This scenario might feel painfully familiar: you just received a tea package from overseas. Naturally, you are excited to try it. You open the package, steep a cup, and… it falls flat. Maybe the aroma isn't quite as vibrant as you'd hoped, or the flavors taste muted. Disappointed, you set it aside. Then, a few weeks later, when you almost forgot about this tea purchase, you decide to give it another shot and, this time, it's like an entirely different experience! The aroma is lively, the flavors are nuanced, and you wonder what changed.
This isn't a rare experience for those who love high-quality tea. In fact, it's a topic that comes up frequently in Western tea circles. People often report that teas seem to "wake up" after a bit of time in their new environment.
In this article, we'll explore why this happens, what teas seem to be most affected, and how you can give your tea the best chance to shine after its long trip.
No Hard Science, Just Shared Experiences
Let's start with setting things straight: today, to the best of our knowledge, there isn't any substantial scientific research on how long-distance travel affects tea. If you're hoping for a peer-reviewed study explaining why your tea tastes better after a few weeks on the shelf, you won't find one, at least not yet.
However, we have a wealth of experience from tea buffs from around the world. The phenomenon of tea benefiting from "resting" is a common topic of discussion in Western tea communities. And, as a result of these discussions, a range of theories has taken shape, some leaning toward the esoteric, others focusing on potential changes in tea's chemical balance.
In this article, we're going to rely on our personal observations and thoughts. While they are not backed by science due to the lack of research, it's a starting point for understanding why your tea might need time to recover from its travels. And, more importantly, it offers practical solutions so you can get the most out of your tea, no matter where it's come from or how far it's traveled.
After all, tea is as much about experience as it is about chemistry, and sometimes, our senses are our best tools.
How It Works And Why Tea Needs Time After Traveling
Interestingly, this phenomenon is an almost uniquely Western issue. Most Asian tea aficionados are not even aware that this issue exists. In tea-producing countries like China, Japan, and Vietnam, tea is typically consumed close to where it's made. The journey from farm to cup is much shorter and doesn't involve the long-haul shipping and dramatic environmental changes that occur when tea is imported overseas.
However, the situation is quite different for those who buy tea internationally. Most imported teas travel by air and the conditions they endure during transport are far from gentle. Cargo planes carry tea thousands of feet in the air, where the atmosphere is thinner, colder, and drier. While passenger compartments are pressurized and climate-controlled, the cargo hold is not always given the same treatment. Temperatures can drop significantly, and humidity levels often plummet.
These sudden, extreme temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure changes can be jarring for tea. Theories from the tea community suggest that these conditions could cause tea to go into a state of "shock."
What exactly does "shock" mean for tea? While we lack scientific studies to provide a detailed explanation, the idea is that environmental stress may temporarily alter how the tea's compounds interact. Teas are complex, containing aromatic oils, catechins, polyphenols, and other elements that create their flavor profile. When exposed to drastic changes, it's possible that these compounds shift slightly or become less expressive. The tea doesn't lose its inherent quality, but its flavor and aroma might seem muted until it has time to readjust to a stable, ambient environment.
Our experience shows that teas such as Sheng Pu-erh and Taiwanese High Mountain Oolongs are particularly sensitive to environmental changes. We suspect it is because these teas often have complex flavor profiles built on delicate balances of compounds.
Radical changes in environmental conditions during travel could easily throw that balance off, making the tea taste flat or dull upon first brewing. And just like a traveler recovering from jet lag, the tea may need some time to settle back into its best self.
Give Your Tea Time to Shine
If your tea has traveled a long way to reach you, it's worth giving it a little time to recover from the journey. When you receive a new shipment of tea, open the package to let the local air in and allow the tea to start adjusting to its new environment. Then, brew a cup to see how it tastes.
If the flavors seem muted or the aroma isn't as lively as you expected, don't give up on it right away. Instead, set the tea aside in suitable storage space: reasonably cool, dry, and away from strong odors. Let it rest for a week or two. Then try it again. You may find that the tea has regained its vibrancy.
Teas like sheng Pu-erh and Taiwanese High Mountain Oolongs, particularly sensitive to environmental changes, often benefit the most from this resting period. Pu-erh may benefit from even longer resting periods. But even if your tea isn't one of these varieties, giving it a little time can sometimes make a noticeable difference.
One of the theories says that you should let tea rest for the same time it spent traveling. While we don't know how much science there is to back up this particular theory, the idea reflects the importance of giving tea a chance to recover from its journey.
Regardless of the exact timeframe, allowing the tea to rest after traveling gives the tea leaves time to adjust to their new environment, ensuring that when you finally brew a cup, you're experiencing the tea at its full potential. The journey from origin to cup can be a bumpy one for tea, but with a bit of patience, you can help your leaves settle in and reveal their true character. After all, good tea is worth the wait.