How To Store Tea — The four things that actually degrade tea quality — light, air, moisture, and heat — and exactly how to store green, orthodox, and CTC tea to keep it fresh for longer.
How To Store Tea: What You Need to Know
Good tea can be ruined by bad storage well before you ever get to brew it. Since we control our tea from garden to packaging, freshness on our end is something we can guarantee — but how you store it after opening the pack determines how long that freshness lasts in your kitchen.
The Four Things That Damage Tea
Light — direct sunlight and even regular kitchen light break down the volatile aromatic compounds that give tea its flavour and scent. This is why good tea is typically packed in opaque containers, not clear glass jars.
Air — oxygen oxidises tea over time, which changes its flavour (this is a different, much slower process than the deliberate oxidation used to make black tea during processing). Green tea, being minimally oxidised to begin with, is particularly vulnerable to this kind of flavour drift after opening.
Moisture — tea leaves are hygroscopic, meaning they readily absorb moisture from the air. Damp tea doesn’t just taste flat, it can develop mould in humid conditions, which is a genuine food safety concern, not just a quality one.
Heat — storing tea near a stove, oven, or in direct sun accelerates all of the above. Heat speeds up both oxidation and aroma loss.
How to Store Each of Our Tea Types
Green tea and Oolong (Premium Green Tea, Kahwa, Blue Tea, Orange Dew, Lemon Dew, Mint, Jasmine Green, Oolong): the most delicate of our range. Keep in an airtight container, away from light and heat. If you have a lot on hand, the refrigerator (not freezer) can extend shelf life — but let the tea come fully back to room temperature before opening the container, to avoid condensation forming on the leaves.
Black orthodox tea (Meghalaya Orthodox, Rose, Jasmine Orthodox, Roselle, Vanilla): more robust than green tea due to its oxidation during processing, but still benefits from an airtight, opaque container away from heat. Room temperature storage is fine.
CTC tea (CTC Classic, Premium, Gold, Ginger, Earl Grey, Cardamom): the most forgiving of our range, but the small particle size means more surface area exposed to air — so an airtight container still matters more than you’d think.
Practical Storage Tips
- Keep tea in its original pack or transfer it to an airtight tin or jar — avoid leaving the pack loosely folded over
- Store away from strong-smelling foods like spices or coffee; tea readily absorbs surrounding odours
- Don’t store tea above the stove or near a window, even if it’s convenient
- Buy what you’ll realistically use within a few months rather than stockpiling a year’s supply, particularly for green tea
Freshness Starts Before It Reaches You
Because every tea we sell is grown, processed, and packed in our own West Garo Hills facility with no third-party packaging step in between, the tea reaching you is fresher to begin with than tea that’s passed through a longer supply chain. Good storage from there just protects that freshness for as long as possible.
Browse our full range — every order is packed fresh from our own factory.