Tea bags seem to last for a long time, but there is a way to store them properly to preserve their taste and aroma. Without the right way to store tea bags, you may still have drinkable tea, but it will not be nearly as delicious or fragrant as it would be if it had been stored properly. Many of us tea lovers collect rare teas from around the world that we want to keep in good condition. Whether you collect from home or abroad, you’ll want to know how to store them correctly.
Tea bags can be stored for the long-term in various ways, including freezing and airtight storage solutions. The best storage options for tea bags all have a few things in common: they protect the bags from warm temperature fluctuations, exposure to UV light, exposure to oxygen, and exposure to strong smells that may taint the aroma and flavor of the tea.
Some people may only buy a few different types of tea, while others may have an extensive collection to catalog and keep up with.
The storage options for either case will be slightly different. Read on to learn more about the right way to store tea bags for long-term freshness and flavor.
“Tea bags can be stored for the long-term in various ways, including freezing and airtight storage solutions. The best storage options for tea bags all have a few things in common: they protect the bags from warm temperature fluctuations, exposure to UV light, exposure to oxygen, and exposure to strong smells that may taint the aroma and flavor of the tea. “
TEA CROSSING
Why Tea Bags Should Be Stored the Right Way
There are many reasons why you should make an effort to store your tea bags correctly, rather than just leaving them in the box or package they came in.
While some tea bags come in cute metal tins that provide adequate protection from the ambient environment, most lesser-value teas are packaged in cardboard packaging, which does not protect the tea from the elements.
Here are a few reasons why it is essential to store tea bags the right way, especially if you are planning on storing them for long periods:
- Tea can become moldy. Tea that is not kept in dry conditions can become susceptible to mold, which is not only gross and makes the tea unsuitable for drinking but could potentially create health problems as well.
- Proper storage protects the flavor of the tea. Tea that is not protected in storage can become flat, losing its aroma and much of its flavor as a result. The resulting tea is still drinkable, but it will not be nearly as good as it would be if it were correctly stored.
- Storage helps keep your tea organized. If you are collecting teas, you may end up with more teas than you can keep easily. Proper storage for your teas, such as a tea drawer or a tea cabinet, can help you protect your tea while also displaying it in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and easy to access.
- Serious long-term storage can be useful for survivalist purposes. Tea, like coffee, can be a significant morale booster in survival or prepping situations and can be constituted with nothing more than boiling water. Vacuum-sealed tea bags can last much longer than tea stored in other conditions and can be ingested years past its expiration date with little change to the tea’s flavor.
Tea can be an integral part of any daily routine, and it is considered one of the more affordable luxury items in the world.
“Once the threat of environment factors is removed, tea can be kept fresh literally for years.”
TEA CROSSING
Over 2 billion people from merchants on the streets of India to royals in the halls of the Royal Palace in Britain drink tea every day, multiple times a day.
If you are planning on making tea a part of your day, why not make sure that it is stored for the best possible flavor and fragrance?
Environmental Threats to Tea in Storage
Several factors in the environment can negatively impact how tea bags smell and taste if they are not stored properly.
Here are some of the things you need to watch out for when it comes to storing tea bags for the long term:
- Temperature: Fluctuating temperatures can harm tea, especially high temperatures. Tea should preferably be kept in a cool location that is temperature-controlled.
- Light: Ultraviolet light (sunlight and artificial light) is another environmental factor that can negatively affect the flavor and taste of tea. After exposure to UV light, tea loses much of its scent, and the tea itself also becomes faded.
- Strong odors: The origin story of Earl Grey tea is proof enough that strong odors can have a major influence on the smell and flavor of a tea. Earl Grey is the result of black tea that was contaminated with the citrus smell and flavor of bergamot that was stored with it. Likewise, tea that is stored near other strong-smelling foods will pick up those aromas.
- Oxygen: Oxidation or oxygen exposure is one of the fastest ways to age tea. Without protection from oxidation, stored tea can become powdery or less flavorful. This means that almost all teas other than Pu-erh tea should be stored in airtight conditions.
