Tips for storing tea and keeping it fresh. Post your ideas.
I just got some Tetley Green Tea and when I opened the box, I discovered the bags were round. Makes sense really, if your cups are round, the bags can be, too. No strings, staples or paper hangers. I am in love.
How long can I store tea bags?
By Lorraine S.
The answer depends on several things-how many bags are you trying to keep fresh at a time, what quality is the tea leaf blend, and how humid is your storage area.
I live in the UK and buy a FairTrade breakfast blend that comes in boxes of fifty bags per. I usually have around 500 bags in the house at a time; I keep 50 in a tin tea caddy (with a VERY tight lid) and the other boxes I open, place 200 tea bags into a vacuum bag.
Seal properly, use a permanent marker to write the date on the vacuum bag and keep in the store cupboard (pantry in the US) for as long as a couple of years-I recently found a vacuum bag that was about 20 months old and when I brewed a cup with one of the bags I found it tasted just as good as a 'fresh' bag.
I did the same thing when I lived in the US Deep South-I bought Twinnings English Breakfast blend there-but found there that humidity made a difference in 'shelf life'. I could store tea bags in the vacuum bags for at most a year before the taste weakened. I did try storing a vacuum bag in the freezer, oh ick did that tea taste awful after only two months in the freezer, WOW!
I also used Lusianne for iced tea, and had the same results. LOL, we don't drink much iced tea in the UK but we sure drank a lot of it when living in AL, FL, and NW GA!
How long can loose tea be kept? I have some that is over a year old. Can it go bad and is it safe to use?
By Laura J.
I don't know what the actual shelf life is, but if it "goes bad" it will likely just not have a good taste anymore and no, it won't poison you. Before you flavor it up with sugar or flavorings, taste it to see if it has a dulled taste. I never keep up with how long I have had tea, honestly.
Storing Tea. Always store loose tea in a container with a tight fitting lid to preserve the quality of the herbs.
