what do you store your loose tea in ?

[Thirsty Daruma]

I recall seeing some canisters at the local Daiso shop. They weren't very large, maybe a little taller and wider than the Adagio tins, but they were double lidded (slip off cap and plastic seal right?) and the price was right - a couple bucks. They were with the other tea stuff, so I think they were tea canisters, but there was no label, and the slip of paper inside didn't refer to the item, but just warned not eat or burn whatever it was.

But otherwise Adagio's 8oz. and 4oz. tins do a good job. Not sure about the square sampler tins.

[t4texas]

I believe the best tea storage option for teas other than puerh's, and besides glazed clay jars sealed with wax (freakin expensive!! sheesh!), is glass canning jars that have been vaccum sealed. Tape a little brown paper bag around the jar and slap a lable on it. Cheap and foolproof! I've said it before, and I'm stickin to it! Pics in a bit...

I decided to try a version of this: simply keeping opaque ziplock samples in quart canning jars. I washed four new jars, but noticed an odor. Washed them again. Still there. Let boiling water stand in them for about an hour. Same for the lids separately in a bowl. Finally figured out it is the synthetic sealer coating on the edge of the lid insert.

I am concerned that this odor may be absorbed by the tea. Have you noticed this? Am I overly concerned?

[Chip]

Tea absorbs aroma. The potential is certainly there for contamination. If you leave it laying out and open for a while, it might fade away, like new car smell.

[t4texas]

Tea absorbs aroma. The potential is certainly there for contamination. If you leave it laying out and open for a while, it might fade away, like new car smell.

Thanks. I have tried that, but when I put the lid back on, the odor returns. I think I'll put the lids out in the sun for a day or two and see if that helps.

[auggy]

Maybe let it sit with some baking soda in it?

Works for my fridge.

[t4texas]

Maybe let it sit with some baking soda in it?

Works for my fridge.

Good idea, but I already tried it on one. Thanks any way.

[gingkoseto]

I re-use the Adagio tins. They have a nifty little clip on the side for sealing the lid, which is clear but UV protected, they stack, and they'll survive falling repeatedly out of my over-crowded tea cabinet.
To clean them, wash with soap and hot water, towel dry, and let air dry for a day or two before re-filling with another tea. The labels come off very easily so that you can place a new label on the side.

Adagio tins are nice!
I save all good tea tins from various sellers and save all good containers for reusing - well, saved too many as a matter of fact
And for tea that arrives in a good plastic bag (the tough, silver color, shiny kind), I would keep tea in it and seal it well.

[gingkoseto]

I purchased a bunch of tins recently from Specialty Bottle. They sell food grade containers and they were really inexpensive. I got just the basic slide on lid ones but they do have screw on and others that might be better for long term storage. (I needed quantity and CHEAP.)

I like specialty bottle very much too! If I buy tins, I only buy cheap ones. Specialty bottle have many inexpensive choices. So far I haven't used them for long-term storage yet. I normally use some small ones to carry tea to office or when giving friends tea samples.

[TeaCompulsion]

If you need quantity and cheap, try buying the gold foil bags from teasource.com. No odor gets through those things.

[TeaCompulsion]

I use:

storage bags from teasource:
http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant ... ct_Count=4

washi tins with plastic inner lid: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Japanese-Gre ... idZ2QQtZkm

tins with single lid:
http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant ... ct_Count=0
I have this and a smaller version from teasource, and they both have a good snug gasket seal.

porcelain tea jars:
http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant ... ct_Count=6
http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant ... ct_Count=5
and some similar gasket jars from ebay. These all do very will with keeping out odors, but none of the porcelain jars I've seen are fully lightproof.
I have one of these from YSLLC: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lilac-Ceramic-Celad ... m153.l1262
but I'm not sure yet what I think of the seal.

And some antique cloisonne jars with enameled interiors. I wouldn't suggest these in general unless you have the time to be picky -- the interior enamel needs to be in perfect condition, the whole jar needs to be cleaned carefully (a good dose of boiling water is a good idea) and checked for odors, and a proper secondary seal should be devised. Once those are accomplished, these can be great tea jars.

[t4texas]

Tea absorbs aroma. The potential is certainly there for contamination. If you leave it laying out and open for a while, it might fade away, like new car smell.

Thanks. I have tried that, but when I put the lid back on, the odor returns. I think I'll put the lids out in the sun for a day or two and see if that helps.

The quart Mason jars are not going to work for me. The odor comes from the synthetic seal on the lid. If you take off the lid and smell the jar right away, there is a distinct odor; if you wait a minute or two and smell, it will be gone. It's going to contaminate anything but a tea that will fight back. So I ordered some larger (6 ounce) tenren double lidded metal containers. An opaque ziplock inside that should be safe. I would only do this for more expensive or hard to find teas.

[Smells_Familiar]

The quart Mason jars are not going to work for me. The odor comes from the synthetic seal on the lid. If you take off the lid and smell the jar right away, there is a distinct odor; if you wait a minute or two and smell, it will be gone. It's going to contaminate anything but a tea that will fight back.

I use Ball mason jars and they do have a mild smell that comes from the lids when new. I've found this smell doesn't affect the smell of the dry leaves and certainly not the smell or taste of the brew. I did side by side comparisons when I first started using the jars. I can also tell you that the smell goes away after storing tea in them for a few. IMO the completely air tight quality of the mason jars and the ability to vaccum seal them outweighs the neg of the initial mild smell of the lids. The tea stays fresher longer (way longer if vaccum sealing and refrigerating) preserving it's taste and smell and like I said, I've found the smell and taste of the tea to be completely unaffected.

It's going to contaminate anything but a tea that will fight back.

Not true from what I've experienced personally. My light baozhongs and formosas are fine.

[t4texas]

The quart Mason jars are not going to work for me. The odor comes from the synthetic seal on the lid. If you take off the lid and smell the jar right away, there is a distinct odor; if you wait a minute or two and smell, it will be gone. It's going to contaminate anything but a tea that will fight back.

I use Ball mason jars and they do have a mild smell that comes from the lids when new. I've found this smell doesn't affect the smell of the dry leaves and certainly not the smell or taste of the brew. I did side by side comparisons when I first started using the jars. I can also tell you that the smell goes away after storing tea in them for a few. IMO the completely air tight quality of the mason jars and the ability to vaccum seal them outweighs the neg of the initial mild smell of the lids. The tea stays fresher longer (way longer if vaccum sealing and refrigerating) preserving it's taste and smell and like I said, I've found the smell and taste of the tea to be completely unaffected.

It's going to contaminate anything but a tea that will fight back.

Not true from what I've experienced personally. My light baozhongs and formosas are fine.

Well, that really does surprise me. I'll have to try something mild and see how it does.