[hinkley]

The Brit I mentioned elsewhere seemed to think it was the drying that arrested the chemical processes in the tea.

He was also adamant about storing it in well sealed containers out of direct sunlight. I ended up throwing away a couple of containers because of this (although I've kept a couple that are just too beautiful to part with - I store my daily drinker in there since it doesn't need to keep as long). Also explains why my dealer uses mylar vacuum packs for anything over an ounce. No oxygen, no light.

[foo_barrio]

White tea does not undergo the "killgreen" step that green teas and oolongs teas do IIRC. The drying slows the oxidation but does not arrest it. "Aged" white tea is a thing. If you let it sit around long enough it turns deep red. Green tea just turns into stale tea. They even compress white teas into something similar to those "Pu'er Cakes".