Storing Loose Leaf Tea

If you’ve gone to the trouble of scouting out a fine loose tea blend, you know that they can be quite expensive.  Unfortunately, tea, like anything else can go stale, especially the good ones as they are likely to have less preservatives than grocery store teas.  For that reason storing loose leaf tea is an important skill to learn.

If you are storing loose leaf tea properly it can last up to a year.  You want to keep it sealed away from both air and light which you can do easily with a proper tea chest or tin made just for this purpose.  You can buy them in any variety of materials and designs but make sure you get one that is light proof as well as airtight.

Storing Loose Leaf Tea In The Dark

It’s important to keep your tea in the dark because lighting, both sunlight and indoor lighting have a UV component.  Over time, the UV light waves can break down the molecules in your tea and remove both color and flavor.

Air an also alter the flavor of your loose leaf  tea.  As you know, it contains oxygen which can have a reaction with organic molecules.  This oxidation changes the molecules and, thus, the flavor of the tea.

Storing Loose Leaf Tea Away From Air

When storing loose leaf tea there is an other important reason why you want to keep it away from the air.  Air also has odors that can affect the flavor of your tea.  Odors from food, pollution, smoke and everything else can find it’s way onto your loose leaf tea causing chemical reactions, none of which will improve the taste of your tea.  Of course, some air will get in when you open your storage tin, but if you keep the opening to a minimum, you can minimize the damage.

Moisture And Loose Leaf Tea

Another thing about air is that it actually contains moisture which will exacerbated the effects of oxidation.  If you live in a humid climate you should be particularly cognizant of this.  It won’t be so much of a problem in dry climates like Arizona, but should be taken into consideration none the less. Plus moisture in your loose leaf tea can cause mold to grow, something you definitely don’t want.  To insure your tea remains moisture free, you can get a desiccant that will absorb excess water to put in the container .

A good tea container is your best bet when storing loose leaf tea, but you also want to keep your teas separate and don’t mix them with spices or other kitchen foods.  You want to be sure you don’t store your herbal tea leaves with your Oolong tea leaves etc… as each different type of tea may alter the flavor of the other.  Try to get separate tins for each, or one tin that has separate compartments when storing loose leaf tea.