Essentials
How to Store Tea So It Actually Lasts
By The House at Blooming Advice · 4 Min Read
You can buy the finest organic tea in the world and ruin it in a month by storing it badly. Tea is a dried botanical, and like all aromatics it fades — but far faster when you let its four natural enemies get to it. Guard against them and a good tin stays good for the better part of a year.
The four thieves
Light bleaches both color and character. Air oxidizes the oils that carry aroma. Heat accelerates every kind of decay. And odor is the sneakiest — dried tea readily absorbs the smell of whatever is nearby, which is why chamomile stored next to coffee or spices soon tastes of them.
The right container
Keep tea in an opaque, airtight container: a proper tin is ideal, sealed glass in a dark cupboard a close second. Avoid clear jars on a sunny shelf, however handsome — they are slowly cooking your tea in daylight. Keep the container away from the stove, and well away from the spice rack.
Cool, dark, dry
A cupboard is better than a countertop; a pantry better still. Resist the urge to refrigerate loose tea — the temperature swings cause condensation, and the leaf will pull in fridge odors the moment you open the container. Cool and stable beats cold and damp every time.
Buy what you will drink
The best storage strategy is simple: buy in quantities you will finish while the tea is fresh. Sealed and stored well, most loose leaf holds its notes for about a year; once opened, aim to enjoy it within a few months. Fresh tea, kept honestly, is one of the easiest luxuries there is.
