This Green Tea Improves with Age is not an idea we expected! We opened our recent shipment of Heritage Green and were surprised by what we saw. The leaf was big and a bright fluorescent green. This differed from the tighter, darker leaf of previous shipments.

Comparison

We quickly whipped up a cup of both teas to compare the flavor.  The new, brighter green had a light, creamy taste. Our current tea was bolder, with a sweeter taste. (Make no mistake, both of these teas are delicious!) We WhatsApped Jason, our tea source, to confirm we got the right tea. We wanted to check that it was still coming from the Ancient Tea Trees. The new shipment was indeed from the Ancient Tea Trees, just like previous batches.

Ancient Tea Tree Tea Characteristics

Jason shared a few other points with me about our recent shipment of Heritage Green. All were good reminders when thinking about tea. This batch was picked in a different season, so the leaf color and flavor varied from previous pluckings. He said the flavor enhances with age. This makes sense. This Green Tea Improves with Age! As this shipment of green tea ages, it will darken and the flavor will become more complex and sweet, becoming more and more like our previous batches.

Terroir

These points about tea directly relate to terroir. Terroir is the concept that tea flavor is determined by where it comes from (much like wine). Terroir includes geography, soil, culture, when it’s picked, and climate.

Keep this in mind as you open a new bag of tea. Factors that affect terroir will impact tea flavor from batch to batch. This, however, is perhaps one of the best reasons you love tea in the first place. Enjoy tea nuances and appreciate that much thought and consideration goes into each cup of your tea!