Tea bags are more convenient than loose tea for most people. For those who don’t drink tea often, the tea bag can provide the perfect solution to keeping gourmet tea in your cabinet. Whether you drink it every now and then, or just want it on hand for guests, knowing how to store it will keep it fresh and great tasting for longer. Here are some simple tips that will help you store your tea bags for maximum freshness.
Avoid Clear Glass Containers
Many people make the mistake of trying to display their tea for the world to see. Many tea bags are wrapped in pretty paper with philosophical sayings, making us want to display them. The problem is light is terrible for tea. Light can zap the oils out of the tea and cause it to go stale much faster than it would otherwise. If you want to keep a few bags on display consider getting a decorative tea tray. Place a pretty pot and a couple mugs in the tray, with 2 or 3 tea bags. After a week, swap the bags out for other bags. Or you could just use a couple of bags for display purposes only. The tea you plan on drinking should be stored in a dark container. It should also be airtight. You can find lots of decorative Tupperware containers to store both bags and tea leaves so it won’t be exposed to light.
Tea Bags and Temperature
The freezer is great to keep many things fresh, but tea bags aren’t included in this school of thought. The fridge or freezer creates moisture. This is detrimental to tea. Tea leaves are fragile, and adding moisture to the mix will strip the tea of the natural oils. Worse, it can cause the tea inside the bag to mold and mildew. On the other hand, you don’t want to keep it in a hot area either. Sticking the container of bagged tea on top of the fridge may get it out of the way, but it will also kill the flavor much faster. Avoid storing it in any area where heat is generated, like near a microwave, coffee maker, bread maker, or other appliance.
Keep It Away From the Onions
A lot of tea is flavored by placing an herb or bloom inside the tea leaf and steaming it. The herb or bloom is then discarded, because the tea leaf has taken on the flavor of the herb. A good example of this would be jasmine tea bags. The same principle applies in your kitchen too. Tea takes on the flavor of anything it is stored near. If you choose to store your tea bags near foods with very strong odors, you’ll end up with a strange tasting tea. So to prevent an onion flavored tea, keep the odorous produce away from the tea.
When to Toss It
No matter how great you are about trying to keep your tea fresh, if you don’t use it after some time it will need to be thrown away. Tea has an expiration date just like any other food. The date on the package is usually the latest the tea can be used and still considered safe. In many cases, the tea will have gone stale long before that date. You want to check your tea stash every couple of months and toss anything that has lost its smell. Also look for tea bags that have become discolored or weak and toss those out.
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