Any tea canisters that work well?

[Stormlight]

Looking to store some varieties of teas. Im not able to drink to much at a time but can go to china town or japan town in SF and get a decent size bag.

Would a glass jar from the container store work ? The ones with the plastic seal and tab you push down. (stored in the dark)

Or are there better recommendations?

thanks

[debunix]

You'll find a lot of different tea storage choices represented here on TeaChat, everything from handmade wooden tea caddies from Japan to fine pottery jars to those of us who just keep our tea in the ziplocks in which it arrive home from the store or online shop...my particular choice isn't pretty, but it works....



And here is a [urlhttp://greenteaforum.o-cha.com/topic1250-15.html]thread from another forum[/url] with a photos of some of that fancier options.

Really what matters is that the delicate teas be kept airtight, and purchased in small quantities from shops that take good care of the tea before it gets from you, and that you protect them all from light.

[theredbaron]

A lot depends on the money you are able and willing to spend, and which teas you want to store. While most teas require airtight canisters, Pu Erh tea needs a certain amount of airflow to develop.
For most semi-fermented teas nice Chinese pewter jars are recommended, but the cost can be quite prohibitive if you have more than a few teas. I use instead the much cheaper Chinese stainless jars with inner lids. They come in all sizes. I cover the inside with acid free paper before putting my tea in them.
Most green teas cannot be stored for longer than a few months, so for them airtight storage is very important. While some of the Japanese storage containers such as the cherry bark jars are stunningly beautiful, they are less suitable for storage longer than a few weeks.

[debunix]

Regardless of airtightness, delicate green teas (especially senchas) and greener, low oxidation oolongs should be drunk within a few weeks of opening their vacuum sealed or nitrogen flushed packaging, and should only be bought in small quantities--or multiples of individually packaged small quantities--to keep turnover and tea quality high as you drink them.

[theredbaron]

Regardless of airtightness, delicate green teas (especially senchas) and greener, low oxidation oolongs should be drunk within a few weeks of opening their vacuum sealed or nitrogen flushed packaging, and should only be bought in small quantities--or multiples of individually packaged small quantities--to keep turnover and tea quality high as you drink them.

That depends again - Most Chinese green teas can usually be stored a bit longer than Sencha. Some low oxidation oolongs, such as Bao Zhong, can be aged as well.

[debunix]

I do have a couple of chinese greens that hold up better than sencha (An Ji Bai Cha comes to mind), but the ones that have been the most floral and delicate--fine Long Jing, Tai Ping Hou Kui, Gu Zhu Zi Sun, light oxidized TGY & Ali Shans--have definitely performed dramatically different within a week of opening than 2 months later.

[theredbaron]

I do have a couple of chinese greens that hold up better than sencha (An Ji Bai Cha comes to mind), but the ones that have been the most floral and delicate--fine Long Jing, Tai Ping Hou Kui, Gu Zhu Zi Sun, light oxidized TGY & Ali Shans--have definitely performed dramatically different within a week of opening than 2 months later.

True.
Especially Long Jing is very sensitive, it even travels not very well. Many years ago, when i was in Hangzhou i bought delicious Long Jing, but back in Bangkok the tea lost a lot.

[jayinhk]

I recently bought some Longjing that was stored in the fridge and it is actually very nice tea--the time in the fridge doesn't seem to have hurt it. I store it in an airtight stainless container (not in the fridge). If you are going the airtight route, you want to use the smallest possible container for a given volume of tea to minimize oxidation and loss of flavor through diffusion.

[dzrogers]

I have one of those Food Saver machines. If I vacuum seal small quantities of tea and keep it in the fridge will that be a suitable storage option for green tea?

They also have an attachment for sealing mason jar. Are jars better than the plastic bags?

[jayinhk]

If you can use your Foodsaver to seal the bags without pulling all the air out (and crushing the leaves), it would work a treat in the fridge, as long as you don't open and close it too often (which could cause condensation in the bag). I can envision a dedicated tea fridge!

Vacuum sealed mason jars would be about as good as it gets, as long as they are wrapped to prevent light from getting through every time you open the door.

[dzrogers]

Thank you Jay! I'm going to go the mason jar route. Foodsaver is having a free shipping promotion, so I've just ordered the attachment. I have plenty of mason jars already.

[jayinhk]

Sounds like a dream storage setup for greens!