- Moisture: Moisture is a significant danger to tea since it can cause it to mold. This ruins the tea entirely, unlike other storage conditions that may only diminish its aroma and flavor. Most containers that are labeled as airtight also protect against moisture.
Once the threat of these factors is removed, tea can be kept fresh literally for years.
Do Tea Bags Expire or Go Bad?
Technically, tea bags do go bad. The amount of time that tea lasts before it officially expires varies from tea type to tea type, but most teas last between a year and two years.
Different types of tea have different lifespans.
This table details how long the various types of tea can last before expiring:
| Tea Type | How Long the Tea Lasts in Storage |
|---|---|
| Green Tea (matcha) | 1 year or less |
| Black Tea | 2 years |
| Oolong Tea | 2 years |
| White Tea | 2 years |
| Pu-erh Tea | 60 years |
As you can see, the majority of tea bag types expire around the two-year mark.
Green tea, because it has not been cured as long as other types of tea, has a shorter shelf life, especially powdered matcha tea. Powdered matcha is more vulnerable to both temperature and moisture.
Pu-erh tea, or fermented tea, is unique among tea in that it is fermented and can be stored for decades as it ferments and ages naturally, without protection from either air or moisture. This is made possible by the origin of Pu-erh tea, which was accidentally discovered when tea was allowed to ferment naturally during long periods of transport on the trade roads.
Unlike powdered matcha or Pu-erh tea, tea bags of any other tea type fall squarely at two years for their intended lifespan. That means that as long as you store your tea bags properly, you can enjoy it for years before having to even worry about it losing any flavor integrity, much less being made undrinkable.
Do Different Teas Need to be Stored Separately?
This comes back to the concept of tea being very sensitive to ambient odors.
The primary issue with storing your different types of tea bags together long-term is that the aromas and flavors of the different teas will become muddled and contaminated by each other.
If you are not particular about the nuances of the flavor in your tea or you do not have a bunch of very different flavors or aromas, it may not matter as much in storage conditions. For example, if you do not drink anything but different black teas, storing them together may not be as harmful as storming a lightly flavored tea like white tea with a more robust tea like English Breakfast.
The best option is to store all types of tea bags in separate containers; that way, the more delicate flavors of your tea bags are not compromised. After all, if you are going to go through the trouble to brew a cup of tea, don’t you want it to taste like it was intended to taste?
How Do You Keep Tea Bags Fresh?
There are many different choices you can make for keeping your tea bags as fresh as possible, but one of the most popular ways to keep tea is to keep it in hermetically sealed containers. This means that the containers are airtight and are mostly immune to moisture and will not transfer exterior aromas to the inside of the container since there is no gas exchange.
Here are a few ways you can help keep your tea bags fresh:
- Transfer tea bags from cardboard to opaque plastic or metal. While some brands of tea bags are sold in metal tins (that can be used as storage if you do not mind the look of them), many cheaper brands are sold in cardboard boxes. These tea bags should be transferred to a hermetically sealed container as soon as they are brought home.
- Keep tea bags in the dark. Making sure that the container you keep your tea in is not transparent will help keep it from being exposed to light. Putting tea bags in a tea drawer or tea cabinet can also help keep the tea from being exposed to UV light.
- Keep track of when you bought your tea. Make sure that you take note of when each type of tea was purchased so that you can rotate out older tea if necessary or at least taste it to see if it has lost any of its flavor or fragrance.
- Keep tea in temperature-controlled conditions. Not many people store their tea in a hot attic, shed, or garage, but exposing tea bags to high temperatures, even in a container, can diminish the potency of their flavor.
Keeping your tea in the above conditions can help keep your tea fresh even beyond its average lifespan in some cases, so it’s definitely worth the trouble to store it properly if you’re keeping it around for the long-term.
Can You Freeze Tea Bags?
One method of long-term tea bag storage that you might not have considered is freezing. Tea bags freeze very well, provided that they are kept in waterproof containers.
The problem with keeping tea bags loose in the freezer is that they are then susceptible to the condensation in the freezer, leaving them at risk for molding.
