LuckyMe said

Vacuum sealer for tea?

I’m considering investing in a vacuum sealer to preserve the freshness of my teas. I came across this $20 handheld FoodSaver on Amazon that looks promising: http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FSFRSH0051-FreshSaver-Handheld-Sealing/dp/B002FWIVCA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459900018&sr=8-1

Anyone have experience with this particular machine or vacuum sealing tea in general? Are there other devices you would recommend?

6 Replies
AllanK said

Looks like one where you have to buy a particular type of bag to use with it.

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Exidy said

I use something very similar to that device with an additional attachment to seal my teas into mason jars.

http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-T03-0006-02P-Regular-Mouth-Jar-Sealer/dp/B0000CFFS6/ref=pd_sim_79_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=51QPYAHT2wL&dpSrc=sims&preST=AC_UL160_SR160%2C160&refRID=0KCHXH7PPQW9ERY1AEQR

It seems to work well to preserve the teas since I can pull most of the air out of the jar if the jar is mostly full with tea, and jars are reasonably priced. I like that the tea is not compressed and broken if not in ball form.

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LuckyMe said

Update: I ended up purchasing the regular FoodSaver sealer for its versatility. Today I tested it out on tea.

I cut out a small pouch from the food saver bag roll and sealed a couple of teaspoons of wuyi oolong in it. The vacuum sealer practically turned it into matcha. You could hear the crackling as it vacuumed out the air and left lots of crushed bits in the bag. That was a bit disappointing. There’s an instant stop button to prevent overvacuuming but catching it in time can be tricky.

The FoodSaver fared a lot better with rolled tea. It sealed gunpowder green tea with minimal crushing. I then tried a white tea, think it was a bai mu dan with some flavoring pieces. It left some tea particles there as well though not much as the wuyi.

Seems rolled teas are the best candidate for vacuum sealers. Will have to experiment further with green tea but as it stands, I may have settle for partial-vacuuming or a painted mason jar with the attachment Exidy mentioned.

Incidentally, I’m curious now how vendors manage to successfully vacuum pack sencha and strip oolongs. Are commercial vacuum sealers simply better at sealing delicate items without crushing?

Yes, Commercial sealers are better at sealing delicate teas. I’ve never sealed tea with them, but plenty of cheese, meat charcuterie, etc… some of which would easily be crushed/squashed by a FoodSaver. The commercial ones have a setting for pressure. Many also have an attachment for the product to be flooded with nitrogen in the vacuum process. They also work on a different vacuuming principle than the consumer ones. Here is a link to a typical (small) commercial one.

http://www.minipack.us/mvs45x.php

LuckyMe said

Thanks, I figured the pros had the right equipment for the job.

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I use a vaccum sealer, this one http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Automatic-Vacuum-Sealing-Starter/dp/B003U738ZE/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1460412590&sr=1-2&keywords=food+saver

It has a gentle setting, so it doesn’t crush. It is also manual control, so when I think it’s sucked up enough I hit the seal button.

I recently did a move, so I vacuumed a number of teas for it, but I’ve also vacuumed teas in the past without issues. Does a good job keeping things fresh!

You don’t have to use their bags with that model, amazon has some knockoff bags for really cheap. I love a multitasker, so I use the foodsaver for sous vide cooking and freezing, it is great!

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