Green tea is the tea with the strongest sense of existence among the 6 tea categories, has many lovers, and is also the tea variety with the largest number of drinkers. Green tea, pay attention to fresh, fresh, and refreshing, therefore, there is tea before the Ming Dynasty, spring tea, rain tea, and more tea before the Ming Dynasty were as expensive as gold. But even so, green tea also has a lot of bad sides, that is, green tea’s shelf life is relatively short. General green tea has a shelf life of 18 months, and this period is under the premise of good preservation. Sometimes may be expired, The question is, Can I drink green tea when the color changes?

So, some tea friends will say that if they buy green tea in spring, the weather is too hot in summer, and the tea leaves in storage have changed color or yellow, can they still drink it?

Can I Drink Green Tea When It Changes Color?

To judge if can drink, we must distinguish whether the tea has deteriorated.

It mainly includes the following 3 aspects:

1. Smell

Take a small pinch of dry tea with your hand and smell the dry tea to see if there are strange, mixed, and peculiar smells;

Or aftertaste tea soup aroma, if there is obvious mildew smell, odor, or unpleasant aroma. Throw it away without any drinking!

2. Watch Dry Tea Leaves

Judging the color and the degree of dryness and wetness of dry tea is the simplest method to distinguish.

If you can easily crush the dried tea with your hands, and if you can easily crush the tea and it is broken, it means that the tea is very dry,

If dry tea can only be rubbed into thin flakes and is not easy to fold, indicating that it has deteriorated.

3. Watch Tea Soup

After brewing, we can observe the tea soup. The color of green tea soup is mostly light green, yellow-green, and clear and bright. If the tea soup after brewing is turbid, the color is dark brown and not fresh, then the tea deteriorates.

After finishing the above work, if it is found to deteriorate, tea is not a recommended drink. It can be used for other purposes, such as soaking feet, making flower fertilizer, and filling pillows.

If the tea does not deteriorate within the shelf life, the tea color is only slightly yellow, the aroma is still in, and the soup color is bright, then it can be drunk;

If the tea is beyond the shelf life, but the tea is good as a whole, it can be selectively drunk;

If the tea is beyond the shelf life, but the tea is moldy, moist, and pungent smell, it is not recommended to drink.

The reason why tea leaves turn yellow is mainly that green tea is easily affected by light and air so chlorophyll and other substances in tea are oxidized, thus presenting a yellow tea color.

2 Typical Ways To Store Green Tea At Home

1. Room Temperature Storage

For tea stored within 2-3 months, iron cans, stainless steel cans, kraft paper bags or tin canisters with dense textures can be selected;

First of all, the tea should be packed in aluminum foil bags and sealed well. Put the tea into the jar and cover it well. The tea containing tea should be placed in a cool and clean place. Be careful not to put it in the kitchen or bedroom; At the same time, keep away from sunlight, humidity, and heat.

If you buy finished canned or bagged tea, seal it in time and place it in a cool place;

Note: Under the condition of normal temperature storage of green tea, it is recommended to drink it in time within 2 months after the purchase to avoid the influence of flavor.

2. Cold storage

More than 2 months, or do not intend to drink tea for the time being;

The tea can be put into the aluminum foil bag first, squeeze out the excess air, seal the tea bag strictly, and then put it into the can and seal it. It can be refrigerated or frozen in the refrigerator. Generally, it is good to refrigerate.

If tea leaves need to be taken out of the refrigerator for a long time, 500g, 300g, and other large quantities of tea can be separately packed. For example, 50 g and 100 g small bags are used to seal them, put them into the can, and put them into the refrigerator. Only a small part can be taken each time to avoid water vapor entering the tea leaves and accelerating the deterioration of tea leaves.

Note: It is better to have a separate tea refrigerator.