What's The Best Way To Store Tea So It Stays Fresh?

Given just how long tea has been brewed and enjoyed across the world, it may as well have been around forever. The ages-old drink remains incredibly popular, with people sipping it in sachets or brewing loose leaf tea (which is arguably better). But what about the tea you don't use right away? Once the kettle cools down and your flavorful cup has been consumed, how should you store your leftover tea leaves to keep them as fresh as possible?

Finding the ideal environment for storing tea is less about giving it the right conditions and more about negating any adverse conditions. Much like it's a mistake to store coffee beans in the bag they came in, tea can stay fresher for longer if you prevent it from being exposed to certain factors. Namely, light and heat exposure can drastically affect the shelf life of your tea, as well as moisture, air, and odors sneaking their way into your container. Ideally, if you can store your tea leaves in an airtight, opaque container in a cool, dark place and away from any other strongly-aromatic substances, they can last you quite a long time.

Upon seeing this handful of conditions that can alter your tea for the worse, you might think that tea storage is a finicky matter. However, keeping your tea leaves away from these conditions will not only ensure that the quality remains intact, but will help to preserve the taste, too. In a similar fashion to how spices and even strong liquors don't actually "expire" so much as they lose much of the flavor that made them worth purchasing, the same is true here with tea. Too much exposure to light, temperature fluctuations, and excessive air can sap your tea of its flavor over time, and should therefore be avoided.

The same is true when it comes to storing your tea in a place where it's exposed to moisture. Tea, since it's typically dried, is sensitive to any moisture in its environment. Prolonged exposure to this moisture rids it of its flavor and aroma over time. It's for this reason that storing tea in your fridge isn't the best idea, since condensation can seep into it. As far as storing tea near other odors is concerned, this should be avoided since strong aromas can impose themselves onto your tea if they're stored too closely together. If you avoid all of these conditions, then your tea should stay fresh for a long while — even up to a couple of years in some cases.