The Ultimate Tea Storage Thread: What, Where, When & Why

[Chip]

ok, now Im having a bad day. I put water in the 10 small tins from tao of tea and all of them but 2 leaked water in the same way as rishi's and on top of that I tried to open one of the ToT containers using the little pull knob on top and it poped out leaving a large hole in the top so that tin is now garbage. Apparently there just for looks

Tea storage has to be the hardest part of drinking tea...so so stressful.

Is there somewhere online to get seamless tins?

OK grasshoppah! Seamless is da bestest!

This will solve that. No seals to leak! As I mentioned probably too many times on the forum, I then put an Upton style sample tin inside it which is also seamless.

Here are two seamless double lidded versions. Plus they are Japanese and added coolness! (Washi would likely be more leak proof as well due to the added layer of washi and adhesive over the canisters' seams).

http://www.o-cha.com/green-tea/green-tea-canister.html This one is intensely airtight!

http://www.yuuki-cha.com/Tea+Canisters/ ... a+Canister You will see these around. Cheap too. Not quite as intensely airtight as the above.

I have not recently tested any of the Japanese all metal double lidded canisters, but I am betting they are better made than ToT's for instance and would be a better buy.

Oh, here is the sample tin I use, this fits nicely inside either of the above. Some might say I am obsessive about storage ... maybe ... But when your fave tea is Japanese greens, I don't think you can be too obsessive.

http://uptontea.com/shopcart/item.asp?f ... egoryID=84 Cheaper by the case!!! You can also find these elsewhere.

[debunix]

It's not THAT hard.

How important is it that the tin be completely impervious to air? If it closes tightly enough that you feel a little pop of air pressure when you open or close it, that should be enough for all but the most delicate teas (greenest oolongs, japanese green teas.

And those you want to drink ASAP after opening the nitrogen-flushed or vacuum sealed pouches anyway. Or, buy a vacuum sealer and divide/seal them in smaller pouches after you open their airtight packaging for the first time. I'm sure either the canning jar variety discussed here recently or the seal-a-meal plus vacuum would be fine.

I have started to keep some of the nice mylar-lined paper resealable bags for storing other teas that came in less secure packaging, in addition to some miscellaneous tins.

[Chip]

It's not THAT hard.

True, once you have a plan and put it in motion.

Tea storage can be a costly proposition, thus a little thought ahead of time can save money for more tea!

Short of vacuum sealers and the like, my above is the best solution I have found for me that is also very pleasing and displayable. Form and function solved.

[debunix]

I did go through a phase of wanting all my tea in nice, stackable, compact tins, but as the samples and large quantities from various sources started adding up, I gave up and am now contented, mostly, with the not-so-pretty but quite practical stand-up, resealable bags.

I'm only discontented when certain people here on the forum foment unrest by sharing photos of their lovely displays of pretty matched or at least complementary containers, or the teaware artisans display beautiful jars and boxes and I realize that I could justify the collection of more lovely ceramic pieces to store the tea in as well as brew and drink it.

[Chip]

I did go through a phase of wanting all my tea in nice, stackable, compact tins, but as the samples and large quantities from various sources started adding up, I gave up and am now contented, mostly, with the not-so-pretty but quite practical stand-up, resealable bags.

I'm only discontented when certain people here on the forum foment unrest by sharing photos of their lovely displays of pretty matched or at least complementary containers, or the teaware artisans display beautiful jars and boxes and I realize that I could justify the collection of more lovely ceramic pieces to store the tea in as well as brew and drink it.

I hear you, and I see your point of view too clearly!

I used to have around 100 or so open teas, thus the same conondrum many face, more tea = more storage. This made the need for excellent storage even more critical and more impossible. Plus I was literally stressing that teas were fading faster than I could possibly drink them ... which was unfortunately too true.

This all changed when I decided to focus 90% of my energy and resourses on one general type of tea, greens ... and then later Japanese greens. One can only have a handful or two of Japanese greens open at a time, problem solved.

I am not suggesting anyone follow this or similar path, but it has really eased the whole storage issue for me.

This does not stop me from always looking for more and more washi or more of those rounded canisters ...

I think that was a tangent ...

[brad4419]

ok, now Im having a bad day. I put water in the 10 small tins from tao of tea and all of them but 2 leaked water in the same way as rishi's and on top of that I tried to open one of the ToT containers using the little pull knob on top and it poped out leaving a large hole in the top so that tin is now garbage. Apparently there just for looks

Tea storage has to be the hardest part of drinking tea...so so stressful.

Is there somewhere online to get seamless tins?

OK grasshoppah! Seamless is da bestest!

