What is the Best Way to Store Tea?
When you purchase quality tea leaves, you’ll find yourself placing more importance on your storage methods. How tea is stored affects its phytochemical makeup and the way it tastes.
Fortunately, storing tea can be very simple. Chances are, you’ll consume the tea before you notice any decrease in taste or smell, providing that you store the leaves in a dark, cool and dry place.
It is possible for tea to deteriorate, though. This happens from oxidation. Some teas are not heavily oxidized, such as green, yellow and some white teas. Because these teas have the potential to be oxidized further, it’s possible that they will deteriorate.
Black teas, on the other hand, are heavily oxidized, so there is much less potential for them to continue. Even if the tea were to further oxidize, it wouldn’t be noticeable.
Providing that you’re not trying to actively age your tea and your sole purpose is to keep it fresh, here are some easy storage tips to follow.
Store in an Airtight Container
Storing tea in an airtight container is helpful because it keeps out oxygen, which is what initiates the oxidation process. Because there is still some air that remains in between the leaves and the container, some tea manufacturers recommend vacuum sealing their tea or using oxygen absorbing packets.
Keep Away from Heat
Heat speeds up oxidation, so it’s important to store your tea away from heat sources like the stove, oven or microwave. Some tea manufacturers recommend storing delicate green and yellow teas in the refrigerator or freezer since it slows oxidation reactions. However, if you don’t do this properly, condensation will build up on the leaves.
Keep Away from Light
It’s not exactly clear as to how light affects tea, but it has been observed that light-induced damage gives tea a metallic taste. It’s probably because the light causes chemical changes in the leaves, but researchers aren’t sure why this is the case. For now, it’s recommended to keep tea away from light.
Keep Away from Strong Odors
Tea leaves will absorb the odors from their surroundings, so it’s not wise to store your tea in a basement or kitchen. It’s also important to choose a container that doesn’t have a strong smell. Some wooden or plastic containers have odors that will leech into the tea leaves as well as rubber lids.
Keep Away from Moisture
When teas are exposed to moisture, they release their flavor. With this in mind, don’t expose your tea to moisture until you are ready to steep it. Otherwise, it won’t have any flavor. Aside from keeping your tea away from obvious liquids, choose a container that will keep out moisture.
As long as you follow the above tips and consume your tea in a reasonable time frame, you shouldn’t have any problems with your storage methods. See, we told you it was simple!