@Herb, That is a very good question, in that it actually covers a least studied and most misunderstood issue in black tea.
Generally, most people think that black tea goes stale in a few years. Their experience tells them so. That really is the case for people who have bought teas in the tins or scooped from the big cans in the traditional teashop setting. Most of my Indian and English tea trader friends think tea goes bad in three to four years, because they really have such inventory there in their warehouse. That is one reason there are so many different flavoured tea products in the West.
In real traditional quality products that are properly stored, however, black tea matured beautifully. In your case of Minhong, finer ones actually gives a sweet chocolate smell that is even more chocolate than real chocolate. The taste all be deeper and rounder.
The final baking of any teas, oolong or hong cha, has to be executed properly according to the tea and at the right moment to maximise that effect, or not to ruin it.
Normal temperate climate is ideal for maturing most oolongs, white teas and hongcha. A good Minhong shows good signs of maturity even at one~two years. A good Phoenix at 2~3. As for Wuyi, since most selections out there are over fired, it would require longer years for its fire to tone down for batter taste. As to how long, it really is dependent on the quality of the fire. Good ones can be very delectable even at one year.
There is a lot more to this topic than can be covered in a short answer like this. I’ll see if I have time to write about it in a proper article.
