Keeping tea fresh and retaining its delicious flavour is an essential part of enjoying tea. Knowing how to store tea to avoid losing its freshness is often forgotten by tea drinkers. Getting the very best of your tea leaves starts with storing it well.
When we say freshness , we aren’t referring to how green or juicy or fresh-leaf like it is, but how well the aroma and flavours are locked into the leaves, without a hint of age. Let us enlighten you about the importance of storing tea properly and its benefits on your tea drinking experience in the future.
The Enemies of Freshness
Fresh tea has a handful of enemies that slowly degrade the tea and cause it to lose its freshness. Sunlight, oxygen, heat, odours and moisture and heat all affect the flavour and quality of tea.
Sunlight
Tea needs to be stored in a dark place without sunlight to prevent the tea from degrading. Sunlight can slowly dull the rich flavour and natural aromas.
Oxygen
Think of sliced apple; if kept in an airtight container you will retain its freshness and won’t go brown (oxidisation). Tea is exactly the same, the air’s oxygen will alter the composition of the tea (especially fresh green teas that are barely fired)
Heat
Tea should be stored away from all sources of heat, this includes windows, ovens and radiators. In the same way sunlight attacks the freshness and flavour in tea, heat speeds up the oxidation process and destroys the teas taste and aroma. Being close to a heat source might also encourage moisture getting to the tea, which is no good thing.
Odours
Left your peppermint next to the breakfast tea in the cupboard? Everyone has been there and the result is not great. Tea naturally absorbs odours, and will take on the fragrance and tastes of other heavily scented foods. So keep your tea well away from your spices.
Moisture
Is like starting the tea making process and destroy stored tea in a matter of minutes. Tea should be stored away from humid areas. This includes the kettle, stove, tumble dryer and refrigerator.
How JING sources for freshness
As tea lovers, we are obsessive about how our tea is sourced and ensuring it stands the test of time. We source our tea from one origin to ensure the teas speak of the region and terroir they are from.
The freshness of our tea is a priority to us and is never compromised. We want our tea to arrive with you and stays as fresh and flavoursome as it is when it leaves the garden. This is why we source our teas directly from the tea gardens and tea farmers and pack them at source in airtight ziplock bags.
We would rather keep looking than buy a tea that is not good enough, therefore our range is constantly evolving from season to season, year to year. So this idea of freshness and fresh tea every year is fundamental to us.
Storing for freshness
People store their tea in a number of ways, but only a few ways effectively lock in the freshness and keep the tea tasting and smelling as good as it does when first made. Our obsession for the taste of tea extends to our packaging. Our new caddies are not only designed to combat all the enemies of tea, but are beautifully designed, they bring a sophisticated, elegant touch to tea drinking.
- Metal Caddy – Our caddies are made from odourless metal and combine function and form for the best possible results. Designed to be fully airtight, the teas flavour is uncompromised and will be fully preserved.
- Lid & Base – Our caddies have a foil seal (like tennis balls), which locks out any oxygen that might seep through the lid.
- Construction – It’s a small, but vital point. Most caddies on the market have “gripped” and not “welded” sides. “Welded” sides, although more complicated to create is the only way to guarantee an 100% airtight seal.
- Oxygen Absorbers –Lastly, our caddies contain oxygen absorbers, which ensure the leaves don’t oxidise, and age. Caddies are also essential items for loose-tea lovers, because loose tea absorbs other aromas far more easily.
How to Store Loose Tea and Teabags?
Our loose teas are packed into resealable ziplock bags straight from the garden. These bags ensure no oxygen can get to the leaves to avoid any deterioration, so be sure to reseal the bag once they have been used. Ideally these ziplock bags should be stored in cool, dry places.
Exactly the same principles apply; our tea bags contain the same tea as our loose tea. Instead of paper envelopes, our metallic envelopes guard against the enemies of freshness, so you don’t have to.
