Premium and whole leaf teas are becoming an increasingly popular gift to give and online tea shops are perhaps at the forefront of this revolution. However, tea is a natural product, with a limited shelf life. When buying tea online establishing how old the tea is should be of paramount importance when making your selection. This article has been written to help you know which tea gifts to buy and which to avoid.

From the moment a fresh tea bud and leaf is picked its flavour begins to change and develop. While some of these changes are beneficial, and will dictate what style of tea the leaf is to become, once the processing is finished almost immediately the product begins to lose some of its flavour. As a very general rule of thumb, teas are at their best the younger they are. The longer they are left, exposed to heat and air, the more of their vibrancy and fresh flavour they begin to lose.

When purchasing whole leaf teas, a good online tea shop will always be able to, at the very minimum, let you know the year it was harvested, if not the specific harvest and production date. (I.E. Spring 2011) This article has been written to let you know what you should be looking for when purchasing tea gifts online with regards to the age of the style of tea.

Green Teas

Green teas and lightly oxidised Oolongs - such as the Taiwanese 'Bao Zhong' - have a shelf life of only around 6 months to 1 year. While after this time you will still be able to make tea from these leaves, its flavour will be much reduced from how the master blender intended it to taste. These are the youngest and freshest tasting and as such should be drunk this way. Any online tea shop selling a green tea much beyond 1 year after its harvest clearly has bought too much, or doesn't know a lot about tea! Only buy green teas that are 1 year-old or less.

Oolong Teas

Semi oxidised Oolong teas have a slightly longer shelf life of around 1 to 2 years. However, some traditional Chinese Oolongs which have been roasted actually improve and soften after some time, generally after 1 year, however a good online retailer should be able to advise you on this. There are however aged Oolongs which provide the exception. These teas can have been aged anywhere from up to 3 to 25 years and will have been regularly re roasted to regulate the moisture content. These should be considered the only exception to the 1 to 2 year rule.

Black Teas

Black teas are fully oxidised hence their dark colour. This oxidisation ensures they have the longest shelf life of all teas and will be fine to drink from anywhere between 1 to 3 years. Over this period of time they will begin to lose some of their flavour however stored properly - in a cool but not cold environment, that is neither too dry or damp, and kept out of direct sunlight - these leaves should retail most of their flavour for the entirety of that time.

Puer Teas

Unlike all the other teas above, Puers break all the rules! Fully oxidised, and semi fermented, many Puers when young taste harsh and bitter. These specialist teas once made are placed in temperature controlled stores, or traditionally stone caves, and allowed to age for anywhere between 1 to 50 years. Over this period of time the flavours mellow and develop which is why Puers are some of the rarest and move expensive teas available. While not always the case, a well stored Puer, is at its finest the older it is!

As you can see, there are only a few simple rules when it comes to knowing about the age of tea. By following the advice given in this article you should have no problems selecting a tea gift for friends or family from any online tea shop.