is irrelevant if the tea
has not been properly stored before you purchase it. While buyers
can't have much insight into storage methods from the time the tea was
harvested, you should be wary of loose leaf tea stored in glass
containers on store shelves, as is sometimes the case.

All you have to do is take a whiff. Dont stick your nose directly
over or into the container. Use your hand in a waving cupping motion
over the open container to move ordor to your nostrils on the side. I
kinda like glass jars. I look for the one that is full. If it is
partially empty shake it and make sure nothing sticks to the glass or
lid. I also like to see the leaf. Light penetration by
incandenscence isnt the same as sunlight.

Jim

Dennis Pang wrote:
...duh...

On Jul 3, 2:09 pm, Space Cowboy ix.netcom.com> wrote:

Apart from the aesthetics of glass I question this advice on factual
grounds:

a) When very dry - as it should be - tea can "stick" to glass due to
static charge. This may be confused with tea sticking because it is
very damp.

b) Tea leaf, be it green, black or white, retains residual
chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a light excited photochemical. Absorbed
light causes flavor changes (particularly metallic taints) in stored
tea mediated through residual chlorophyll and its degradation
products. Chorophyll absorbs light strongly in the Red (650-680 nm)
and Near Infra Red (700-706 nm) wavelengths. Incandescent light is
particularly rich in these Red and NIR wavelengths. Hence
incandescent light is actually worse than sunlight in promoting light
induced quality loss (LIQL).

Glass is an insulator for static charge. You might get a charge from
the amount of dust but not the glass. Another purchase 'aesthetic'
worth noting. Clumping is an indicator of high humidity. I meant to
say fluorescence which is why most office plants dont thrive. What is
dangerous to any remaining cell in tea is heat. Glass is not a good
heat insulator. Once again not a problem in most AC retail. I think
the reason glass isnt used more often is fragility and weight. Its a
given you can seal glass just as well as any other container. If I'm
an unscrupulous tea seller I probably dont want you to see what you
are buying. I can throw fresh leaves in on the top of a tin and tell
you to smell the ordor. In Chinatown tin and glass are used mainly
for storage. I prefer glass for the...

On Jul 4, 9:46 pm, Space Cowboy ix.netcom.com> wrote:

icetea gmail.com> writes:

Can you say anything more about this place, or are you sworn to secrecy?

But upstate NY isn't Antarctica. Surely it's warm enough for a good
part of the year?

On Jul 4, 11:20 pm, Lewis Perin panix.com> wrote:

Nigel wrote:

Just want to support Nigel's point with insight from another field where
I've had some experience: document conservation, including prints and
photographs. The spectral tail of ordinary yellowish incandescent bulbs
still contains a bit of UV radiation; halogen bulbs much more so.
Fluorescent bulbs generate very nearly 100%% UV light inside the
envelope; this is down-converted by phosphors to the visible range.
Since the phosphors are efficient UV absorbers, fluorescent bulbs can
emit less UV light than incandescents, even though they are much richer
in the blue. (In fact, it's the departure from the "black body" spectrum
that makes fluorescent lamps so efficient.) So conservators may use UV
screens on both types of lamp.

A scientific tall tale. No more than heat perse, humidity perse,
ordor perse. In fact anyone of these is worse than light perse IMHO.
Both of you are arguing what is known to happen on the bush ie
photochemistry. It doesnt continue after the leaf is kill-green by
whatever treatment. The reason we know that is because tea doesnt
decay because of any active leftover membrane organics. When the leaf
falls off the tree it stops turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Spores,yeast,germs in the compost turns oxygen into carbon dioxide.
Your double slit infintestimal taste differences could as well be a
positive when the wave becomes a photon. Tea vendors are jumping on
the tea in glass bandwagon for product presentation. Assuming pyrex
doesnt filter your nasty wavelengths you can see if BLC is...

On Jul 7, 2:40 pm, Space Cowboy ix.netcom.com> wrote:
 >Tea vendors are jumping on

That my be so but I would tend to avoid tea vendors who put "product
presentation" above maintaining quality.
Keeping tea in a light impervious container does not preclude your
opening it to evaluate the contents before buying.

Nigel at Teacraft