Storing Tea Like a Professional

Tea has four enemies: light, heat, moisture, and strong smells. Your spice cupboard, next to a window, with a half-open bag of oolong? That tea is already stale.

**The four enemies, explained.**

• **Light.** UV breaks down chlorophyll and aromatic compounds. Clear glass jars on a sunny shelf are tea's worst home.

• **Heat.** Above 25°C, oxidation accelerates and aromatic oils evaporate. Above the stove? Don't.

• **Moisture.** Tea is hygroscopic — it absorbs water from the air. Damp tea grows mould. Even mild humidity dulls flavour.

• **Smells.** Tea also absorbs aroma. Store next to coffee, cumin, or onions, and you'll be drinking those flavours for weeks.

**The fix.** Opaque, airtight tins. A cool, dark drawer. Buy in smaller quantities more often. Label the opening date on the underside of the tin in pencil.

**Different families, different rules.**

• **Greens and whites:** the most fragile. Buy in 50–100g amounts. Finish within six months of opening.

• **Black tea and roasted oolong:** more forgiving. Hold for 12–18 months in proper conditions.

• **Pu-erh and dark teas:** the only family that *wants* time, air circulation, and a stable, slightly humid environment. Never seal pu-erh airtight; wrap it loosely in cotton cloth and let it breathe.

• **Matcha:** the most fragile of all. Opens fast, stales fast. Store in the fridge (the only tea that should be) in a tightly sealed tin. Finish within 4–6 weeks of opening.

**Why never the fridge** (except matcha). When you take a tin out of a cold fridge into a warm kitchen, condensation forms inside as the tea warms. Repeated cycles destroy the leaf within weeks.

**One more rule.** Keep jasmine, lapsang souchong, and any flavoured or smoked teas separated from everything else. They will perfume whatever sits next to them within a week — sometimes within a single day.