Tea storage?

148 Replies
Nick select said

So, I’ve been struggling with this recently, but, I’ve found a few decent solutions.

One, the cheap tins. The cylindrical ones that have a lid that inserts into the top of the cylinder like the 2.50$ ones from DAVIDsTEAs or the TWS4 or TWS6 from specialtybottle, or really just any container that has a lid that goes flush with the container it’s covering There’s an awesome solution I wish I could take credit for, I think I even read the solution from someone here, I just can’t seem to find it in my current sleepy state. The solution to making those ‘airtight’ is to put a wide rubber band around the seam where the lid and container meet. It’s pretty dang effective. I’ve not actually done the water test with a container like this, but, it immediately nullified the smell leaking from my tins.

The other solution I’ve come up with is pretty nice in a green way and it offers a few perks. Argo Tea sells drinks in these glass bottles which are the exact same ones as they sell their loose leaf teas in. Loose leaf teas are about 10$ a bottle from them, but, their drinks sold in convenience stores are 2.50$. These are pretty much airtight, they’re sold holding liquid that can’t spill when you turn it upside down. The glass bottles are okay for storing tea inside, especially in places like my office where there’s no sunlight reaching the teas, but, the bottles can also easily be wrapped with a paper or fabric sleeve. Personally I love being able to look at my teas and since they’re not exposed to natural/UV light I don’t horribly mind the glass containers and they’re convenient to acquire, especially if you know anyone that likes those drinks. :)

yssah said

ooooh, that is the answer to my old old question – rubber band :D

I’m also beginning to think that canning jars that are stored in the dark or painted/covered to make them uv opaque may be best overall when bought locally too. If not their weight can make for hefty shipping charges.

The rubber band idea is brilliant!

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So rather than make a new topic, I figured I’d just put my question in here and hope it gets seen/answered.
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on good ways to store the zip lock bags that most stores send their teas in (ex. Adagio/DavidsTea)? Mostly because I’d rather not get into buying a whole bunch of tins to transfer teas into right at this moment. I’m still at the point of just buying small amounts of everything that sounds good to see if I like it or not. Lol. And with bags, I can just toss it when I’m finished rather than going through the process of getting the old smell out of a container before putting a new tea in. Though if anyone has any suggestions on fixing this, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Unfortunately the bags are a pain in the butt to keep on my shelf since they’re always toppling off at the slightest touch or taking up an obnoxious amount of space with their wide bottoms once opened. Lol. I bought a few plastic tubs to keep the bags in, but I can’t stand very much up in each because of the fat bottoms. And I’d rather not pile the bags on top of one another. Though at this point, I’m not sure I’ll have much choice.

I lay them on their sides in a plasic tub – about shoebox size – and alternate the fat bottoms from side to side – so they more or less even out. Not ideal but workable for samples of tea “under evaluation”. Just started doing this but I think it will work out. Stand up on long side.

yssah said

good idea to put it here…

i roll up the ziplocks, making the aroma barrier just a lil bit thicker. then i put them in A) other ziplocks so they’re grouped according to kind/company for a few zips and B) in a small paper bag.

shadowdancing – I didn’t even think of putting them on their sides and alternating them. Unfortunately it doesn’t work much better than standing them upright for me. It’s probly just the size of the container I have right now so I’ll have to look for something a bit wider and try it again.
I was able to fit them a bit better when I shifted the contents around to slim the bottoms down a bit. But it’s still not an ideal situation. /sigh/

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Sencha said

I use to use canisters but don’t like the extra air that gets locked in each time. So I use the bag the tea comes in, with a clip lock and then is a clip lock box.

yssah said

i was thinking about the air that circulates inside tins too. so maybe squeeze out the air from the ziplock and then put it in a canister?

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I got some food grade mylar, heavy duty ziplock bags like www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WYTCEA?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links which come in many sizes for this purpose. They are air tight and opaque. So far they seem to contain the aromas. There are a number of foil lined food grade bags which should do the job too. I think the only practical way of protecting tea from air is to bag it and remove the air by vacuum after each opening – a bit of a drag. Doable but I’m not going to invest in the equipment. Protecting teas from aroma transfer should not need that. I’m obviously in the testing phase of a number of options!

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cmpoirot said

For the cheapo option (I was disgusted with the prices as well) I decided to use some small mason jars. They’re cheap and keep out air with that rubber gasket. This works very well in the short term, but as we all know, tea degrades with light. So to combat this, I spray painted the outside of my jars with a matte black spray paint. Conveniently enough that was my intended final color choice, but if you want a different final color, I would suggest at least a couple black base coats as it is very effective in keeping out light. Now the more perceptive of you might say that paint on glass chips easily, and you’re right, so to prevent this I found some outdoor polyurethane (spray can, but feel free to make your own call) and applied four liberal coats allowing 3 min. of drying in between coats. So far, three months in, I have noticed absolutely no damage, or signs of it appearing in the near future, so for well under $1 a jar this seems to be a great solution

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Romy said

I use a tin I got popcorn in, works great for a bag of loose leaf

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Lumpkin said
yixing tea caddy is perfect

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