Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi

I will answer your order questions in a separate email.

As for the product question, while gyokuro (and matcha) are usually harvested in May, the *highest quality* versions are aged until fall and release in September or October. This aging process improves the gyokuro. Yes, you may find some vendors selling gyokuro before fall of the year they were harvested, but those are not really "the best".

Sometimes when they are running out of gyokuro from the previous year during the summer, they will blend last year's with this year's leaves to make it stretch.

If you buy 2022 harvested gyokuro in June of 2023, that will usually be better than 2023 harvested gyokuro in June of 2023.

Further, there's no such thing as "shincha" matcha or gyokuro even though some companies market it like that.

So in short, for the highest qualities of gyokuro and matcha, it's completely normal for the harvest year to not change until the fall and you can continue to buy last year's crop with high confidence - it's not old tea.

The shelf life shown on the package is 6 months but if you store an unopened package in the refrigerator it will last a lot longer than that, at least a year. Make sure to allow it to warm to room temperature before opening, however.

You shouldn't store it in the freezer, no. You should store it in the refrigerator, so long as it's never been opened. After it's been opened, do not store it in the refrigerator.

Sometime in the fall because higher quality gyokuro is aged a few months after harvest.

The 2nd infusion isn't as critical regarding temperature as the 1st. Another way is to simply leave the water in the other vessels a bit longer.