7. Tea storage

What is the proper way to store tea?
Even premium tea deteriorates in flavor and fragrance if not stored properly. Here, we introduce the best methods of tea storage.

Tea is very sensitive to light and temperature change and absorbs the odor in its surroundings easily. Therefore, we recommend you to store your tea in locations with constant temperature and away from strong odors, such as a cupboard or other places that are known to be cool and dark. You should consume tea stored in this manner within two weeks to one month.

▼ Storing Large Quantities of Tea

If you have many packages of tea at home, it is best to store them in the freezer without breaking the seals. This is to preserve the original tea flavor and to prevent it from absorbing unwanted odors.
However, before opening the package for consumption, defrost in normal temperature first, without breaking the seal. In this manner you avoid condensation, which would damage the tea, within the package.

▼ Storage inside the Refrigerator

We do not recommend storing opened packages of tea for daily use inside refrigerators. The odor in the refrigerator would permeate the tea. Also, when moving the tea in and out of the refrigerator repeatedly, rapid temperature changes would cause condensation inside the package, moistening the tea.

▼ Storage at Maiko Tea

At MaikoTea, we store tea in refrigerators used specifically for this purpose. Please be assured that we provide you with the finest tea throughout the year by preserving its superior quality. In addition to refrigerators at MaikoTea, we also store tea in refrigerators at JA Kyoto Tea Market (Chaichiba) and Kyoto Prefecture Tea Producers' Cooperative (Kyoto Cha Kyoudoukumiai).

MaikoTea's storage room with 5 ℃ temperature

We have familiarized you with methods of tea storage, but we recommend you to purchase tea in smaller quantities (100 g) if possible. If purchasing larger quantities, we advise you to buy several small packages. (For example: purchasing ten 100 g packages rather than a 1 kg package will help to preserve the original flavor instead of the 1 kg package possibly growing stale, depending on its treatment)

At some stores, buying in bulk (500 g package/ 1 kg package) is more economical, but considering the difficulty of tea storage at home, the consistent tea quality can not be guaranteed at such bargains.

Tea is very sensitive. It is vulnerable to the following five things:

For example, tea stored near a heater, or in high humidity, will lose its color, flavor, and aroma. Avoid storing tea near spices or aromatic foods, as the odor will affect the tea, stripping it of its refined flavor

Although you are left with stale tea, you do not want it to go to waste. In such situations, try one of these simple recipes for homemade houjicha (roasted tea).

Houjicha

Houjicha is an excellent beverage for children and the elderly because of its low caffeine and catechin content. It can be easily made by using either of the following methods:

▼ First Method (Using a frying pan)

1.	Line frying pan with baking sheet. (This is to keep the tea from absorbing any unwanted grease or odor left on the pan.)
2.	Place tea leaves on baking sheet.
3.	Stir and dry roast over low heat until tea becomes fragrant.
・	Be careful not to scorch the tea leaves.
・	Dry roast until tea leaves achieve a golden brown color.

▼ Second Method (Using a toaster oven)

1.	Spread tea leaves evenly on aluminum foil. Bake for approximately 60-90 seconds.
2.	Tea is done roasting when the "kuki" (stalks) have slightly expanded, and easily powders when pressed between the fingers.
・	When done, the color should be similar to that of sencha. It is commonly called "aohoujicha" in Japanese.
・	Cool tea leaves on the aluminum foil after roasting.