Lion select said

Tea Refrigeration? I need some tips.

So I am relatively new to Japanese green teas, which I’ve read are more difficult to keep as they do not maintain their freshness as long as fired or roasted green teas. I’ve heard several people say they store these teas in a refrigerator. I have noticed some sencha samples of mine go a little weak or off within a few weeks of opening them, so I decided I’d give this a shot.

I have my sencha inside their original foil bags with tea bag clips on them and then the foil bags are inside a ziplock bag with as much air pushed out as I could, and that’s all inside a freezer tupperware container (it is slightly thicker plastic than your average tupperware). While it is airtight, it isn’t of course vacuum sealed or perfectly airtight since plastics are breathable. I then put the entire tupperware container into a big 2 gallon ziplock bag.

Here are the kinds of clips I am using on the foil tea bags:
http://www.shangtea.com/tea-clip

Does anyone else refrigerate teas or have any experience with it? I am certain it would prolong the life of the teas due to temperature but I’m also a little worried that other smells from within the fridge will manage their way inside. Does anyone have any tips to offer from experience? Are there special products that can create a decently airtight seal to keep your tea in the fridge without aromas getting in?

Also, do you think other green teas would benefit from this type of storage, like perhaps Chinese green teas?

One thing to note, I am keeping a small amount of each sencha in regular tins out of the fridge to use over the next few weeks. When I got to refill them i’ll let the whole box from the fridge sit out at room temperature to ensure it gets back to room temp before I open it. This way it won’t attract humidity from the temperature difference. Then I’ll refill the two small tins and put the rest back into the fridge.

What do you all think? Help me out here.

2 Replies
Cwyn said

I refrigerate really fine sencha and gyokuro. Basically I roll the foil bags a few turns and secure with a paper clip. Went through this same dilemma myself but it seemed like any solution aside from the original bag would just let more air in. I read someplace that the bags are designed to keep air out. So far my teas taste fresh but they are this year’s.

Lion select said

Good to know! I bet my several layers of packaging sounds overprotective haha. I think the original foil packaging sealed as tight as possible is definitely the best layer of defense. I just thought putting these into a tupperware would help isolate them from other smells in the fridge, and while i was at it i may as well put them into a ziplock within the tupperware for an extra barrier. Finally decided to put the whole thing into a ziplock as well just so the tupperware itself doesn’t build up a smell in its plastic over time. But maybe I don’t need quite so many layers. :)

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