Tea is easily affected by moisture, temperature, light and oxygen during storage, which leads to dull dry tea color, reduced aroma, deteriorated taste, and even aging or spoilage. The key of tea storage is to control the moisture content of tea itself, and to prevent moisture, high temperature, odor, pressure, sealing and light in the process of storage, so as to create a good storage environment for tea. So how should we keep tea at home?
1. Choosing the Right Storage Location is Crucial
(1) Avoid Kitchens, Bathrooms, and Areas with Women’s Cosmetics
We all know that tea is very easy to absorb odor, so when storing tea at home, we must pay attention to this point, and ensure that 100% of these odor sources are avoided. Otherwise, your favorite tea may have the smell of oil smoke and cosmetics.
(2) Select a Moisture-Free Area
If the tea is damp, it can be found in time, and it can be saved after drying in the sun. If it is not found in time, and the place where the tea is stored has been providing substances that will cause dampness, then the tea will be damp and moldy, and the original good tea will lose its drinking value, which is a pity!
(3) Choose a Place Not Exposed to Direct Sunlight
Tea products are exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, and the substances contained in tea products will disperse, resulting in the weakening of tea taste when brewing, thus losing its drinking value and wasting good tea.
(4) Avoid Drafty Areas
What is the windward? When you stand in that place, the wind can blow directly on you. At home, these places include: the balcony, the window, the door and so on. Tea has been in these places for a long time and is constantly blown by the wind. First, the fragrance of tea dissipates with the flow of air, and second, the contents of tea will also dissipate, affecting the taste of drinking.
2. Selecting Appropriate Tea Storage Containers
(1) Can Storage Method
Canning is one of the most common ways to store tea at home, mainly in iron cans, bamboo boxes or wooden boxes. If these cans or boxes are double-layered, they will be more moisture-proof. Cans or boxes containing tea should be placed in the shade to avoid humidity and direct sunlight. If the canned tea is not drunk for the time being, it can be sealed with transparent adhesive paper to avoid the infiltration of humid air.
Specific Methods:
- First, place a thin plastic bag inside the can to keep the interior clean.
- Put 1-2 small packs of silica gel in each can to maintain dryness inside the can.
- After filling, seal the can tightly and store it in a cool, dark place.
(2) Jar Storage Method
The container selected for the jar storage method must be dry and tasteless, and the structure must be tight. Common containers are terracotta jars, rust-free iron buckets and so on. It should be reminded that tea is usually not suitable for mixed storage, because different tea flavors are quite different, if mixed together for storage, it will lose its original characteristics due to mutual infection.
Specific Methods:
- Wrap the tea in kraft paper or other thick paper.
- Place the wrapped tea into the earthen jar, and put lime packs in the middle of the jar. The size of the lime packs depends on the actual situation.
- Place cotton or thick paper at the jar mouth to reduce air circulation.
- Usually, after about one month, open the jar for inspection. If the lime turns darker in color, it needs to be replaced.
(3) Purple Clay Jars
The biggest advantage of purple pottery pot is that it can be recycled, of course, if you don’t break it. When choosing a purple pottery pot, you should choose one that is intact and has no cracks. Before placing the tea, clean purple pottery pot first, and be sure not to put the tea in when there is still a peculiar smell.
Purple pottery pot to remove odor-wash it with clean water, dry it naturally, and put some dry tea of raw tea or ripe tea in the pot. In this pot, if you want to store raw tea, use the dry tea of raw tea, otherwise use the ripe tea.
After a week, take out the dry tea and smell the smell in the jar carefully. If there is only tea fragrance left, you can put the tea. If there is any other smell, you need to continue to put some dry tea to absorb the smell. The ultimate goal is to keep the jar clean and odorless.
(4) Thermos Flask Storage Method
Thermos bottles can be used not only for hot water, but also for tea storage. The liner of the thermos bottle has excellent properties of avoiding light, keeping warm and isolating air, and is a better environment for tea storage. When storing tea in a thermos bottle, fill the whole bottle with dry tea, leave as little air as possible, cover the bottle tightly, seal it with white wax, and tighten the outside with transparent tape or plastic wrap to prevent air from entering the bottle. Note that before filling the tea, make sure that the compartment of the thermos bottle is intact and the bottle is dry.
Sum up
Tea purchased at home should be stored in a correct way to maintain the better quality of tea, such as color, fragrance and taste. Consumers can choose different tea storage methods according to the actual storage conditions and tea conditions at home, and can also combine a variety of storage methods to achieve better storage and fresh-keeping effect, so as to achieve the purpose of buying good tea, storing good tea and tasting good tea!