Recently I realized that it has been five years since our trip to the Charleston Tea Plantation. Before I dive into what that has to do with anything, I’d like to encourage everyone to plan a trip to Charleston, South Carolina because it is a wonderful city filled with history, beautiful buildings, delicious food, and so much to do. And, if you do plan this trip, go to the Charleston Tea Plantation. Tea lovers will enjoy seeing how tea is grown, harvested, and prepared to be enjoyed. Plus, you can enjoy a free cup of tea in their gift shop.
I mentioned it has been five years since we visited the Charleston Tea Plantation. This means the tea I purchased there is at least five years old. I did some research on how long tea is “good”. My research was inconclusive. Some people believe tea is only good for a certain amount of time depending on type of tea, storage methods, and a variety of other factors. I decided to do my own experiment. I would drink my five year old tea and see how it tastes. I know that the scientists out there would find my methods to be less than perfect, but since my goal is a good cup of tea and not being written up in a scientific journal I’m going to share my results. I have enjoyed multiple cups of Charleston Breakfast Tea (their black tea). This tea has been stored in a tin for the past five years. The tea is flavorful. I like it better than any English Breakfast Tea that I have tried. It is not bitter as some black teas can be. I’m not recommending keeping your teas for years to do this experiment. If you find a long-lost tea in the back of your cabinet, give it a try. It might not be too bad.
