General Tea Storage?

131 Replies
Sarah said

I sometimes re-use those tea tins, but I’m not sure on how to clean them properly. Otherwise, I usually keep the tea in its original packaging.

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wombatgirl said

I keep my tins from teas that have them, and I’ve found that my local Michaels has glass jars with locking mechanisms and rubber gaskets in approximately a 2oz of tea size for $1. So I bought a bunch of those. Those help with everything but light, and I keep them all in a closed cupboard, so I figure they’re just fine. And then I take the labels from the various bags of tea and use packing tape to stick them on the outside of the jar, so I know which one is which, and when I reuse one, I just peel off the old label.

SoccerMom said

Wombatgirl, I too have just come into a load of about 10 different glass jars with rubber gaskets, in various sizes. I am reorganizing my tea cupboard and wanted to make sure that these will keep my tea fresh so I did a search and found your post here. I just wanted to ask if these jars have been keeping your tea fresh? Thanks

wombatgirl said

Yeah, they’ve been pretty good. Just keep ‘em in the dark and life’s good. :)

SoccerMom said

Good and yea! They are in the dark.

~lauren. said

Just a quick note about the rubber gaskets – I stored a Teavana tea in a ceramic jar with rubber gaskets and two months later (and countless methods of trying to air it out/clean it out/bleach it out/vinegar soak it out) the rubber gasket still smells like the Teavana tea! Very fruity. So the ceramic jar is still empty of tea to this day! So to get to the point, my rubber gasket absorbed the smell of the tea and so far (2 months) I haven’t been able to store another tea in that container. So beware of putting a highly scented tea if your rubber gasket is apt to absorb scents.

SoccerMom said

Lauren,
I was thinking that might happen. Since I am considering it for mostly my black staple teas (black dragon pearls and golden monkey) that I plan on keeping on hand at all times anyway. Did it keep your tea fresh?

BTW Does anyway think there would be a problem storing Rooibos or Honeybush like this (as long as it’s kept in the dark of course)?

~lauren. said

Yes, very much so! The ceramic part was great (mine were not clear) – and I didn’t notice until after I finished that one Teavana tea! (and I still have two other ceramic containers with Teavana teas in them, too!). Sigh. The scent on the gasket is slowly dissipating …. Didn’t I read other’s post that if you keep your tea in the dark, the tea should be fine? (sorry, not much help) My ceramic containers were opaque. I just wanted to warn you about the gaskets and fragrant teas…!

Rabs said

I’ve thought about getting some of those glass containers (I was thinking Container Store – never thought of Michaels!) for my staple “must always have on hand” teas. Then decoupaging the heck outta them with my own selection of pretty papers, magazine images, or tissue paper. It won’t block out the UV completely, and I’ll have to be careful cleaning them, but they could be sooo pretty and fun to do!

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Feisty said
Because of convenience I have a lot of boxes of tea bags (though I just found a local source for unbleached, organic loose leaf tea pouches so now loose leaf looks a lot more appealing). I store them in their boxes with the inner paper lining clipped shut; not air-tight but it seems to work decently since I go through them fairly quickly. Anything that comes in a tin stays in a tin, and I love finding tinned teas that I like because it means more tins to reuse after they’re empty!

Everything lives in a big wooden chest in my room, tucked in a corner out of direct sunlight. The limited space can be frustrating, but keeps my mad tea-buying impulses in check (no buying until there’s space) which is good on a student budget!

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Does anyone know if those sealing clips are any good for reducing the amount of air getting in the bags? I have a 2lb bag of black tea coming soon and I’m not sure how I’m going to store this.

Are you talking about this kind?
http://img05.taobaocdn.com/bao/uploaded/i5/T1iOdqXnRDXXc53Jk9_102745.jpg_b.jpg
I have a few and think they are pretty tight. I usually fold the bag opening once or twice, and put on the clip. The clip usually is very tight and can hardly be moved unless you unclip.

Yes, that’s the one. Good to hear that they do the job right.

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I just received an order from Specialty Bottle and wanted to write a little review of the products I got!

I got some 2oz Deep Tin Containers w/ covers, some 4oz Deep Tin Container w/ covers

picture:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=25

and some 4.3" high Tea Tins Square w/ Covers

picture:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=41

(I also got some amber bottles so I can give my home made vanilla extract as gifts but that doesn’t have anything to do with tea storage!)

I am so happy with my purchases! The 2 oz size will be able to house teas that I get in swaps, and I will be able to send out my swaps in style! The 4 oz I got especially for a gift I am putting together for a friend who is having a housewarming party. She is a tea fanatic! I am going to put together a dozen tins of my favorite teas for her and her partner to enjoy. The big square tea tins are for teas that I buy which come in bags which don’t store the tea correctly (I save and reuse all my tins but I still never have enough!).

Service was fast- I ordered last friday and got them this friday – quality is excellent, prices are great (I was going to pay $6 locally for the big square tins which were 1.20 here!). They were packaged very securely and the glass part of my order arrived nice and whole as well as the tins.

Thanks to a quiet life who sent me a swap with the teas in these little tins to give me the idea, and AmazonV who reviewed Specialty Bottle on her blog which inspired further confidence!

wooo! so glad you love the little tins

Lori said

Got some and now I have a way to store my smaller amounts and I also got some 0.5-1.0 oz tins. So now, I can send my samples in style as well

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Cofftea said

I ordered a pound of Mayan Chocolate Chai not realizing it was just 8 2oz containers… gotta find a large container for it.

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Cofftea said

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Joker said

Should plastic ziplock bags and plastic containers with snap lids be avoided or not? Sorry if this is a repeat, I don’t have the time right now to read the entire thread.

Lori said

Ziploc bags were not mentioned in this thread. On another thread, some folks said they were OK but I am still curious what people think about ziploc bags?

i use them in swaps, i think they work fine for shorter term storage, the smell ‘leaks’ though and can cling to other teas sometimes

Cofftea said

My personal opinion is that a ziplock’s only purpose when it comes to tea is for swapping because it makes shipping cheaper. They may keep tea away from the air, but light is a serial killer when it comes to tea. I keep my tea in a closed cupboard, but I don’t even like clear packaging for where I keep my tea because the cupboard is opened so much. My opinon is light should only have access to the tea leaves for as long as it takes you to open the container, take out the amount of leaves you want, and shut the container again. I, fortunately, have never experienced smell leakage or I would never use them- even for shipping. A quick search of “ziplock” will give you other people’s opinions of them in various threads.:)

Lori said

Thanks- I broke down and got those tins that JacquelineM recommended…

Lori those tins are wonderful! yo will like them :)

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Jillian said

Yuuki-Cha has wonderful washi paper tins and I couldn’t resist this set that I got recently:
http://www.yuuki-cha.com/Tea+Canisters/Set+of+3+Momiji+Canisters?osCsid=0f5e0019ad35f1ee49acd16d7e097f49

They’re so gorgeous – I love them! :D

oo they are pretty

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Cofftea said

I gotta find something special to hold my pound of Mayan Chocolate Chai.

Lori said

Yes Cofftea- when I ordered mine , I was quite suprised that it came in separate packages and not a single pound package…

Cofftea said

Yeah didn’t really like that. Clear was already a – for me. I think since it’s my chai and a concrete staple in my house I think I may have gotten something special for it anyway.

I think I’m going to get one of these Tea Caddies (first product shown) for my special tea that Mad Pots of Tea made for me:

http://www.specialteas.com/Storage-Tins/Storage-Canisters/

TeaParT said

Good find LiberTEAS. That is one cool Tea Caddie. I might have to pick one up also.

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