However, if you keep your tea bags in an airtight, waterproof container in the freezer, you gain the benefit of the cold temperature and the dark environment of the freezer without subjecting your tea to damaging moisture.
Can You Vacuum Seal Tea Bags?
Another method of long-term tea bag storage that can help eliminate many of the environmental factors involved with preserving cured teas is vacuum sealing.
Vacuum sealing tea bags in plastic storage bags offers the same advantages of keeping tea bags in a metal or plastic tin, but with a few differences:
- Plastic storage bags are typically transparent. This means that the vacuum-sealed tea bags should probably still be kept in an opaque container after vacuum sealing to keep the tea bags from being exposed to light.
- Plastic storage bags can be difficult to label. This is especially true if you are trying to write a label on the plastic storage bags over the bags, as some storage bags can be challenging to write on. To combat this, choose storage bags that come with a built-in opaque label so that they are easier to read, or place the vacuum-sealed tea bags in a different labeled container.
If you already have a vacuum-sealing machine for storage and preservation in your kitchen, you can use this system to help keep your tea bags in good shape for a long time.
However, take caution—vacuum sealing might be suitable for tea bags, but it can crush delicate loose teas and damage their flavor.
Which Stores Longer, Tea Bags or Loose Tea?
The good news is that both tea bags and loose tea store pretty much the same, so you are not losing any longevity in your tea by picking tea bags over the loose tea.
This is an advantage for many people since tea bags are usually more comfortable for people to brew with than loose teas, which have to be brewed with a tea infuser or similar tool to prevent them from being filled with loose tea leaves. In contrast, tea bags are usually cheaper and can be steeped with hot water alone.
“The good news is that both tea bags and loose tea store pretty much the same.”
TEA CROSSING
Since they both store an equal amount of time before diminishing in flavor, there is no real advantage to buying loose tea for long-term storage.
If you have a type of loose tea that you are especially fond of, transferring the tea into tea bags before putting the tea in long-term storage can make the process of drinking the tea after removing it from storage a lot easier if you don’t have an infuser lying around.
The only type of loose tea that stores longer than tea bags is Pu-erh tea, which is the only type of tea that can last for sixty years or more due to the natural fermentation processes it undergoes after being introduced to beneficial bacteria. Pu-erh is often broken up into loose tea, so if you are willing to bag your Pu-erh tea, you can theoretically set yourself up with some tea bags that will last for decades.
Containers for Storing Tea Bags for the Long Term
When it comes to choosing storage containers for your tea for the long-term, a lot of your choice comes down to personal preference and what your tea habits are like.
A person who drinks primarily the same type of tea day in and day out will have very different storage needs than a person who has over twenty different kinds of rare tea as part of an extensive collection.
Here are a few types of containers you can use to store tea bags:
- Tea drawer: A tea drawer is an excellent option for storing individually sealed bags of tea and a fantastic option for treating guests. You can get a lot of wow-factor out of opening a tea drawer full of perfectly stacked tea packets, and it will appeal to the home-organizer in anyone.
- Tea cabinet: A tea cabinet is a small cabinet that is usually either mounted on a wall or countertop that is explicitly designed for storing different kinds of tea. Tea cabinets are a great option for tea collectors or those who want to use tea as a focal point in their kitchen décor.
- Tea box: If you want to keep your tea bags organized but do not want to dedicate an entire drawer or cabinet to it, a tea box is a good compromise. A tea box usually comes with a window that allows you to see precisely what tea you have without even having to open it.
- Tea tins: For people with smaller tea collections or who only need to store a single type of tea, a simple tea tin or another container can be used rather than an expansive drawer or cabinet. There are many decorative metal and plastic containers that are airtight and would be suitable for storing tea long-term. Some higher quality tea bag brands come with a tea tin included.
- Mason jars: For tea lovers who are interested in storing their tea for prepping or survivalist purposes, vacuum sealing tea in glass Mason jars can be a good choice since the jars can be easily reused for other purposes such as food preservation once the tea is used up. The only major downfall of storing tea bags in Mason jars is that they are clear, so Mason jars used to store tea bags should be kept in dark conditions.
