Preserving Tea Leaves
- Cardinal Rules for Preserving Tea Leaves
Freshness is one of Japanese green tea's most important qualities. Unlike dry oxidized teas such as black or oolong, it does not last forever. Tea leaves easily deteriorate from contact with oxygen, ultraviolet light, humidity, or high temperatures.
Green tea should be kept away from heat, light, air, moisture, and strong odors. Once the package is opened, we strongly recommend that you use the tea leaves up as soon as possible. We also recommend that you purchase a small amount of tea leaves that you can use up in a short time.
- Procedures for Preserving Tea Leaves
Green tea should always be kept sealed in a clean, odor-free, airtight container, and should be opened as little as possible to minimize its exposure to the elements. The container should be as small as possible to keep the amount of air in contact with the leaves to a minimum. The original packaging may also be used to hold the tea inside its storage container. It's best to keep green tea in an airtight steel canister known as a Chazutsu.
A package of our Japanese green tea is specially designed to preserve fresh taste and flavor for a long time. An unopened package of our green tea will keep ideal freshness for six months if stored at cool temperature (under 20C, 68F) in a dark place.
If you would like to keep your tea leaves fresh for a longer time, we recommend that you put the unopened package in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for one year.
- Procedures for Preserving Matcha
Matcha is ground into a fine powder, so it deteriorates more easily than other tea leaves such as Gyokuro and Sencha because there is more surface area exposed to the air. Once the package is opened, we strongly recommend that you use it up as soon as possible.
An unopened package of our Matcha will keep ideal freshness for about three months if stored at cool temperature (under 20C, 68F) in a dark place.
If you would like to keep your Matcha fresh for a longer time, we recommend that you put the unopened package in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for one year.
- About Long Term Tea Storage in the Refrigerator
Though the refrigerator is an ideal place to keep green tea fresh, it should be stored away from anything with a strong odor. The air easily builds up condensation on the tea package some minutes to hours after being taken out from the refrigerator. So, we do not recommend storing open packages in the refrigerator. Please store only unopened packages in the refrigerator. After taking an unopened package out of the refrigerator, we recommend waiting a few hours to a day until the temperature of the package is the same as room temperature. In this way, condensation will not adversely affect the tea quality.