If you can't finish something, put it in the refrigerator. Everyone understands this. However, not everything is suitable for the refrigerator. For example, with some tea leaves, if you are not careful, the good tea will be gone.
For people who like to drink tea, the storage of tea leaves is a big problem. Tea leaves are hygroscopic and have strong adsorption properties, and can easily absorb moisture and odors in the air (key point: tea leaves can remove odors). Many people waste their hard-earned good tea because the tea leaves get damp or go bad because they cannot be stored. Light, temperature, moisture content of tea leaves, air humidity, microorganisms, and odor pollution, any of these factors may cause tea leaves to deteriorate.
How to preserve tea? Different tea leaves have different storage methods, but there are 11 words in total: sealed, light-proof, pressure-proof, moisture-proof, and odor-proof.
Which teas should be kept in the refrigerator?
Green tea, fragrant oolong tea, yellow tea
Green tea is best stored in the refrigerator, especially tea with a higher aroma such as Longjing tea. This is because it breaks down easily under light and heat conditions, turning green and brown. If the storage time is short and you need to drink it at any time, you can put the green tea in the refrigerator and adjust the temperature to about 5 degrees Celsius; if it is unopened tea and you want to store it for more than a year, you should put it in the refrigerator.
One premise is that you cannot put other smelly things in and refrigerate them. Tea leaves should be dried and sealed in food-grade packaging bags with good airtightness. Tea leaves are the best at absorbing odors. It is best to refrigerate in small packages and take out the sachets after drinking to avoid repeated storage and removal from the refrigerator.
Putting the fragrant Tieguanyin in the refrigerator can reduce the oxidation rate of various components in the tea and maintain the original color and aroma. In the same way, sealed tea leaves can also be placed in the refrigerator, otherwise they will be discarded.
Yellow tea can also be stored in the refrigerator. As for oolong tea such as dark tea, black tea, scented tea, white tea, etc., they cannot be stored in the refrigerator. They only need to be placed in a relatively ventilated, dry, and cool place, but it is not suitable to be stored in the refrigerator. Keep it with smelly things.
Oolong tea and black tea have relatively low polyphenol content, slow aging and deterioration, and are easy to preserve; while scented tea has a strong floral aroma, and storage at low temperatures will inhibit its aroma and reduce the freshness and concentration of the aroma. Pu'er tea is best stored in a ventilated and dry place at room temperature. Because Pu'er tea is fermented tea, it contains beneficial bacteria. The taste of Pu'er and the getting better with age are all due to these enzymes. Enzymes need to work in a ventilated, cool, and dry environment. If placed in the refrigerator, it is not enough, and it is easy to become moldy when exposed to moisture.
What are the traditional tea storage containers?
Generally speaking, tinplate cans, jars, and colored glass bottles are the best containers for storing tea.
Secondly, iron cans, wooden boxes, bamboo boxes, etc. should be used. Bamboo boxes are not suitable in the dry north.
Plastic bags and cardboard boxes are last.
Many teahouses will choose a vat made of purple sand, wrap the tea leaves in film paper, and then seal them for storage.
Nowadays, tea leaves are basically packaged in vacuum-packed small bags, and everyone can choose the container they like. Here we take loose tea as an example to discuss.
What kind of tea should be put in what pot?
green tea
It is best to put it in a tin can, seal it and put it in the refrigerator.
Oolong tea
Oolong tea is semi-fermented and therefore does not need to be stored as carefully as unfermented tea. Easier to save. It is best to use an iron can to make tea. If not, you can also use iron cans, porcelain cans or double-lid tinplate tea cans. Remember to seal them.
Black tea
Dry black tea has low water content and is prone to getting damp or smelly. When storing, try to avoid mixing different varieties of tea. Generally, it can be placed in a closed dry container, protected from light and high temperature, and can be packaged in tin foil or tinfoil paper. Drinking tea is better. If possible, it is best to use purple clay cans or tinplate cans. It's difficult to keep glass jars safe from sunlight. If you use a plastic bag, remove the air from the bag before putting it in to better preserve the tea aroma.
Black tea
Keeping it ventilated and dry is the most important thing to pay attention to when storing black tea. It is best to use kraft paper, leather paper and other air-permeable packaging materials (plastic bags are not suitable) for sealed storage. If the tea leaves become moldy and white accidentally due to excessive humidity or too long time, they should be taken out in time to a ventilated and dry place. You can also dehumidify them (just turn on the air conditioner), or dry them in the sun for a few days and the mold will disappear naturally. , but if it is black mold, green mold, or gray mold, it is inferior tea.
All in all, the container in which tea is stored should be dry, clean, and odor-free. Cannot be placed in humid, high temperature, unclean or exposed places. There should be no camphor, medicines, cosmetics, cigarettes, detergents and other items with strong odors. Store in the refrigerator, but be aware that different types of tea cannot be mixed and stored.