Do you think black tea can be matured?

I think black tea is better when it is fresh, especially in the case of Darjeeling.

I think this is a good question. While I agree with sa11 that a Darjeeling is better when fresh, Panxi Curly does smell much more attractively when it is older. Now they are both black teas, I suspect it has to do with Darjeeling being much lighter fermented than Panxi Curly. That brings us to a second question — does tea that are more fermented mature, and those less fermented don’t?

The maturing of tea to me is a subject that still needs much study. For a start, the term “maturing” may mean very differently for a pu’er than for a white tea, or for a black tea such as Panxi Curly, in terms of what actually takes place bio-chemically in the tealeaves during the process.

I think maybe most black teas do not mature because most are not the correct quality for maturing. Perhaps poor handling or packaging. I tasted very good Taiwan black tea 5 years old.

How can we expect hongcha to evolve over time if stored in ambient conditions (in North American temperate climate) in a tea pouch ?

In general and also specifically in the case of Fujian Min Hong gong fu cha.

For teas in general, can we say that a final baking or firing step in the processing results in better chance of ageing well ? Thus lowering moisture and increasing chance of successful maturing ? Traditional Wuyi style oolongs and roasted Taïwan oolongs being classic examples. I’ve also heard that the amount of tea stored (25 g vs 500 g or more) can change outcome of taste.

In my experience, green tea keeps its fresh uniqueness about 1 year before fading aroma and becoming grassy or hay-like. Oolongs that have a thorough baking (Wuyi-type) can age gracefully over 5-6 years to develop incense-like or berry tastes. What about hong cha ? Specifically Fujian Hong Gong Fu teas.

@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.