Does packaging matter when choosing your tea?

The packaging is a factor unless it is puerh which is almost always wrapped in paper. Some packaging I either have to transfer it to a tin or watch it go bad faster. Foil packaging like Yunnan Sourcing uses is the best. It is basically a tin for all effects and purposes.

I find it really nice when puerh comes in paper as well as a cloth bag, but the cloth bag isn’t necessary. I’m actually looking for a source for these bags to store all the puerh I have without bags.

I prefer foil or foil lined zip lock resealable bags with the option to get it in a tin for other loose leaf teas. Craft bags are OK if they are zip lock, but only for quantities I know I’m finishing quickly. I’ve noticed alot of my loose leaf from china comes in a vacuum sealed foil bag, which is fine, but I like the option of resealable, a lot of nice retailers will also provide a foil zip lock bag for the tea for that purpose, or it comes with a tin. I think a good model is TeaVivre with the traditional vacuum seal bags that come inside of a foil zip lock bag or tin. Many others like Adagio and TeaLyra provide the tea directly in zip lock bags.

Useful information on the packaging: name, tea type (black, oolong, green, white, etc.), origin, date of harvest if possible, ingredients for blended teas, expiration date if applicable, recommended brewing times. The label on TeaAve’s packaging I think is both beautiful and functional. But the label can contain the bare minimum if there’s a source to easily look it up. For example Adagio custom blend teas often only have the tea art on the bag, but if you ordered it, it’s easy to backtrack and find all the relevant information on the website. Alot of other tea companies I know also just have tea name, type, and recommended brewing times/temperatures on the label.