How to Store Tea
Short tips for storing tea at home.
- Tea is hygroscopic—it absorbs all foreign odors and moisture like a sponge. Store it in a dry place, away from strong smells.
- Tea is sensitive to light—keep it in a dark place.
- Store tea in an airtight container.
- Do not store tea in the refrigerator if strongly smelling foods are often kept there as well.
V.V. Pokhlebkin, in his book “Tea,” discusses proper tea storage. The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, both as a source of information and as a work of literature.
“When we speak of good tea, we mean not so much its high grade as its high condition, that is, a high degree of preservation, or, in other words, its unspoiled state. If we were talking about any other food product, it would be appropriate to speak of freshness. But such a definition cannot be applied to tea, because fresh tea—that is, tea just produced at the factory—can improve with proper storage. That is why we speak not of freshness, but of a high degree of preservation as an indicator that more accurately reflects the quality of dry tea.
As is known, dry tea belongs to colloidal-capillary-porous materials, and therefore has two main physical properties—solubility and hygroscopicity. The first of these properties is positive and desirable, and it is precisely what allows us to consume tea as a beverage. On the contrary, the second property, if not entirely negative, is at least highly undesirable and inconvenient from the consumer’s point of view. It makes tea a vulnerable product, complicates its storage, and facilitates its spoilage. Due to its hygroscopicity, tea is exceptionally capable of easily absorbing, releasing, and retaining, firstly, moisture, and secondly, odors from the surrounding environment. Both of these lead to the spoilage of tea, that is, to changes in the chemical substances contained in it...” — V.V. Pokhlebkin
If you like, follow these storage rules—especially if you have a lot of tea, a couple of kilograms or more. But it’s best to drink tea while it is still fresh.