No matter what container you decide to store your tea in, keeping your tea in something tight against light, heat, air, and moisture is your best bet for ensuring that your tea remains delicious and viable for years.
Should You Buy a Tea Cabinet?
People who are considering venturing into tea collecting as a hobby may be on the fence about whether to invest in a real tea cabinet.
Tea cabinets can be an ideal storage option for storing tea bags long-term. While I love tea cabinets, they can also come with disadvantages. Even with all of the upside, I did want you to be aware of the downsides as well.
Ultimately, you will need to decide if this is a good long-term storage option for you.
Here are some of the downsides to buying a tea cabinet for long-term tea bag storage:
- Tea cabinets are not airtight or waterproof. That means that even if you have a tea cabinet, you are still going to need to store your tea bags in another container within the cabinet to ensure that they aren’t exposed to oxygen or humidity.
- Tea cabinets can be hard to find. Tea cabinets are a very specialized type of cabinet that is customized to storing tea. They can be somewhat difficult to source in comparison to other kinds of storage options, and they are often expensive or artisan.
- Tea cabinets take up a lot of space. Kitchen storage is often at a premium, to begin with, and not many people have the extra kitchen space to dedicate a tea cabinet. However, tea cabinets also look lovely placed in a formal dining room or a breakfast nook adjacent to the kitchen area.
In short, tea cabinets are a storage option for only the most hardcore of tea lovers. For everyone else, a dedicated drawer or an airtight tin on the kitchen counter will usually do the trick.
Tips for Storing Tea
There are many different ways that tea can be stored well in the long-term, but some storage methods can make the task a lot easier.
Here are a few tips you should keep in mind for storing tea bags:
- Do not store tea in moist areas of the kitchen. This includes in cabinets that are kept over boiling stovetops or beneath kitchen sinks. Even in airtight containers, the ambient humidity in these areas can degrade your tea.
- Label your teas. This is especially important if you are removing the tea from its original container and moving it into an unlabeled container. Without proper labeling, you will soon become completely mixed up as to which tea bags are which.
- Categorize tea bags by type when organizing. Keeping like types of tea together (black, rooibos, oolong, white, green, or herbal) can help make finding the specific type of tea you want much easier if you have an extensive collection of tea bags.
- Keep your old tea tins. Even if you move your tea bags out of individual tea tins and into an aggregated collection spot like a cabinet or drawer, do not throw out the metal tins that the tea bags came in. These tins are handy around the house, and you can even save one back for your daily tea and leave your fancier teas in more permanent storage.
- Date your teas and throw out old tea. Unless you are stocking up for some post-apocalyptic scenario or you’re aging a Pu-erh tea, once the tea has aged past its prime, it’s safe for you to go ahead and throw it out unless it’s just ridiculously expensive and rare. Most tea is not, so if that box of English Breakfast blend in the back of the kitchen cabinet is six years old, do not be afraid to discard it during your next kitchen decluttering session. They can always grow more tea.
- Consider a tea carousel for countertop storage. If there are types of tea bags that you use more regularly than others, a tea carousel can display them in a convenient spot in a way that is organized and pleasing to look at. Tea carousels are also a good option for removing part of your tea collection from long-term storage to display it for immediate use.
- Once you have the storage, try some new teas. It is easy to get stuck in a rut with tea, especially if you have one or two blends that you really enjoy. But one of the significant advantages of having dedicated tea bag storage is that you can branch out and try new varieties. Do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and pick up some new types of tea bags to add to your collection. You might be surprised and find your next big favorite!
Taking these extra steps to store your tea may seem tedious at the moment, but you’ll appreciate your efforts in the long run when finding the type of tea you want is a snap.
Storing Tea Properly is the Key to Long-Term Storage
Tea bags are one of the more long-lasting food products you can keep around the kitchen, and with proper care, your tea can last for years.
While preserving tea in long-term storage might not be as important for some people who only drink it casually, for those who collect rare teas, storage is a valuable part of making sure your tea maintains its flavor integrity and its value.
There are many suitable storage options available for tea bags that can help you maintain your tea at its highest quality for months to come.