Storing in ziplocks

[taitea]

Is storing tea in the ziplocks that many tea shops sell their teas in (something like this:

) generally OK?

I find that the teas I buy locally taste great at first, but as time passes (a couple of weeks), flavour tends to disappear.

[Chip]

Bags have many different levels of gas permeability, another words, clear plastic literally breaths.

Completely foil lined bags seem best all around, no see through plastic. Very general rule of thumb, if you can see through it, it is likely not ideal since it allows light in and likely air as well.

The degradation could also be from the tea aging, but is likely a combination of factors.

[JadeKitsune]

I personally save several of those foil-lined bags -- they're great for saving herbs as well as tea.

I hadn't thought of the permeability tied in with the see-through aspect. That's an interesting point.

So what is the "best" way to store tea? Are those bags the last word in tea storage?

~Jess

[Wesli]

I store a lot of teas in those.

[Space Samurai]

Sure, I'd store my tea in a ziplock bag, if I didin't care about the tea, and I was only just waiting for a convenient opportunity to throw it away.

[greenisgood]

yeah, the tea i get from TeaSource is in "ziploc" bags but they are gold foil and the tea seems to stay just as fresh as when in a tin.

definitly don't use regular ziploc baggies for any tea stuffs, yuck.

[Smari]

Usually, once I open the bag, I transport them to an airtight tin to keep them lasting longer. Wouldn't recommend a ziploc like that IMO.

[Salsero]

yeah, the tea i get from TeaSource is in "ziploc" bags

Out of curiosity, which teas do you get from TeaSource? Have you had the Bonnie Blink? Handmade Nilgiri? Wild Kwan Yin? Are any of their greens good? I got the worst long jing of my life from them, but also some fine Darjeeling.

TeaSource sells those bags for like 10¢ each, BTW. I think they may be made of mylar ... the stuff they make helium balloons out of.

[joelbct]

I got the worst long jing of my life from them, but also some fine Darjeeling.

lol, that bad, huh?

[Salsero]

I got the worst long jing of my life from them

lol, that bad, huh?

No lie ... insipid. Everything that green tea haters say about green tea. But when I compared the price to the premo stuff I get on line, I realized I was expecting too much. The thing is that the staff was so in awe of this LJ. I guess they never had real LJ.

[taitea]

OK, just to clarify, when I said ziplocks I really meant the silvery kind of non-see-through ziplocks. I think you guys gave me enough info to conclude that what I have are fine for storing, or at least the short term type of storing that I use them for.

[Chip]

OCD side of me has to throw one more tid bit in, the silver kinds are further graded by gas permeability. Some are rated much better than others for gas permeability.

The one in your photo appeared to have a see through front.

OK, one more thing. One thing a good bag has over tins, you can remove a lot more air prior to closing. The lower the leaf gets in the tin, the more air is in the tin attacking less and less leaf. But I think tooooo much!

[Smari]

... One thing a good bag has over tins, you can remove a lot more air prior to closing. The lower the leaf gets in the tin, the more air is in the tin attacking less and less leaf. But I think tooooo much!

Oh wow, thanks for mentioning that. I never thought of it like that.

[taitea]

... One thing a good bag has over tins, you can remove a lot more air prior to closing. The lower the leaf gets in the tin, the more air is in the tin attacking less and less leaf. But I think tooooo much!

Meaning, theoretically, the stuff at the bottom would be "better"?

I almost feel like the bigger leaves are staying at the top of my bags and the smaller, crumbier ones are sinking to the bottom. So that the teas get worse and worse as the leaf level of the bag drops.

p.s. that pic I posted was randomly taken from google to give an idea, and is not my actual bag

[Chip]

... One thing a good bag has over tins, you can remove a lot more air prior to closing. The lower the leaf gets in the tin, the more air is in the tin attacking less and less leaf. But I think tooooo much!

Oh wow, thanks for mentioning that. I never thought of it like that.

And yet I use the Upton sample tins for daily use tea because they are relatively small. But the tea in those are usually used w/in a few weeks.