Storing The Tea Correctly - Makes a Huge Difference (2024)

All Japanese tea packages will have a "best by" date on the packages. For example, on your pack of Sencha, you might have a date 1 year after manufacturing. Your canister of Matcha could have one perhaps 6 months after manufacturing.

 This "best by" date is the date by which the manufacturer ensures the tea's quality is as expected for that product under correct storage conditions.

After that date passes?

You can still drink it. It doesn't mean the tea is undrinkable anymore. It's just that the manufacturer won't ensure the quality of the tea to be the same.

The vital point to note is the "under correct storing conditions" part here.

The reality is that if the tea isn't stored correctly, its taste will quickly diminish! Even if it's within the "best by" date, the taste will not be the same.

However, as a fact, it does.

And this is why understanding the proper way to store tea is integral to your Japanese tea experience.

The shelf-life is tricky to establish in a standardized manner because it vastly varies depending on how the manufacturer labels it. 

Generally, a standard loose-leaf Japanese tea will indicate around one year before consumption. However, you may find some that are shorter (such as six months) and some that are significantly longer (such as two years).

A standard Matcha is much shorter than a Sencha. It would indicate around 6-8 months after packing as the "best by" date for consumption. However, when you look around, you'll commonly find products with longer timelines.

That's another benefit in purchasing tea from a specialized tea seller who has knowledge and takes a very consceientious approach to the customer's experience.

There are five leading causes of tea quality reduction. The "storing strategy" for your tea will be all about keeping it away from these five "tea spoilers."

Heat is a significant factor that can oxidize the leaves and reduce the Catechin, thereby diminishing the taste of your tea. It can also alter the scent and the color of the leaves. Therefore, it's crucial to keep the leaves in a cool place and be mindful of using the refrigerator for unopened packs, ensuring they sit at room temperature before opening to prevent condensation from spoiling the tea.

Humidity, especially in high-humidity regions like Singapore, can accelerate the oxidation of tea leaves. However, by storing your leaves in sealed plastic bags such as Ziplocs, you can confidently counter this, ensuring the bag's mouth is tightly closed to prevent oxidation.

The air also speeds up the oxidation of Catechin and Vitamin C, reducing the taste. As you can probably tell from the name - oxidation is caused by oxygen! Needless to say, oxidation is an enemy of tea.

Again, make sure to keep the mouth of the plastic bag completely shut.

The sunlight will alter the color of the leaves. It may cause a different smell from being under the sun, which you want to avoid. Keep the tea out of direct sunlight or put it in a bag that shuts out all sunlight.

If you have an unopened package of tea, stick the package straight into the refrigerator. This simple approach is the safest place for your unopened pack of tea.

Since the unopened package should be completely sealed, it would prevent most of those "tea spoilers," such as humidity, oxygen, and smell in the refrigerator, from affecting the tea.

Additionally, the refrigerator is ideal for keeping your tea away from other "tea spoilers" in high temperatures and sunlight.

There is one caveat when you do this, though.

When you are about to drink the tea and remove the package from the refrigerator, let it sit outside for a while so it will return to room temperature before opening the tea.

If the package is opened immediately after being taken out of the refrigerator, the difference in temperature will cause condensation. Condensation is a problem because it's one of the 5 "tea spoilers" in humidity.

If you want to be really safe, leave the tea package outside between 6 and 12 hours before you plan to drink the tea. However, this is a very long time to wait before you enjoy your tea and is impractical. If you're not too strict about this, I would wait for an hour or so, make sure the package feels like it's back to room temperature, and then open it.

Your next question would be, can you keep the tea in the refrigerator if the package has already been opened? If this is the case, the seal to block the humidity, oxygen, and smell is no longer effective. You'll need another strategy to counter that.

The "refrigerator" is not ideal for already opened packages.

Even if you use an airtight bag to completely seal the tea from oxygen, smell, and humidity, as we discussed in the previous segment, you'll still need to let the package sit for 6-12 hours outside whenever you want to drink the tea. (Again, this can be 1 hour if you're not too strict, but still....)

Because of this, once you've opened the tea and it is ready for daily consumption, the refrigerator is not a realistic choice.

This is where the Chazutsu, or the tea caddie, comes in handy!

Take a certain portion of the leaves — an amount you would use in about ten days or so —and store it inside the Chazutsu (tea caddie) for daily use.

For example, if you and your partner drink two cups of Sencha, using 6 grams of leaves, then you want 60 grams of leaves in the caddy for ten days of usage.

While the Chazutsu may not shield the leaves from heat, it is enough to preserve them if it's only for ten days or so. It ensures that the leaves are protected sufficiently for you to savor the full flavor of the tea.

It's a very convenient and practical way of storing your tea for daily use.

The Chazutsu (tea caddie) can then be placed in a dish cabinet, perhaps away from sunlight.

If you don't have a Chazutsu, you can use an alternative. Look for something that meets the following criteria.

• Something that isn't transparent (So it doesn't let light through)
  
• Something that doesn't carry odor or smell!
  
• Something that's not too large for the amount of tea leaves you would like to store. (Larger containers allow excess oxygen inside)
  

A glass bottle with a tight lid does the trick, but you might consider wrapping it with paper to block the light from entering.

When the Tea Leaves become old and their taste diminishes, one way to still enjoy them is to roast them and turn them into a Houjicha.

This is possible for any kind of green tea, including Sencha or Bancha. Using Kukicha is a fantastic option as well.

Place a paper on the pan, roast the tea leaves, and simmer under low heat. You can also use a microwave to heat the leaves. This will produce a Houjicha with a nice aroma, which you can enjoy.

• Something that can be closed air-tight.
• Something that isn't transparent (so that it doesn't let light through)
• Something that doesn't smell or have odor!
• Something that is not too large. (Larger containers allow excess oxygen inside)

As mentioned above, you can take an air-tight glass bottle and cover it with paper to block it from light. Remember, the key is to keep your Matcha powder away from excess oxygen, light, and odors.

Yes

Although they are much less susceptible to the "5 tea spoilers", roasted tea such as Houjicha or Iri-bancha (Kyobancha) require similar care.

Take the steps mentioned above to store your tea.

The same storing principles apply to teabags as well. This is because the content of the tea bag is loose-leaf tea. Please follow the recommended steps mentioned above.