Storing tea correctly is essential to preserving its magical scent and complex flavors. When you store tea improperly, you risk losing those unique flavor profiles, leaving your tea flat and lifeless.
Additionally, improper storage can lead to contamination and mold growth, which shortens its shelf life. Let’s explore how to store tea properly to maximize its freshness, ensuring every cup leaves you feeling brand new.
Why Tea Storage Is So Important
Proper tea storage ensures your leaves maintain their delightful aroma and characteristic flavors.
Tea leaves are bursting with volatile compounds that create their unique scents. But, exposure to heat, light, and air degrades these compounds over time.
Not only that, but tea leaves are super absorbent. If not stored properly, they’ll suck up strong odors from their surroundings.
Air exposure also oxidizes tea leaves. In some cases, too much oxidation dulls a tea’s vibrancy, leaving it tasting bitter.
But you have to think about not just heat, light, and air.
Humid environments are tea enemies. Excessive moisture in the air can dampen your tea, affecting its quality.
Your tea will have a little clumping at best, and at worst, it will start to mold.
And, of course, proper storage keeps your tea from getting contaminated. You don’t want dust, insects, or other contaminants entering your tea jar.
When you store your tea correctly, it lasts longer. Limiting excess light, air, and moisture increases its shelf life, allowing you to enjoy your favorite blends longer.
7 Top Tea Storage Tips
You want to limit exposure to most elements when storing tea. Here are a few simple guidelines for tea lovers so you can adequately store your favorite blends.
1. Avoid Moisture
As loose leaves tea dry, they naturally absorb any moisture around them. Moisture seeps in when you don’t store tea in an airtight container.
This moisture makes the leaves clump together, making it difficult to measure the correct amount when brewing a cup.
Worse, when moisture lingers, mold grows, spoiling your tea and making it unsafe to drink.
Always store your tea in a sealed, dry environment to keep it fresh and safe. This approach helps you keep humidity levels in check, so your tea doesn’t go bad. For an added layer of protection, consider using vacuum-sealed bags for long-term storage.
2. Avoid Heat
Excessive heat speeds up chemical changes in tea, zappings its flavor, and reduces its health benefits.
Store your tea away from heat sources to keep it at its best.
You need to store the tea in a cool location. Ideally, you store the tea below 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Any hotter than this will cause chemical reactions in the tea.
Consider storing your dark and aged teas in the freezer for the coolest option.
3. Avoid Light
There are two main reasons to avoid light.
First, UV light breaks down the volatile compounds in tea. These compounds of tea are key to tea’s aroma and taste. They also contribute to its health benefits.
When these compounds degrade, the tea is less tasty and less healthy.
Plus, light speeds up the oxidation process in tea.
Exposure to light is a real problem for teas with less oxidation, like green and oolong. It robs them of their delicate complexities, so they lose their grassy, floral notes.
It’s tempting to display your tea in transparent glass jars on your kitchen counter. Who doesn’t love that minimalist aesthetic? But it’s not a good idea.
For optimal storage, keep your tea out of direct sunlight.
If you insist on clear glass containers, keep them in a dark environment, like a pantry shelf or tea cabinet. Even better, keep your tea in opaque containers to shield it from all light.
4. Avoid Odors
Strong smells like garlic, onion, or spices can affect your tea taste.
Since tea leaves absorb a lot, they can easily absorb flavors and aromas from nearby items.
To avoid this, store your tea away from strong-smelling foods and substances. Better yet, find a solo spot for it so nothing influences its flavor.
5. Avoid Oxygen
When exposed to air, tea leaves undergo oxidation, which can degrade their quality.
Be the most careful when storing types of green tea and white teas, which are more sensitive to oxidation.
To prevent this, store your tea in airtight containers. The seal reduces the amount of air that comes into contact with the leaves, helping to preserve their freshness and flavor.
6. Keep Tea in Bulk for Best Results
Buying tea in bulk is a great way to always have a fresh supply on hand.
Plus, when you buy larger quantities, you can divide the tea into smaller portions and store them in separate airtight containers. That way, you reduce the number of times you open a single container (and expose the entire supply to air and light), keeping the bulk of your tea fresher for longer.
7. Use the Right Storage Containers
The containers you store your tea make a big difference in maintaining its quality.
Opt for ones made of non-reactive and dark materials like opaque glass, tin, or ceramic. These don’t absorb odors and provide a sound barrier against air and light.
Ensure your containers have tight-fitting lids to keep out moisture and air. For example, try one of our Bio-Prism Viloet jars that keep your teas fresh for years.
With an air-tight seal and violet glass filtering out harmful rays of visible light, your organic, hand-blended Magic Hour ceremonial teas stay as fresh as the day they were harvested.
Keep Your Tea at Its Best
Keeping your tea fresh protects it from moisture, heat, light, strong odors, and oxygen.
Store your tea in airtight, non-reactive containers, and consider buying in bulk to minimize exposure to the elements. By following these expert tips, you can enjoy your favorite teas’ full, rich flavors and health benefits for longer.
For the best tea experience, try Magic Hour products. Our premium teas are carefully packaged to maintain their maximum freshness and flavor, so every cup is a delightful experience.