This will solve that. No seals to leak! As I mentioned probably too many times on the forum, I then put an Upton style sample tin inside it which is also seamless.

Thank you master Chip, I must learn the way of the seamlessness but Im not so sure about using a second smaller tin inside the bigger one. I just don't feel ready for that yet.

I do love the tins from o-cha and now I do remember before I bought the ToT tins I thought about those but opted for the cheaper of the two Lesson learned, cheaper = more expensive.

It's not THAT hard.

How important is it that the tin be completely impervious to air?

I get what your saying debunix, Its probably not that big a deal if they leak a little air as long as I drink them pretty quickly but Im not sure that will be the case. I have a habit of wanting a large variety of teas opened and then it takes a long time before I finish them off and some of the teas will be greens.
Also it will make me crazy thinking about the air contaminating the precious tea. I just want the security of knowing for almost certain that when I open the tea next time It will still be fresh. I cringe just thinking about waiting a year to open a tin of oolong and finding it lacking in flavor/smell because I thought the tins were good enough.

I have a plan I will try soldering the seam of the tins and see If I can fix the leakage. It wont be pretty but If it works thats good enough for me. I will just say its artistic or wabi sobi or somthing like that.

Back-up plan is to pay some tea-tuition and visit o-cha for some tins.

[debunix]

If you're that worried, canning jars are less than $1 apiece, and even without doing a full vacuum seal deal, screw the ring on tight and they'll be quite airtight.

[chittychat]

Another way I store my teas is that I transfer from the tin foil bags the teas are shipped in a certain amount into a small container usually a glass jar and reseal the tin foil leaving as little air inside as possible. It so happens that I have a sealer and I can repeat the process more than once.

[Marco]

phui - I really need a storage concept before I order more tea
I read this thread and I am still not sure what to do. So I hope you can help me.

So problems for the tea are:
a) light
b) air
c) external odours

I'd like to differ between
a) tea for my every-day use (keep the amount small but unfortunately I like to taste and change a lot, that means a lot of different teas at the same time)
b) long time storage for bigger amounts of tea (hey buying 500g would often be a bargain - but a loss of money if you can't drink it in time and do not store properly)

And do I need different solutions for green tea, white and yellow tea, pu erh, oolong?

First I thought about something like that for the every day use tea:
http://www.ishi-island.com/bilder/produ ... /600_1.jpg
It looks good and it would give me an overview. But I think light would be a real problem. Or do you think that doesn't matter for a month or two?

An additional question: Most of the tea canisters you see have only a slip lid. Some have additional inner lids, but are much more expensive. Is it necessary to have those inner lids?
Oh and for the look and everything I really like the ones chip mentioned from O-cha. I have seen them before and think they look great. But will be expensive if I need 20 of them and even have to import them.
And if you store your every-day-tea in those boxes - how do you tell them apart? I don't want to open everything to find the tea that is in my mind.

And for long time storage I thought about buying one of the cheaper vacuum machines and store in the fridge. But wouldn't the better zip-bags (there really are different qualities) combined with putting them in a Tupperware box do the job? I AM afraid of freezer burn - happened to food in my freezer already.
Or is storing in the refrigerator better than in the freezer?

So many questions. But I am new to it

thanks for every advice
Marco

[Chip]

Also temp and humidity!

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your journey!

[Marco]

My questions above are still unsolved riddles for me

And I have seen that Adagio-Europe has it's loose tea in nice tins with a clip (don't now how they are called in English ) - good for airthightnes.
But I wondered that they have a glaslid - that is not very good for the tea, isn't it?

And again to long time storage: Better freeze the tea in vakuum-packages or just cool it at 7°C/45°F in the refridgerator?

And same long time storage for green tea and white/yellow tea and oolongs?

thanks for your advices
Marco

[Marco]

Hi folks,
perhaps some of you could give me advices and answers for my two posts just above.
I think finding a good storage solution - long term and short term - is still the major issue for me now.
Perhaps my posts have been overlooked. Should I start a new thread for questions like this?

I hope for good advices.
cheers
Marco

[nickE]

And I have seen that Adagio-Europe has it's loose tea in nice tins with a clip (don't now how they are called in English ) - good for airthightnes.
But I wondered that they have a glaslid - that is not very good for the tea, isn't it?

I believe that the "clear lids" Adagio uses are UV protected, so your tea will not be harmed by sunlight damage.

[nonc_ron]

And I have seen that Adagio-Europe has it's loose tea in nice tins with a clip (don't now how they are called in English ) - good for airthightnes. But I wondered that they have a glass lid - that is not very good for the tea, isn't it?

Keeping it out on the counter top is OK But keeping it in the cabinet over the counter top is better. It gets pretty dark in there when you close the door.