Loose Leaf Tea

Loose-leaf tea is at its best when it’s fresh and flavorful, and storing tea properly can help to ensure that your tea tastes delicious for as long as possible. Here are our recommendations for storing loose-leaf tea to ensure a flavorful, enjoyable cup.

How to store loose-leaf tea

For maximum shelf life, store loose-leaf tea in an opaque, airtight container. To keep tea fresh, you should avoid air, heat, light, and moisture. In order to keep tea fresh, it should be stored in an airtight container and kept in a cool, dark environment. Avoid storing tea near heat sources, such as stoves or sunny windows.

Storage containers for tea

ArtfulTea sells its teas both in resealable kraft bags and in tins. For loose leaf tea storage, both are great options. A bag is fine if you plan on finishing your tea within a few months. The tea leaves can also be transferred from one container to another using a bag. We recommend purchasing tea in one of our tins if you do not have an airtight container for your tea.

Along with the bags and tins in which we sell our tea, we also sell decorative tea tins. Decorative washi paper covers these elegant Japanese tea tins, perfect for storing tea. Their interior lids are made of tin and the exterior lids are slip-on.

Approximately how long does tea lasts

The way you store tea determines how long it will last. Loose-leaf tea stored in a craft bag stays fresh for about four months, while loose-leaf tea stored in tins or other airtight containers stays fresh for about a year. As soon as that happens, tea won’t spoil, but its flavour will fade.

In rare cases, excess moisture and heat can spoil tea. Replace your old tea with a fresh one if it looks or smells off. It’s too short not to enjoy good tea in life!

Uses for old tea

You can keep your tea stash fresh for a long time with tea, but if you’re like us, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest additions. Tea that’s too old to drink can still be used around the house in a few ways. Compost tea leaves and use brewed tea to water plants for extra nitrogen. Besides dyeing fabric with tea leaves, you can also use them to create watercolours.